As a pattern maker, I always end up making my patterns many, many times during the development phase. And usually end up with an excess of supplies for those particular patterns. When I was developing the Ali Sweatshirt, I was constantly on the lookout for sweatshirt fabric and grabbed a few yards whenever I found it. I found this classic grey sweatshirt fabric on a visit to The Fabric Store’s LA location (now sadly closed). It has a nice amount of stretch and is a nice lightweight that is perfect for the warm climate of Southern California. I first used this fabric to make a sample of the Ali Sweatshirt which I wear all the time. But I had a good amount leftover so in January I decided to make a matching pair of Hudson Pants. And voila! A fully me-made sweatsuit. (Side note, there’s something about January that always makes me want to sew cozy things like pajamas and sweat pants.)
The Hudson Pants pattern by True Bias has been a total TNT (tried-n-true) pattern for me over the years. I’ve made it in both knit and woven fabric and wear them all the time. This grey pair though. It could very well be my favorite. The length is perfect and when I wear it with the sweatshirt, I kind of feel like I’m on a movie sports team in the 80s. All that’s missing is a sweatband and a leotard. ;)
Sewing myself loungewear really may be my favorite way to perform self-care. First off, I get to sew something. And then, I get to lounge about in my me-made, not-too-short, definitely not-too-tight garments and just live my life in the height of comfort. Also, very importantly for me, and alluded to in the not-too-short qualifier, as a tall gal, my ankles won’t be cold. I was recently wearing a pair of store bought leggings and goodness me, my ankles were freezing!!
One of the keys to loungewear is stretchy, soft knit fabric. If you have not started sewing with knit fabrics, I highly recommend giving it a try. I recently started a YouTube channel with videos of tips and tutorials and I’m currently focusing on sewing with knit fabric. You can head straight to YouTube to check out the videos or click the individual links below to go to the blog posts with embedded videos. And if you’re looking to make yourself a full DIY sweatsuit, make sure to check out my Ali Sweatshirt pattern and the True Bias Hudson Pants pattern. Happy sewing friends!
