Bushwalk Australia

I made these leggings as a test a year ago for Moondog and had to alter the waistline as it was too high, but they were put on the "mending" pile and didn't get finished. He wanted them capri length because that's where his ski boots finish, and he didn't want any bulk around the ankles.

If I get time before he heads up to Pretty Valley, I'll be making the new improved model (with bagged knees) in power stretch.

Nice work, very swish.

is he seriously prepared to be seen like that??!! I thought he was in to "stealth camping"...

Reminds me of the fancy pants we used to use ski touring!

Besides the above, it's v nice of you to sew him some "trou".

A

Just throw some smashed blueberries around the snow and he won't be noticed!

I believe you are all jealous

If anybody here has sewn their own and added a gusset to increase strength and freedom of movement how far down the leg have you taken it?
We are about to start on the Powerstretch pairs

Harder than we thought as we have not been able to find a proper pattern with a gusset and the result so far is very baggy and very loose in the leg compared to the test pair. This is even with both fabrics having similar stretch properties.
Also I am having a lot of trouble with the bagged double knees as the triple layer of fabric won't feed through Ceciles new overlocker

I like the wool crocs on the floor.

walkerchris77 wrote:I like the wool crocs on the floor.

My winter tent slippers

I can sew woollens and worsteds, I can sew linen and cotton and canvas; with patience and a slow hand I can even sew silnylon and Argon
BUT
I cannot seem to able to sew Malden Mills Powerstretch
The Boss has been doing most of the work on my skiing tights and she is also having a lot of trouble.
I get really cold knees so I wanted a double layer of fabric and I also wanted the knees loosely bagged so there would be no constriction and less wear.
It seems that no matter how many pins were used every seam has come out less that perfect
I suppose it doesn't help that the overlocker is brand new and Cecile hasn't yet learned to drive it properly
I also wanted an inset crutch gusset so I wasn't prone the the dreaded ripped seam when really laying the skis down and because we could not find a decent pattern that was done by eye and guess work
Are there tricks and techniques used with Powerstretch we haven't found on line??
I/We couldn't even find information on which way to lay the stretch
Cecile insisted that the major stretch axis should be across the pattern lay and I insisted it should run down the length; which is correct??

Well, they are finished. He deems them "perfect" and once finished he refused to take them off.

Sewing the fabric was a nightmare for a couple of reasons. The main stretch of fabric is usually meant to be around the body, and fabrics are generally knitted with the major stretch across the fabric width. This powerstretch seems to be down the length, but it's difficult to tell. As Ted mentioned, I am still learning to use the overlocker, and the presser foot pressure needs to be fiddled with some so it doesn't splay the layers out as it sews. The cutting knife doesn't rise high enough for the thickness, and the strip trimmed from the edge is catching in the stitching.

Notwithstanding the technical stuff, I learned a lot from this exercise and would probably attempt it again. I do take a lot of pride in my work, and from a visual point of view these are hideous, and I'm embarrassed at the sewing technique.

They look good, are delightfully bright and are almost certainly fit for purpose, so I think you should be very happy with them. The bagged knees are fabulous.


I am by no means a very good seamstress, but I understand the frustration of looking at your own work and spotting the techincal flaws, particularly if it's not up to what you feel is your usual standard. Of course, you will see more flaws than anyone else will ever be possibly able to see, let alone care about. I hope you can feel proud of them!

There is a huge problem with them in that they were made to fit my overweight summer body and now that i've lost about 100mm around the tummy they keep falling down
They are warm and the knees work very well but the nylon fabric used as the secondary layer soaks up water like a sponge and stays damp

Moondog55 wrote:nylon fabric used as the secondary layer soaks up water like a sponge and stays damp

I had a bad feeling about that stuff. Not sure what would have worked better.

I was right about the cuffs needing to be something like lycra. And when wet, they drip continually from the hem.

I cut them off, and replaced with something else and they work much better. No photo, because he's gone back to the mountain.