The Necessary Drudgery of Sewing Wardrobe Staples: Skin Toned Bike Shorts

Wardrobe staples or as I sometimes refer to them, work horses, are pieces made in your own version of neutral.  Neutral for me is rarely the same as someone else. I lean on denim, black and white mainly.  Though I use them most sparingly. I find those colors alone blah, ugh, meh... I find myself putting the project off entirely because it's all black, all white or all skin-tone. "Ugh, do I have to?"  is what first comes to mind when I go to work on them.  I don't mind wearing them occasionally. And they're typically pared with a bright cheery print. But boy oh boy are they a task for me to complete. So much so, that I started both of these 2 pieces this summer and just finally got back to correcting, fitting, and completing them this week.  It's really good to know what excites me and what bores me. Maybe it would be more advantageous to buy a neutral than to make it in this case? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Frankly, I'm so dang glad I pushed through and finished these. I needed to complete them rather than get rid of the UFO.

Let's start with skin-colored bike shorts to wear under skirts. I began by trying the Oh Lulu pattern. That's where I originally got stuck on this. Oh boy. In my infinite wisdom, I drafted to my actual measurements. But somehow, I got a lot off. I mean A LOT!  The Oh Lulu original pattern is the smaller outline that doesn't even reach to the crotch curve of the cut out edge. I cut the fabric to this size and was surprised by how huge the leg. I mean, I measured, re-measured and measured again!  Hmm... it went to the UFO pile for 5 months.

Then, it occured to me. I have a legging pattern that fits. Why the hell did I not overlay the Oh Lulu and my legging pattern?  Oh, yes, let's see

1. my legging pattern is the tiny one (blue) laying atop ... #2
   
2. the gigantor below (red).  
   
3. The crotch that is shallower and less curvy is that of the original Oh Lulu (green).

The Oh Lulu also is WAY shorter (depending on several inches of stretch lace) than my legging pattern. My inner thigh is round as is my outer thigh. To prevent chafing, I like a longer length.

Well, this does seem a bit more realistic doesn't it?  Shows me that the Oh Lulu is designed for a less stretchy  fabric than I've been working with too.

Here's the final Hybrid of Oh Lulu and my tried and true legging pattern over the top of the first legs I cut of the re-drafted Oh Lulu. Yikes! That's a TON of fabric. 

I've learned the hard way, though many broken seams, mostly the crotch curve, that

1. Topstitching creates the longest lasting activewear garment
2. Triple Stitch Zig Zag is the strongest and the most stretchy, even more so than a straight zig zag. "It's the Sh*t" as Kelly says. 

So on this pair of under skirt short leggings, I top stitched the cuffs and every other seam.  To shorten and simplify the construction in a more efficient, manufacturing like manner, I topstitched the cuffs before I sewed the leg seams and before I sewed the crotch curves. 

Here you can see how I'm top stitching the inner leg seam. Every single seam on this pair of short leggings is stitched with the Triple Stitch Zig Zag. Everyone. Even the inside seams. 

My last pair of short leggings were a might too small in the front crotch curve. I shaved a tiny bit too much off. As a test I added the Oh Lulu gusset into the crotch curve (longest points reaching toward the waist bands).  I've only ever tried one other gusset and had bad luck with it. Usually I have to reduce quite a bit of fabric in this area otherwise I have odd folds. I'm smaller than the standard block it seems. 

It was really fun sewing this in and figuring out how it would work best. I didn't read any instructions and mostly guessed. Even though I've made one before, I didn't recall how they did it. I also measured down from the tips on the gusset the width where the stitching would begin to overlap. I only stitched to that spot, Then, I allowed the points to naturally fall into the crotch curves. I had no weird folds, catches, or other issues. Yay! Good guess, Gwen!

They turned out quite well. I'd show you photos of them on my body, but WOW! This fabric is see through. I was shocked that a neutral skin tone was so very visible through this peachy milliskin. Yikes!  Good for under the clothing kind of stuff.

I have a few girdle patterns and books that I'd like to try. Now that I've made 2 pair of bike shorts, I think I have a better feel for fit and can invest in the firm, firm stretch of girdle like fabric. I found a really great source!  That's on my 6-month sewing goals list. So, stay tuned for that in the future!