I’m a little late, but I’m finally sharing my Megan Nielsen Virginia leggings for Sew My Style. I really struggled with finding the perfect fabric for this pattern. I originally made a pair out of a stretch faux leather in black, but they were not very flattering. I’m not a big leggings wearer, unless I’m lounging around my house.
After searching and searching, I finally found THEE perfect fabric for this pattern. A new addition to Stylish Fabrics, this Maxi-Dri & Micro Blok Neoprene Fabric is perfection. Its thick, but just the right thickness for leggings, super stretchy (4 way stretch) and super soft. There are also so many cool colors to choose from, I bet you won’t be able to pick just one.
For my leggings, I chose the Avatar Rain color way. I like that it’s multi-colored for optimal top matching. I also like that there’s some black blended in it too, you know, to match my black Nike’s. Also, these pants blend into EVERY wall. I tried to find a way to get these babies to pop, but I failed, and I apologize! I really love this color way; I promise it’s much better in person.
Let’s talk about the Virginia Leggings pattern. I sewed up a size XS using the high waist option. This is the fastest project you will ever make. INSTANT GRATIFICATION! I used my Brother 1034D Serger to sew these up, and it was so fast. In about 5 steps you have some brand new leggings. The instructions are awesome, and easy to follow. I need to make like 5 more. Love them! Perfect fabric and pattern combo.
Okay, now the Minttu Swing Top pattern! It’s brand new, and just released by Named Clothing. It’s also part of the Indiesew Spring/Summer pattern collection. I don’t wear sleeveless tops unless I’m working out and I thought this one would be great to pair with my new leggings. I really don’t like wearing tops that are fitted in my torso area (I had two huge babies guys), so I really love the loose swing hem on this one.
I used some rayon jersey knit in black from Stylish Fabrics. It’s a lightweight fabric, and not completely opaque when you hold it up to the light. I like this thinness factor for a workout top. It was easy to sew with and I’m really happy with the result.
The Minttu pattern itself put my brain through a loop a bit. I usually don’t have a hard time figuring out pattern steps, but the enclosed facing took me about 5 tries to figure it out. A tip would be to pinch the inside of the top and facing (like illustrated in the pattern instructions) as you would if they were sewn together. Hope that makes sense and helps a little! It’s a really innovative design, which I love! Other than the facing, everything else was super easy to understand, and it’s a really cool little tank top.
Now I have no excuses for not working out. I used to be a big runner (many years ago), so maybe it’s time to get back to it. We’ll see!
That’s it for today! Happy sewing, friends!
