lately, i’ve been lamenting the fact that i don’t have enough lounge-y clothes. fact is, as soon as dinner is over and the dishes done, i sprint for my comfy clothes! problem is, i don’t really have that many to pick from. i have some yoga pants that i’ve worn for ages and really need at least one other pair to switch off with, and any leggings i have are too thin to wear without bootay coverage. the problem with RTW yoga pants is that they are expensive, always too short, and made of horrid synthetics. and RTW leggings… well, too thin and hahaha as if they can make it over my bum!
i haven’t done the yoga pants yet (though i really want to try this maria denmark pattern), but i finally did make leggings. i ordered the most dreamy black modal/rayon/amazingness knit fabric from girlcharlee.com. and holy moses, i wish i could pass a little swatch to each and every one of you this stuff is amazingly awesome! it’s super stretchy, matte, thick, and feels amazing! did i mention amazing? i used mccalls 6173 and went down a size from the recommended, and added 1″ to the back rise, grading to nothing toward the sides. from mid-thigh down, they were huge. granted, my fabric had far more stretchiness than called for, but i had to remove inches in width. i left the bum area alone (no need for the fabric there to be stretched to max capacity) then kept tapering in and tapering in… and finally i arrived at what you see here. i am pleased that this pattern sits high enough to cover both my rear and my mushy mommy bits (most leggings give me severe muffin top).

photo quality is pretty meh, i know. it’s been cloudy and rainy and i gave up waiting for it all to clear out… classic new england weather!
i’m not really in the “leggings as pants” camp, but these cover and, since they’re black, hide the lumps and bumps pretty magically. i’m really looking forward to making some longer tees (hemlock i’m looking at you!) and tunic length shirts to pair with them. and dude. leggings are flipping FAST to make. one pass up each leg, join the legs, then for the waistband i serged 1″ elastic to the inside top SA, then flipped it down and zig zagged it in place along the lower edge of the elastic. had i not needed to go back and fiddle with the leg width, these would have been cut and finished within the hour.
oh hey, i also made my top! this is a sweatshirt-type knit, maybe a french terry? i really don’t know. it doesn’t have much stretch, so i took my dolman top from cation designs and added a total of 4″ in width, 1″ in length, and lowered the front neckline by 1″. my original pattern printed off-scale, so i can’t necessarily give you specifics, but you get the idea—i was aiming for a sweatshirt type top. i kept the hem band smaller to hug my hips, and did a narrow neckline binding. i made this one a few weeks ago and i’ve pretty much lived in it ever since!
after i cut this top out i started to doubt whether or not a short sleeve sweatshirt was going to be very useful, but it seems to be just the right weight for chilly evenings. plus, i’m constantly pushing up long sleeves, so this turns out to be extremely useful.
wow guys, i’m totally hooked on loungewear! hopefully i can make more of it, especially as fall comes around. with my current lack of interest in buying RTW, these are great pieces and near-instant gratification because they are so darned fast to sew!
—lisa g.
That leggings pattern seems to be well known for being oversized for the stretchier fabrics. I had the same problem. I really wondered why they wouldn’t have sized the pattern for a four way stretch fabric. 🙂 They look great!
i really thought i’d be good going one size down! i had read the reviews, but i figured it was better that they came out too big than too small. but seriously, big 4 knit patterns confound me!
Me too!
You look so cozy! Love these!
thanks gail!
That looks so comfy, it makes me want to cuddle under a blanket with a cup of tea and a chick flick. Sorry, it’s raining today… Anyways, well done! Looks like a short and sweet project !
yup, raining here too… makes me want comfy clothing all the more!
Love the leggings and the sweater. I have the same problem; no chill-out clothes, I just take my pants off (does this sound wrong? It does to me…) and wander round the house in my underwear, pretty difficult to answer the door that way…
hahaha! i suppose that’s an alternative… might be a bit of a problem during cold weather though!
Love the shirt and the leggings! I need to get the shirt pattern, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for since I need some casual tops! Thanks for sharing.
i highly recommend the shirt pattern–can’t beat free!
That top is amazing. It really suits you and it’s obvs super comfortable. It’s quite youthful!.
thanks, it’s quickly become a favorite! i’ll probably need a few more 🙂
The way you talk about that fabric…. it sounds like the holy grail of stretchy knit for pants. I want some!!! I’ve been thinking the same thing around loungewear… but yet to action it. AND – you have great legs!! I’ve always been anti leggings as pants, but with some drapey long tops (for rear end coverage) you could pull off the look and make it look good. Very nice 🙂
it really is great fabric! it’s perfect for the knit pants, but would be equally great for a dressy drape-y top. and thanks, i figured if others were posing in bathing suits, i could be not too self-conscious in leggings! 😉
I’ve never been a big leggings person either but these look so comfy I might just have to rethink that stance. And I love the sweatshirt!!
thanks! i think it just takes the right fabric for the “leggings as pants” thing to be not awful. this fabric has good heft to it, so it doesn’t feel totally wrong!
Great lounge outfit! It looks very comfy. I have rather ‘sturdy’ legs so I shy away from leggings, but I do have the Maria Denmark pattern which I still need to make up. Definitely try the Hemlock pattern.
You have perfect legs!! I did leggings the first time in the 80s so I wasn’t too keen to jump in a second time, and although I finally did, I still don’t feel completely cool wearing anything that tapers at the ankle – the words “chicken drumsticks” come to mind. I’ve made Cindy’s dolman top a zillion times, but I really love your interpretation. I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’m going to copy you!
thanks, copy away!
I feel like I say this every time you post something, but I seriously need to do this too. I stopped buying loungewear a couple of years ago — it feel decidedly into the it’s-silly-to-buy-this-just-make-it-already category — but then I always want to make something “shinier.” 🙂 And after a couple if years, the loungewear cupboard is *threadbare*. Oh, and this will come as precisely NO surprise, but I got some of that fabric too, FOUR yards actually. It is AWESOME.
i hear ya! then i feel like i don’t want to use fabric that i like and “waste” it on something nobody will see… so silly! and that’s so funny you got the same stuff… love to see what you make with it!
Looks so comfy! I love a quick and super-easy project like this too. I really like the Tshirt.
thanks! it feels good to do a quick fix no brainer every so often. 🙂
This is the perfect lounge outfit! It looks so comfy and warm for fall 🙂 This is great inspiration to sew up another dolman top – love that pattern!!!
Thanks for the link to the store in your post! That black modal fabric is divine and that is the perfect use for it 🙂