Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
legs
low water immersion dyed wool leggings
note: I’ve added some more plum wrapped necklace/scarves to the HANDCRAFT shop.
Along with the failed armwarmers, I had planned on making wool leggings for the HANDCRAFT collection. I had these mottled legwarmers last year, which were made out of a mid-weight wool jersey. I made a pair for myself, and wear them all the time. This year I found some lighter weight jersey and wanted to make actual leggings, or tights without feet.
Low water dyeing, the process I use to get a mottled effect, is different and much trickier with wool. The process is fast; about 30 minutes as opposed to several hours for cotton. I dyed up a batch of the light wool jersey and was quite pleased with the result. I was also happy with my simple pattern for the leggings, with one seam per leg.
But then came the waistband. I didn’t want to make a casing and insert the elastic because it just seemed too bulky. What I wanted was an exposed wide elastic waistband like on store purchased tights. Sort of like lingerie elastic, but much wider. I talked to several manufacturers of elastic but they all seemed confused as to what I was talking about. I found something that seemed like it would work except that it was 4″ wide. Not sure what you would use that for….
Hence, the wool leggings didn’t make it into the collection either. I could easily have made a casing at the top and called it a day. But it wasn’t what I wanted so I let it go. I will keep looking for this elusive product and in the meantime probably put a casing in these and wear them myself.
Here are a few links to some do it yourself legwear, along with a couple splurge worthy pieces worth mentioning:
DIY tie dye tights
DIY gradient dip dye tights (I think I’ve linked to this before)
DIY shredded tights (so awesome -wish I could pull this off)
DIY embellished Doo.Ri stockings (these would be perfect for a fancy holiday party)
DIY Rodarte cut out leggings (l o v e -best w/ tights underneath I think)
The ultimate basic: Smartwool tights
Shabd Crystaline leggings (not wool, but stunning).
Hansel from Basel Gargantuan Cable tights.
Isobel & Cleo handknit grape leggings (these are sort of strange…but intriguing)
on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 12:36 pm:
i am loving all your limb-warmer suggestions… those are some of my favorite accessories! your leg- and arm-warmers are so beautiful and functional; the gray pleated ones from a couple winters ago are my constant companions
i also admire your commitment to making these leggings exactly as you want them to be! hope the elastic turns up!
xo
on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am:
hi martha,
i love your leggings more than the ones that i saw in your links, you’re too hard on yourself i love them!!!
also on not wearing tights under the diamonds ones the purpose for us under a cold climate of leggings is being able to pull off a dress or a skirt without freezing: leggings for warmth! instead of pants with a top.
i have a suggestion that i tried when little: the top bobbin is threaded with thread and the back one with elastic thread. you stitch about 5 to 10 of those lines and you pull. they should be non bulky and do work.
best of luck *smiles*
on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 10:21 am:
how much would you sell those you have and don’t like?
on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 10:55 am:
I love your decision to just put them away for a while. I’m finally learning to do this when I’m stuck on a project, and usually when you pull it back out of the drawer the problems suddenly seem easier to solve. Just backing away for a while can change your priorities. Although I still hope you find the perfect elastic. Thanks for sharing your stories of process.
on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am:
oh, your leggings are gorgeous! i make leggings too, and i finish the waistband by zigzagging on a band (already sewn into a loop) of 1/2″ elastic, so the top of elastic is flush with the top of the leggings, then i turn it down one time and stitch again with a wide 3-step zig-zag. does that make sense? it’s very flat and thin and just enough to keep them up!
on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm:
Martha, I love those leggings. I am so into painterly atmospheric dyeing results. Beautiful. About the waistband; I have two suggestion, in case you have not thought about these: 1. Fold-over elastic trim. 2. “Pro-Stretch Elastic” from Fashion Sewing Supply. This is very nice stuff and I think it could work nicely for leggings. It’s very soft and stretchy, easy to work with and well-priced. You can find it here