Know Your Knits 101: Skirt, Leggings & Lounge Pants/Shorts
You’ll find everything you need to know about materials, patterns and knit fabric sources below. Read through this entire page to be prepared for class. You’ll be SEW glad you did! Anything confusing? Just shoot me an email! leslie@elbeestitchlab.com
Know Your Knits 101 Materials List
• Your pattern
• Pre-washed fabric yardage** (plus a little extra for shrinkage) **helpful wash/dry tips follow below
• One spool coordinating Eloflex thread
• Sewing machine and foot pedal/power cord (or rent one of mine)
• Ballpoint machine needles sizes for the weight of your fabric: lite to med 80/11, heavy 90/14
• Ballpoint/Jersey twin needle size 80/11 or 90/14
• Straight stitch foot that fits your machine
• Your threaded serger, if it runs well and you feel confident operating it
• Sharp scissors and thread snips
Preferred Skirt, Leggings & Lounge Pants Patterns
These patterns are vetted and have excellent reviews. If you have another pattern you’d like to try, please just email it to me for approval ahead of class time.
Pattern sizes are not the same as off-the-rack sizes. Remember to go by your actual waist measurement, NOT your off-the rack garment size. Novice-friendly patterns are indicated in bold. Make Sure YOUR size is in the envelope you choose, as some of these size ranges are split into two different envelopes.
Sew DIY Lela Skirt PDF only – Pattern Sizes 0-32
Pattern Reviews
Simplicity 8382 Plus Size Leggings – Pattern Sizes 20W – 40W - Beginners should choose views A&B only
Pattern Reviews
Simplicity 8212 Leggings – Pattern Sizes 4 - 26 - Beginners should choose views A + B only
Pattern Reviews
New Look 6404 Unisex Lounge Pants or Shorts – Pattern Sizes XS - XL - Views C + D only
Pattern Reviews
McCall’s 4244 “Men’s“ Lounge Pants or Shorts – Pattern Sizes 34-52 (S-XXL) - Views C + D only
Pattern Reviews
Simplicity 4149 Skirt or Pants – Pattern Sizes 10 - 28 - Views D + E only
Pattern Reviews
Simplicity 4789 Pants – Pattern Sizes 10 – 28 - View A only
Pattern Reviews
Prepping Your Pattern: PDF Download vs. Paper Pattern Options
You will need to prepare your pattern before class time. For a pre-printed paper/tissue pattern, this means just cutting out the pattern pieces for your “view”. DON’T cut on any particular size, just cut the pieces away from each other, leaving as much extra paper around the each piece as possible.
If you’re printing a PDF version on your home printer, you’ll need to tape all your pattern pages together into the full pattern, and then cut the individual pattern pieces away from each other as described above.
Some of these patterns come in just a PDF print-at-home download, and some also offer a paper pattern version.
Be honest with yourself about your time. Do you have the free time to print out multiple pages on your printer and tape them all together before class? If you don’t, or if you’re nervous about printing and assembling your own pattern before class, opt for a mailed pre-printed paper pattern. If you do have time, each pattern company will provide a tutorial if you’ve never printed and assembled a PDF pattern before.
It is sometimes possible to have a PDF pattern printed at a print shop, but often student run into shops that refuse to print due to copyright issues, and it can be an expensive hassle.
Knit Fabric Selection Tips and Sources
Check your pattern for the required yardages. You’ll want to allow extra yardage for shrinkage and any lengthening or widening you might do to your pattern.
Here is an excellent guide to choosing knit fabrics: https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/different-types-knit-fabric-explained-fabric-giveaway.html
Be sure that your choice has the amount of stretch and print orientation required for your pattern. Here’s a helpful guide: https://www.fabric.com/blog/fabric-101-determining-stretch-direction-stretch-percentage/
Prewash and dry your fabric** the way you want to be able to wash/dry it long term. 100% poly doesn’t need to be pre-washed. **Helpful wash/dry tips follow below.
Sources:
Marcy Tilton $$$
**Tips for washing/drying your knit fabric.
• Carefully unroll/unfold the yardage you bought, on a flat surface/bed. It should have been cut “hot dog fold” with a selvedge edge on top and a fold at the bottom.
• Safety pin your selvedges together, about 10” apart, making sure the fabric stays “on grain” If you hold up the fabric with selvedges together, there should be no torque at the folded edge. Safety pinning the selvedges together will help keep the fabric from twisting off grain in the wash and dryer.
• After pinning selvedges, wash your fabric on cold.
• If you normally hang dry your fabric, you can use clip hangers along the selvedge to hang dry on grain. Four layers is fine. The thing you want to avoid is hanging your knit fabric on something like a drying rack that will leave a dent in the yardage. It will be heavy, so try to keep it as supported and flat as possible.
• If you tumble dry low, take it out of the dryer with safety pins still on, and spread it out over your bed to cool off. Dryer sheets/fabric softener is helpful to keep it smooth.
• Bring fabric to class on a clip hanger, fabric hanging from the selvedges.
BELIEVE me, this will make it SEW much easier to pin and cut your pattern pieces!