I made tights?!!

Yes, you read that right. I have sewn a pair of tights. Those awesome star print things on my legs. GO ME!!

This is another item I have made in collaboration with Funkifabrics. I immediately knew I wanted to sew a skirt with the macaron fabric but was a bit unsure what to do with this turquoise star print I also requested. Leggings seemed simple and logical, but to be honest I don't wear leggings all that often as my feet get cold. I can't do that trendy leggings-and-bare-feet-in-pumps look. Then I stumbled across the Rosehip tights pattern...

Now if you told me earlier this year that I would be making a pair of tights I would have laughed in your face. It's a bit of a mental concept, but utterly brilliant. All those years of feeling dissatisfied with the lack of colour and pattern variety of high street tights, well, NOW I CAN MAKE MY OWN CRAZY TIGHTS!

Look at all those cool seam lines! I love how these were constructed. So damn clever!

This was also my first time purchasing and assembling a pdf download pattern and I have to say it was pretty straight forward so I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Mari, the pattern creator, was also fantastic at responding to me when I was a bit of a dunce and asked for help regarding pattern adjustments. Great personal service!

My only minor negative remark about the pdf is that I noticed some of the pattern lines on the larger sizes didn't line up very well when I was sticking my sheets together, but then again my printer could be at fault as it enjoys gobbling paper in squint if I don't watch it like a hawk.

Let's get down to sewing details then:

I am delighted with the overall fit of these for a first tights making attempt. The length is spot on (no hoicking up required!) and I'm really pleased that the white background the fabric's design is printed on doesn't show through when stretched. The fabric's stretch recovery was great as it didn't appear to distort anywhere after prewashing which made cutting out pretty straight forward and it wasn't too "shifty" to sew either. Sewing in the gusset was a bit fiddly, as was the join at the top of the foot, but all perfectly do-able if you sew slowly and carefully.

I'm aware that £18 per metre may seem a bit steep, but if it's good quality fabric, which this is, I have no qualms about spending that to produce something fun and unique. Plus, I only needed one metre to produce these. For those not in the know, Funkifabrics is a British company specialising in stretch fabrics. They have an in-house design team and digitally print their fabrics on demand within the UK. I thought it was cool having the date and time of my order printed along the fabric's selvedge.

Yes, Funkifabrics are more geared towards sports/dancewear, after all they specialise in spandex/lycra rather than general apparel fabrics, but that doesn't mean a homesewer such as myself can't benefit from their vast array of fun, stretchy fabrics.

So...... who thinks I need to have octopus print legs next? :D