Greenstyle Strides, and a Leggings Showdown!

I finally made the last athletic leggings pattern in the Greenstyle lineup: the Stride Tights! I hacked these last year to match a pair from Nordstrom (blogger confession: I still haven’t hemmed them and just keep wearing them tucked under at the bottom! Find them on the blog here), but that hack was pretty extensive, and while I meant to return and sew the pattern as drafted, I just kept getting distracted!

In response to multiple requests to compare the three Greenstyle leggings patterns, I finally decided to revisit the Strides, and I’m so glad I did!

Honestly, one of the reasons I didn’t come back to them before was the cross cuff- as much as I loved it, I was nervous about sewing it and adjusting for my height. The cross cuff is designed to hit at the mid calf (the widest part), so I had to get the length adjustment just right in order to produce a good fit in the calf area.

Fortunately, I’ve gotten a bit more confident in making adjustments for my body lately (though I still have SO much to learn), so I did a little flat pattern measuring, and decided to remove 2.5″ from the length in two places before cutting them out.

I used some beautiful floral patterned swim fabric from Vinegar and Honey (which is no longer selling fabrics, sadly), along with a heathered grey athletic knit from So Sew English, and fold over elastic from my stash. I spent WAY too much time trying to decide what color of FOE to use (do the little details ever take you forever to decide?), but I finally settled on black, and I’m glad I did- it’s classic, and tones down the loud floral a bit.

I went with the high rise waistband, and borrowed the triangle gusset from the Inspire tights pattern (pair #5 blogged here, most recently), as I find these easiest and most comfortable. The construction of the cross cuff was innovative and well explained, and it was really fun to turn them right side out and see the result!

Unfortunately, since all my focus was on adjusting for length, I forgot my standard crotch shortening adjustment (I discussed that on the blog here), so they ended up a bit long there, but other than that, I love them, especially that seam that curves up over the bum and flatters my ass-ets!

Now that I’ve made all three Greenstyle athletic patterns, I’m ready to declare a favorite…..

 

DRUM ROLLL>>>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Inspires! These don’t get much attention next to the flashier Strides or imminently flexible Super G’s, but the Inspires still have my heart for their basic style, triangle gusset, and perfect fit.

Don’t get me wrong, both pairs of Strides and numerous pairs of Super G’s all get worn weekly, but the Inspires are what I tend to pull most, and I have some fun plans for a few pairs for fall, so make sure you’re signed up to the blog so you don’t miss ’em!

If you want a more comprehensive leggings comparison, I’ll have a full post up on the Greenstyle blog tomorrow, so we can dive into the details!

I’d also love to hear from you- would you like to see a SewAlong for the Inspires? I did one this year for the Super G’s, and So Sew English did one for the Strides, but I’m wondering if those skills all translate just fine to the Inspires, or if a more focused look at them would be appreciated. Please drop me a comment below and let me know!

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5 Comments

  1. Alex on August 14, 2018 at 7:46 am

    Always up for a good sew along! so hard to decide a favorite!

  2. Anne B. on August 20, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    I welcome another one of your sew alongs! I really enjoyed the one you lead for the super G tights. Mine came out great! I even did the reverse topstitching on my coverstitch machine…Fabulous!

    • Sarah on September 2, 2018 at 8:45 pm

      hooray! That reverse CS really adds a nice finish doesn’t it! Looking forward to the next one myself!

  3. Stephanie on January 28, 2019 at 9:30 pm

    Thank you for sharing your projects. I just made some stride pants and used the stretch stitch but they’re not stretchy enough. Do you find your stitch works well? I think I might stitch a serger like stitch on the outside on the seams. Have you had experience with that?

    • Sarah on January 30, 2019 at 11:13 am

      I like the lightening bolt stitch on my machine, but I usually just use a serger. I haven’t tried that, but it sounds promising!

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