Wednesday, October 05, 2016

BurdaStyle Little Girl Leggings

I was intrigued by the kids clothing in the August 2016 Burda Style magazine. I really wanted to make those jean leggings (Burda 8/16 #138) for my granddaughters. Seriously, I really had to want to make them because I put up with trying to find those very small pattern pieces on that pattern sheet! Truly I have gained a new respect for those of you who sew from those Burda pattern sheets. It's a jigsaw puzzle to find the pattern pieces you need and I HATE jigsaw puzzles!

photo credit: doctortdesigns


After rising above that hurdle, next came the scanty instructions. Now I know this has been discussed time and again but I'm grateful I have a little sewing knowledge. Since I NEVAH found instructions on how to make the waistband. I read those instructions a couple of times and nuthin! Seriously, nuthin! So I added 2" to the top of the front and back pattern pieces for a foldover waistline casing.
The girls wearing the trial/first pairs of the leggings

Pattern Alterations ~
Next I didn't add seam allowances. I couldn't decide if I needed them or not. After an initial fitting on Miss Lena and Miss Sammy, I learned several things:

1. This pattern is great as is for leggings but NOT jeans for Miss Lena.
2. However, it works as both for Miss Sammy who is a couple inches shorter than Lena.
3. I needed to make a bunch of adjustments for Lena once the elastic was added.
4. The pattern was lengthened another 2" at the top because the leggings hit under her belly button and she asked for them to be raised to cover it.



The length was an easy adjustment. Although I will need to add a little width for jeans - even if they are skinny jeans. Lena wouldn't be able to get them on without a little more width. So I added a 1/2" on the outer seam, making new patterns for the leggings. 

Construction Tidbits ~
To add the elastic to the leggings, I used the technique where I stitch the elastic to the waistband - stretching it to fit.  Then I folded it over and stitched it flat on top of the original stitching line. My first efforts were a little sloppy but make 10 pairs of leggings (5 for each girl) and you start to get very efficient with this technique.

For my first pair I constructed them totally on the serger but these are small pieces, especially for Sammy's, and I found I had more control if I stitched them first on the sewing machine. I used a 3/8" seam to stitch them. Then I serged the seam over the stitching line. Again repetition makes you more accurate and faster. Construction ended up being only an hour for the majority of the leggings after I figured out a construction order, and pre-cut the leggings and elastic.

Fabric Choices ~
I chose fabrics from the collection for the leggings - pontes (both solid and printed), a cotton knit and a ITY lycra. Since they are more legs than body, both pairs of leggings were able to be cut from 1 yard of fabric.

Here are a few pics of the girls wearing some of the leggings ~

These were made from a ponte fabric from Fabric Mart
The top is from Old Navy


Lena's black leggings are ponte from Metro Textiles
I made the tops both girls are wearing and they will be in upcoming posts.

The denim like ponte for both pairs of leggings is from Metro Textiles
Both Sammy and Lena are wearing Old Navy tops in these pics.


As I stated above I ended up making 5 pairs of leggings for each girl. Part of it was that once I started pulling fabrics, I couldn't believe how much of the collection would work for them. So I went for it because a lot of the clothing you see for little kids in RTW, doesn't necessarily use little kid's fabric anymore.

Speaking of that, I spent quality time on the following RTW sites to determine the types of outfits I wanted to make for the girls: Old Navy, Gap and Boden Kids. I was even inspired by some of the styles there and incorporated those looks into what I made for the girls. Of course there are quite a few patterns for leggings in the Big 4 children's pattern catalog so if you don't have access to Burda magazines, you can make your own from them. 

This is the first of the Back-to-School posts, there are a few more to come. I'm doing them as pattern reviews since I used several patterns to achieve the girl's wardrobe. However, if little kids clothing is not your thing, come back in a week or two when I will be showcasing my own me-made garments!

...as always more later!




29 comments:

  1. They are such beautiful little girls, Carolyn. I'm sure that they're not smiling and sweet all of the time (who is?) but they look thrilled with their new clothes. Lucky them and lucky you for being able to make a great wardrobe for them!

