February 26, 2018

Activewear Sewalong: Belmont Pants Day 3


Today, we’re finish up our Belmont Pants by assembling and attaching the waistbands and by hemming the legs.

Let’s begin with the leggings. Pin the two waistband pieces together along one long edge, right sides together and matching notches.

Sew along the long edge and press the seam allowance to one side. Pin the short edges of the assembled waistbands together, right sides together and lining up the middle seam.

Sew and press the seam to one side. Turn the waistband right side out and press along the long seam.

Pin the waistband to the leggings, right sides together, aligning the raw edges and matching the notches with the crotch seams and side seams. Leave approximately a 2” gap at the center back.

Stretch a piece of 1” (2.5 cm) elastic several times and place it around your waist to see how much tightness is comfortable to you. Generally speaking, cut it about 2” (5 cm) shorter than your waist measurement. Feed the elastic through the waistband using a bodkin or a safety pin.

Overlap the two ends of the elastic by 1/2” (12 mm) and sew together on a sewing machine. I usually sew a square to reinforce the overlap. Finish sewing the remaining waistband to the leggings, and press the seam allowance down towards the leggings.

Now for the yoga pants waistband. Start by pinning the two back waistbands together along the upper edge (the shorter of the two long edges), right sides together. Do the same with the two front waistbands.

Sew these two sets of waistbands together and press open. Press the seam allowance to one side. Pin the front and back assembled waistbands together at the two short edges.

Sew the two short edges and press the seam allowance towards the back. Fold the assembled waistband wrong sides together with the sewn long edge along the top and press. Pin the assembled waistband to the yoga pants, right sides together, aligning the raw edges and matching side seams. The notches should align with the center back of the yoga pants.

Press the seam allowance down towards the yoga pants and the waistband up away from the legs.

One more step for both views! Now it’s time to hem the legs. Turn the edge of one leg to the wrong side by 1” (2.5 cm) and press. Topstitch from the right side of the leg using a zigzag stitch, twin needle, or a coverstitch machine. Repeat with the other leg.

Give your Belmont Pants a final press and you’re done! We hope you love your new activewear!

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2 thoughts on “Activewear Sewalong: Belmont Pants Day 3

  1. Wallis Bolz says:

    From the instructions above for the construction of waistband for leggings:

    “Pin the waistband to the leggings, right sides together, aligning the raw edges and matching the notches with the crotch seams and side seams. Leave approximately a 2” gap at the center back.

    “Overlap the two ends of the elastic by 1/2” (12 mm) and sew together on a sewing machine. I usually sew a square to reinforce the overlap. Finish sewing the remaining waistband to the leggings, and press the seam allowance down towards the leggings.”

    Is there a step missing here? Is it the step where you sew the waistband to the body of the garment?

    Thank you.

    1. Ayelet says:

      Hi Wallis, there’s a step in between those two steps: “Stretch a piece of 1” (2.5 cm) elastic several times and place it around your waist to see how much tightness is comfortable to you. Generally speaking, cut it about 2” (5 cm) shorter than your waist measurement. Feed the elastic through the waistband using a bodkin or a safety pin.”

      -Ayelet at Cashmerette

Let me know what you think!