The Sweatpants That Are Not Just For Sweating

These sweatpants are the second pattern on our Workout Wardrobe storyboard collection and they are not just for sweating as I will demonstrate in the months to come.

The Workout Wardrobe Summary So Far – Progress Report

The fit of the pattern is not the trend of these days which is for thick leggings with pockets.  These sweatpants are more in the traditional (read practical) style and have more room around the legs without being floppy.  With pockets large enough for your phone, they are certainly not the tight leggings that many are sporting today.  But I think you'll find them very comfortable as well as presentable for that quick trip to the store, and not to mention the gym…

These sweatpants are to be worn one inch over your belly button which is the ideal place to avoid the dreaded muffin top look.  The making of this pair of sweatpants is very easy, so I will say that the project is suitable for the advanced beginner.  It is similar in construction to the pajama pants we did last year.  That tutorial has a video and this sew along has a step by step instructions on how to sew the slant pockets so you can follow the same instructions there about how to sew the pockets.

You should know by now that we are pushing the use of an overlocker because it really speeds up the process and makes for a better finish.  If you use one, no one will be able to tell you to made this garment.  It will look just like the pros!  However, you definitely don't need one for this project.  It's just a good next step in your sewing journey if you're ready for it.

So let's start, and as always the best thing to do is to measure yourself and pay attention to the finished garments measurements below.  These measurements are a better indication than the size of how the sweatpants will fit on your body.

Pattern Layout

Finished Garment Measurements

Size	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)
6	28	46
8	29	47
10	31	48
12	33	49
14	35	51
16	36	53
18	37	55
20	39	57
22	41 1/2	59
24	43 1/2	61

Materials:

• Cotton Fleece or Jersey knit 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 yards (see recommendations below)
• Thread to match
• 2″ Elastic enough to go around your waist
• Nylon or cotton cord

Tools:

• Kam or eyelet tool 
• Two (2) grommets (eyelet + washer)
• Walking foot if you do not have an overlocker.
• Optional Stretch Twin Needle (use Schmetz)
• Bodkin or safety pin (Don't forget to read our recent article on Bodkins!)

Fabric Suggestions from Amazon:

Where are the instructions and pattern for the sweatpants?

To keep page load times fast, we divide long tutorials like this one into multiple pages.  You can find the page numbers below the sharing buttons at the bottom of this and subsequent pages.  Just click the next page to progress through the tutorial.