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  2. The girls are so stinkin cute!! And the clothes too:)

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  3. Just too gorgeous, the girls and the leggings! If only making pants for ourselves were as easy. :)

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  4. I am not into kids clothing at this point in my life, but LOVE seeing your sweeties (and they are growing so fast!) and what you have made for them. You are amazing to be able to sew that much for them.

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  5. Your models and their new leggings are just beautiful! How lucky are they to have you to sew such a great wardrobe for them! And I have to agree, I'm in awe with folks that can sew with Burda magazine patterns. My eyesight is not that good, even with glasses!

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  6. Your grandkids are just so GORGEOUS!! I love seeing pics of them. So cute!!

    And so lucky to be walking around in custom-made lol

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  7. Those babies are PRECIOUS!! Thank you for posting!

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  8. Your grand-daughters are very lucky girls to have you sewing for them. The clothes look great, your daughter too must be very grateful for saving her so much time shopping and money.

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  9. Swoon. Such adorable outfits and I love the fabric choices. They are looking like sophisticated little ones!

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  10. Gorgeous girls Caroline! And I made leggings for me a couple of years ago from that same ponte print from Fabric Mart! They were my favorite!

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  11. Smart to comb the websites. Guarantees that they are 'in' and the girls will be very happy to wear them. They are as always, adorable girls and getting so big!

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  12. You are so clever making the leggings and your waistband technique. The girls look lovely and the leggings are not tight and they look like how little girls should look. Think I'll make some leggings for my granddaughter who is 10.

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  13. So cute!! I have a friend who has a little girl and I've been collecting patterns. I was just looking at leggings and dresses/tunic tops. Great timing! Yours turned out so well, and they look like they love their new clothes.

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  14. My goodness, you make beautiful grand babies!

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    Replies
    1. Allyn - I honestly had nothing to do with that! Totally her parents who are pretty good looking people, if I may say so!

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  15. What blessed little girls they are to have a grandma to make all those pretties for them! They are adorable & I love everything you made. I have a new granddaughter & can't wait to make clothes for her!

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  16. Those granddaughters of yours are so cute; their smiles are wonderful! I need to make warm winter sleep sacks with sleeves for my new baby granddaughter; I think little girl sewing will be so much fun!

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  17. So cute, both the girls and your makes for them. Love seeing what you do for them, even though I only made a few things for my nieces about 100 years ago. Kids clothes can be so rewarding because they are unfussy to make (at least my versions), quick, use little fabric, and can be embellished in so many fun ways.

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  18. Beautiful granddaughters and lovely work!

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  19. Those leggings fit so nicely. I love that they are not skin tight and really have a more grown up skimming fit. Great job , Carolyn!

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    Replies
    1. Wait - that's not the way they are supposed to fit!?! That's the way the RTW ones fit my grandbabies so I just emulated that. I'm being serious here, people actually let their little girls wear TIGHT leggings? Why?

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  20. I really like the fit you achieved with the leggings! Your granddaughters are beautiful, and it is sweet that you really took the time to create such great clothing for them.

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  21. Thank you for sharing your jean legging projects.Children, whether they are your own or you’re a doting relative, are fun to sew for. Children’s sewing patterns are cute and whimsical, and you can include fun details, like animal-shaped buttons, that might look a little out of place on an adult garment. They require less fabric and can be faster to whip up (which leaves us more time and money for more sewing projects!).

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  22. Your grandkids are so cute and adorable! And the clothes you made them are really cute too. I need some little ones to sew for...

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  23. I love the girls' leggings, and their SMILES!!! What a wonderful grandmother you are, Carolyn. They look so happy, and they're as cute as can be. Great post!

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  24. They are so cute (both the girls and the leggings), kidswear is a great introduction to Burda though I sense you are not converted yet!!

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  25. They are too cute!!!! I hear you on the Burda patterns... I have a couple of kids' pattern magazines to sew for my nephew, and I hate tracing them so much that I've only made him one garment from them! They're a real drag, in my opinion!

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