Workout Pants/McCalls M6173 Review

So for the past 4 months I have been working out every day. And I mean every single day. I have only missed a handful of days and that was either due to my not feeling well (like worst period day nausea) or if I was going to see mom because I left the house so early. In that time, I have bought 2 sports bras, the most recent one was a couple of weeks ago. Honestly its too tight, but it was $3 on clearance at Walmart and I am a sucker for clearance. And its really only the bottom band that is too tight and not by much, so I was thinking of performing bra surgery and cutting it right in the back and adding a bra hook closure to give it some room. Dunno on that yet. As of now it is for my cardio days because it really has a good hold. The other bra is for my weight lifting days because its a light hold and I'm not bouncing all around or anything on non-cardio days.

Anyways, I only have one pair of 'work-out pants' which are really just a pair of polka dot leggings from Victoria's Secret that I bought a few years ago. They were regular length, but I knew I wanted to use them for yoga so I cut them right below the knee and made them into capri leggings. And I have been using the same pair for all my working out, which means they get washed pretty often and are getting a little worn out. So I knew I wanted to make more one day and I bought this pattern for leggings a couple of years ago, thinking that I would eventually get to a point where I wanted to make some.


Cute, huh?

I had been eyeing this athletic brushed poly fabric from Surge Fabric Shop because not only does it wick moisture away from the body, but its also anti-microbial and has a UV protection of 30+. I got the Titanium in the lighter 125GSM and man, this stuff is like butter! Its so freakin soft and light and was a breeze to sew with. I am thinking about getting more in the heavier 265GSM some day, but its a little expensive. However, with the 1 yard I got, I made a pair of workout leggings and 2 pairs of undies! So its really a good deal for the quality of fabric and I can make so much! I might get some more of the lighter stuff in the pretty colors and just make t-shirts for the summer since it has the UV protection built in. Anywho, lets get to the actual legging review:

So my dumb ass bought a pattern without fully looking at it to check if it was even in my size. Now, this was a few years ago and I'm 99% sure it was from a large Hancock pattern haul when they did their $.99 sale, so sometimes I would be kind of in a trance by the time I got there. I used to go on the big 4's websites and find patterns I liked and write them down and then go searching for them when I got to Hancocks. My eyes would glaze over and I would drool as I rifled through those huge metal filings cabinets. It was not a pretty sight. So I may have noticed it said LG-XLG and didn't care or it may have been before I got out of the 'I'm a letter size' mentality. I'll admit, I have a sizable behind and my thighs aren't tiny by any means and that is just fine with me. So I can see my younger self looking at this pattern and thinking 'a large... thats me!' without even checking the hip or waist measurements that are on the envelope. Needless to say, they were ridiculously too big. I took them in 4 times. 4... 4 times I sat my unhappy ass down at the serger and re-surged the seams to try to take them in. Eventually it got to where they fit, but good god I could have saved so much time and fabric had I gotten the correct pattern in the first place. Stupid ass.

Anywho, they fit. haha.


I used a double needle to finish the leg holes and I also used it to under stitch the waist band.




The insides. I love the way the surging looks. I know its hard to see, but it just looks so professional and I can't believe I have been sewing this long without one. It has been one of the best purchases I have ever made because I use it so much.

So this pattern consisted of one piece for the legging version. You cut it twice and there you have the legs. But instead of seams on the inside and outside of the legs, this pattern is made to have only one seam on the inside, making for a nice smooth silhouette on the outside of the leg. Then you sew them both together at the crotch (oh how I hate that word) and there you go! You are supposed to just fold over the top to make a waist band of sorts, but I wanted an actual waist band that was pretty flat for yoga or any working out that requires you to lay on the ground. The flatter the waist band, the better. For this, I used a waist band I have used before from McCalls M6570.



I cut it out and added it to the leggings after I cut off about 4 inches from the legging's waist part because I was adding a new waist and not using their fold over method. It lays flat and gives them a nice look. I used a poly knit from the Designer Ends section (kind of like a clearance area) of Surge Fabric Shop's site for the waist because I had used it to make some panties and I like it a lot, but its not as soft as a jersey knit, so I still had some left over. It has the stretch but feels more like workout wear. I would like to go back and find a smaller version of this pattern and it also got me looking at other legging patterns, specifically workout ones. I had no idea there were so many!

So overall I am very happy with how they turned out! It took a few, but they fit really well and are so soft. I may end up using them for hanging out around the house when it eventually gets warmer. They would not work now because its too freakin cold and I need my thicker sweat pants. Keeping it classy. haha.