Welcome to September and our next round of The Fitting Experiment. This time we are looking at the fit of a few pair of leggings. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for a discount code and links to all the other bloggers in The Fitting Experiment!
The rules for this round was easy. 1. Make the two pair of leggings that the group voted to try out. 2. Pick one additional pair that you want to try.
My final leggings are as follows
Eden Leggings from Bella Sunshine Designs – My Choice
G.O.A.T. Leggings from Rad -Group Vote
20K Leggings from Max and Meena -Group Vote
My initial thoughts:
I have sewn the Eden Leggings from Bella Sunshine Designs, I was actually part of testing them. This was about 2 years ago when I first began sewing. I made 3 pair during testing and will honestly admit that I haven’t worn any of the leggings since. While they fit ok, they got saggy around my knees when walking around in them and I had a fairly limited fabric stash back then, so I made some bold leggings without many options to wear with them! 🙂
I was nervous about the RAD G.O.A.T leggings since I have struggled with nailing the fit on the few other patterns of theirs I have tried. I also know that when these released people went nuts for them, so I was willing to give them a go.
The 20K leggings hadn’t even been on my radar since I didn’t even know they were drafted in my size range. To be fair, several other bloggers in our experiment had never tried their patterns so we were all pretty eager to give them a go.
Up First Bella Sunshine Designs Eden leggings retails for $14.oo, BUT there is a code to get them for FREE in their Facebook group! This leggings sew up quickly.
- Yoga Waistband for the Ultimate in Comfort
- 3 Rise Options: Super High Rise, High Rise, Mid Rise
- 2 Lengths: Capri & Pant
- Sewing Level: Absolute Beginner
- Sizes: Ladies 0-30
- Up to a 59.75 inch hip
I sewed up the High Rise in pant length. I also did a full belly adjustment, as I do this with most pant patterns. I graded a size 28 waist to 22 in the legs. Still a little saggy in the knee area. As far as height adjusting, I removed 1 inch above the knee, 1 inch from the above hip area. Looking back I don’t know why I did it from the hip area, I need more, not less fabric there. I should have removed it from the legs. After assembly my leggings were still crazy long on me. I cut off an extra 5 inches off the length because they covered my toes.
Let’s talk about the RAD pattern next. G.O.A.T stands for Greatest of All Time, by the way. This pattern retails for $10.00 US. My first thought was this pattern consists of a lot of pieces for leggings. I believe that magic number was 12 pieces. Leggings are usually less than 5 pieces sometimes only 3 pieces. I appreciated that this pattern is easily color blocked and has POCKETS! I figured with doing all these pattern pieces, I am adding the dang pockets! I sewed the 3x waist graded to the 2x hips and legs. This pattern is inclusive to a 70 inch hips which is RAD’s 7x. I adjusted for my 5’1 height by removing length from 2 places, above and below the knee. I appreciated that the RAD pattern suggested adding elastic to the waistband during assembly. I almost always need it and was glad they reminded me to do during construction.
Pattern Options:
Features a high waist and a long, 7/8, 3/4, or capri length option. There are also optional side pockets that are made to fit even a larger phone, while keeping it secure. This pattern is drafted for a height of 5’7.
Max and Meena 20K leggings. This pattern retails for $5.95, but the Facebook group has a code to get it for FREE! Something different with Max and Meena patterns is that your pattern gets emailed to you instead of logging into an account to get it. This is a super fast sew with only 3 pattern pieces with the basic leggings pattern. I sewed up the regular length with the regular waist band. I didn’t adjust for height since the inseam is given at 29 inches. Mine is 27.5 and the pattern warned if you have larger calves, it may shorten the length a bit. So I have large calves for sure, so no adjustment for the height. I used Double Brushed Poly for my leggings.
The 20K Leggings have three lengths: short, capri, and regular length. Three waistband options: regular waistband, cross over maternity band, and waistband with built in pocket.The pattern has a generous size range from Misses XS-XL and Women’s 1X-5X.You will need 1 1/4- 1 1/2 yards of cotton lycra or similar 4-way stretch knits to make a full length pair of leggings. I sewed the regular length with the regular waistband.
My After Fitting Thoughts:
All 3 of my legging have wrinkling at the knees so obviously this is a personal fit issue.
BSD – Eden leggings were quick to make and comfortable to wear. I used double brushed poly for this pair. For a quick sew, this fit the bill on expectations. This is a basic, no frills pair of legging which is great for laying around the house or even pairing under a dress with boots.
RAD’s GOAT leggings really shocked me – in the best possible way. Even though these were by far the most time consuming to sew, they were well worth it. The fit is great. They are fitted, but not overly tight. The added elastic keeps them secure and they didn’t require adjusting while wearing. I love that I was able to use scraps to make this pattern as the legs were made from a front, back, and side panel instead of the entire leg pattern being one solid piece. Plus there is a POCKET! Now I need them in a solid, non color blocked version!
Max and Meena’s 20K legging is another simple legging. Super fast sew. I made my first pair in Double Brushed Poly, but they were painfully tight. I decided to give them another go and did a full belly adjustment as I am at the top of their size chart in waist measurements and went up one size in the legs. My second pair is still tight in the belly area while it is wrinkled in the back of the thigh area and I noticed the fabric became very see through when stretched while I moved. These will be around the house leggings or leggings for layering. With more adjusting, these leggings could work for me.
Huge thank you to RAD Patterns for sponsoring this month’s experiment by providing us with the G.O.A.T. leggings (Greatest of all time). Stephanie has kindly provided a discount for you to try the G.O.A.T. pattern, available in the announcements of Friends of the Fitting Experiment. Check out the group to see how others made out with the leggings. You can also visit the bloggers for their full review by following the links below:
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SequoiaLynn Sews 