Leggings are a wardrobe staple, something comfortable and cute that can be worn with billowing blouses or dresses. I like versatility in my wardrobe and the Lotus Legging delivers. Perfect for a brisk walk through the Village or a leisurely stroll around the park, these functional bottoms feature flattering seaming and panels, leaving a ton of room to make this pattern your own. Paired with Mood’s UV Protective Stretch Ultra Suede, these leggings will keep you safe from the sun, whether you’re working on your fitness or fashion!
Fabrics & materials used:
- 2 yards UV Protective Stretch Ultra Suede
- 6″ Black Metal Zipper with Gold Teeth
- Heavy Duty Thread
- MDF0339 – The Lotus Legging Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
The front of these leggings are made up of two thigh panels, a knee panel, and the lower shin piece. You can use these for some easy color blocking or switch up your fabric types. For mine, I decided to pintuck my fabric for some ribbing along the lower thigh panel.
Before cutting out my pattern, I took a large swath of the faux suede I was using (about 3 times longer than the panel would eventually be, just to be safe), and began adding the pintucks. Since the fabric is both stretchy and a bit on the thicker side, I didn’t want to risk messing it up with a pintuck foot, so I kept the walking foot on my machine.
I aligned the edge of each rib with the edge of the foot and had the needle positioned all the way to the left, like you can see above. Be sure to pull your fabric just slightly while sewing so you don’t loose any of the stretch. Once I had about 30 pintucks, the lower thigh pattern piece fit easily on top and I cut out all of my pattern pieces.
The lower thigh and upper thigh attach like the above photo, fabric faces together, and then I folded the seam allowance upward and edge-stitched along the upper panel.
Add the darts on to either side of the knee panels and attach them to the bottom of the lower thigh panels, stitching down the seam allowance again. Repeat with the lower front pieces at the lower edge of the knee panels.
Fabric faces together again, sew the front of your leggings to their respective back panels at the outer seam, leaving the lower 7″ open for a zipper later on.
Sew the two back panels together at the pant rise, and repeat with the two front rises, before stitching the inseam. Fold the waistband panel in half horizontally and sew along the shorter edge to create the center back seam. Fold the waistband in half again, this time so it’s half the height, and attach it at the top of your leggings. For some extra support, you could also add elastic into the waistband, but I found it wasn’t totally necessary with the fabric I chose.
Lastly, take the open ends of your leggings and fold back the raw edges. Pin a zipper into place and top-stitch around. Fold up the hem of the pant legs and zig-zag stitch to finish.
I can’t wait to see how many outfits I can make with these. They’re perfect for a pant substitution in the spring, and this fall I could layer them under tunics or dresses alike. I’ll probably be making more with something metallic next! What kind of fabric are you considering for yours?
Pssst! …I made this jacket too! Download The Kalimeris Moto for free here!
18 comments
Love these leggings! The pleat details are super fun. Well made pattern – thanks for sharing!
Are the legging zippers necessary or are they primarily “decorative”? I’d rather have a smooth finish to the legs, without zippers.
Hi Adrienne – they’re totally decorative! To get rid of them, you can simply cut off the extra seam allowance allotted for them at the bottom of the pattern and sew the seam closed. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Look like fun
Hi, I love the leggings. Do you think I can use the pattern to make a Jeans, I want it not to be so sticky and have a little bit of room and at the same time be skinny, would you recommend this pattern?
Hi Dia, you could probably make a version of these with stretch denim! You may want to go up a size or two though for extra ease since the denim likely won’t stretch as much as a knit.
thank you very much, this was very helpful!! love all your patterns
Hi,
I’ve got these all cut out but I’m slightly confused about the stitching. Did you use a straight stitch on a regular machine? And then Topstitch the seam?
I guess the other options would be zigzag stitch? Or a french seam? Or trying to tame my wild feral serger?
Hi Alice! For the pintucking, I used a straight stitched, but for everything else I used a stretch stitch on a regular machine (a nice cheat to avoid fighting with a serger).
Great thank you! I’ll give it a whirl using the short zig zag stitch on my regular machine.
Does the pattern include seam allowance?
Yes, a 1/2″ seam allowance is already included! 🙂
Could you make these in tricot? I found a beautiful color in that type of fabric that I can picture these in!!
Yes, tricot is perfect for this pattern! In fact, Helen Castillo sewed a pair on our Instagram today. 🙂
Ohhhhh, I will have to go find that! Thank you!
Thank you for this beautiful pants can’t wait to try it
Is it possible to modify this pattern to make tights? Is really love to make some stament tights but it’s been difficult finding a pattern. I’m plus sized so it’s been hard to fun footed tights or just solid tights in fun colors.
Hi, Ashley! It may be easier to use our Ixia Leggings if you’re looking for them to be solid, but either way, I think both would make awesome tights! 🙂