It’s amazing how stretch can really effect the way a garment fits. I managed to ‘solve’ my hot pant dilemma by using a fabric that had 4-way stretch (which was recommended by the pattern envelope if I would have checked first!). Not only does it fit, but is super comfy. The down side? It’s beigenude. I didn’t have anything on hand that was remotely similar to the main fabrics I had chosen and I didn’t have anything black in a 4-way, so I went with something ‘fleshy’. Now that it’s all put together, I’m not sure if that was a good choice or not – when I bend over, you can see the hot pant underneath so I’m pretty sure people will be wondering if I’m even wearing underwear!

The fit is a bit snug – I’m thinking that it’s because the fabric doesn’t have as much stretch as the previous wicking material that I worked with, but overall, I’m pleased with how this turned out – and I love the pocket details on the side of the skirt!

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news: I started my skort. You can see from the picture that the front and side panels are attached and the ‘hot pants’ are ready to be attached.

The bad side: The hot pants give my thighs muffin tops. Shortly after I snapped this photo I decided to give them a test fit – I had decided to use elastic around the legs and had a lot of difficulty even pulling them up to mid thigh… so I cut a second pair, this time skipping the elastic and just hemming the legs instead. The fit was better, but still way too tight. Since there isn’t a quick and easy solution to the hot pants (i.e. eliminating the elastic), it looks like I’m back to the drawing board.

Edit: As I sat drinking my morning coffee and mulling over my hot pants dilemma, something occurred to me…. my fabric doesn’t have 4 way stretch. I ran down to my sewing room and sure enough, the pattern recommends a 4-way! Unfortunately, this means my hot pant will not be the same color(s) as the main pieces, but on the bright side, I know it will fit (or at least I hope so). The moral of the story? Always read your fabric recommendations before you start sewing (and if you run into trouble, mull over your problem with a great cup of joe)!

I wasn’t kidding when I said that I was going to work on a skort next – I even have the traced out pattern to prove it! I may not work out a lot, but I really do love their cute and comfortable clothes (plus I’m thinking that Taylor may want to wear this when she golfs this summer)… plus I’ve had this pattern in my stash since last year so it’s high time I give it a whirl. I’ve decided to go with a low-waisted, hot pants design in a graysteel gray wicking material that reminds me a lot of the model on the pattern cover. The rest of the details of this project are listed below:

Project Details:

Pattern: Jalie 2796

Fabric:
Light Gray wicking fabric from Needle Nook Fabrics

Steel Gray wicking fabric from Needle Nook Fabrics

Materials & Cost:
Pattern……..$14.99
Fabric………$14.25
Notions……..$3.20
Total……….$32.44