Ommmmm Pants

According to Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns, yoga pants are the new jeans. When I look at what women on the street are wearing, I can almost believe it. But in my heart, jeans can never be replaced. For me, yoga pants are the new sweatpants.

At one time, sweatpants were da bomb! a unisex trend favoured by males and females of all ages. Like yoga pants, sweatpants were worn as exercise and street attire. At their trendiest prime, sweatpant suits, aka track suits, went practically everywhere. It fuelled a huge label war, launching athletic wear firmly into the mainstream.

The current sweatpant incarnation is anything but  unisexual. Yoga pants are thin, stretchy garments cut to flatter and shape the female derriere, unlike thick, shapeless sweatpants. Guys still wear sweatpants, but not too many girls. Yoga pants are decidedly sexy. Sweatpants aren't.

Like any trendy garment that flatters the female form, yoga pants have transcended their original purpose. They've gone beyond exercise wear. Beyond leisure wear. In the right fabric, they're considered dressy and refined enough for work. 

Because they're so sexy, many schools are banning girls from wearing them.

When you examine them, what are yoga pants? A low riding pant, with a 2" elastic waistband yoke, made of synthetic fabric. Raise the waistband and narrow it by an inch and what do you have - good ol' polyester pants like my grandmother used to favour. Mind you, Granny didn't wear hers skin tight, and no one ever admired her butt in them.

Amazing what a bit of styling and lycra can do for an old trend....

Anyhoo, I decided to make myself a pair or three. I bought some fabulous athletic fabric (said to be from Lululemon) and was eager to give it a go. I used Peggy Sager's 3-piece Yoga Pants pattern.

Very easy to sew. The hardest part is picking the size. Peggy suggests taking your hip measurement and going down 1 size for 1-way stretchy fabric and 2 sizes for all-way stretchy fabric (like Slinky). Those who want their pant to skim, not cling, use the size indicated by your hip measurement.

I fall into the latter category, so I cut a size 12. The basted pant bagged rather than skimmed, so took in all the seam allowances, including centre front and back, as per Peggy's suggestion. It's at least a 10 now, maybe an 8. I found a level of fit that while it isn't what my daughters would wear, it isn't what my Granny would wear either.  

The only alterations I did were to lop off 2.5" inches from the hem and raise the waist. Yes, raise the waist. I have stretch-marks and fluff, I don't want my abdomen hanging out.

Are you a fan of the yoga pants trend?


                     - Lady T