Legging's Winners

Sorry - I should have had this up earlier in the week, but life has a bad habit of getting in the way.  Thank you all for reading the comparative leggings review and for linking up your own legging creations - it is so fun to see what everyone has made for the little loves in their lives.

And the Winners are.... (chosen by random.org 'cause no one could pick from all the cuteness!)

One Pattern from Peek-a-boo Patterns

#5 Coles Corner and Creations Sally Leggings (how AWESOME for holloween)

One Pattern from Lily Giggle

#19 Baby Fish Designs Petal Pants and Ruffle Leggings comparison (love seeing the doll sizes too!)

One Pattern from Jocole

#32  Trisha of Night Owl with her Ruffle Leggings

Congratulations ladies, make sure you e-mail us with your contact information so that you can claim your prize!!! 

Comparative Review: Leggings

*I was provided with a complimentary copy of each pattern for the purpose of this review - I was in no other way compensated, and the thoughts held herein are completely my own.

Welcome to the first (in what I hope will be a LONG line) of Comparative Reviews.  We all know that there is nothing very little new under the sun in fashion.  Often we see similar lines or patterns coming out from a variety of designers, and sometimes we wonder why?  If I have one pattern, would I ever possibly want another similar one?  Well maybe you will, and maybe you wont; but I am here today to say that while these patterns may follow a similar trend, idea, or article of clothing - they are vastly different from one another!

Today we are looking at leggings - I picked leggings because a) they are easy to sew, b)they are a necessity in my daughter's wardrobe for fall/winter/spring, and c) getting the right legging for your child is IMPORTANT!  By looking at these patterns side by side you may be able to better gauge the perfect pattern to add to your collection!

Today we are looking at:

The Lollipop Leggings by Peek-a-boo Patterns (affiliate link)

The Petunia Petal Pants by LillyGiggle

The Ruffle Leggings by Jocole

*All three patterns were made in a straight size 2 with no alterations to fit

Click HERE to see the full sized Chart

I'm going to be honest - I love all three of these!  My daughter now has 6 pairs of leggings that she will be able to wear with different outfits all throughout fall and winter.  Lets take a closer look at the fit.

The Bum:

Now in general, no one wants a saggy bum!  But is is also important for children to not have wedgies or to have their bums hanging out. 

All three of these patterns have modesty covered, but my chunky monkey with a bubble butt  will most often wear her Lollipop leggings with a tunic top or dress.  They hug the body and have the least fullness in the bum - these will be perfect for those skinnie minnies out there who's leggings are always sagging or baggy.

The Petal Pants have a bit more rear coverage, so she could wear them with a swing top or tunic top.  They are still a fitted legging, but not as curve hugging as the Lollipop.

The Ruffled legging have the highest rise and the fullest bum - perfect for diapers, cloth diapers, and bubble booties the world around.  These fit more in the relaxed range when it comes to leggings (they still fit to the body, they just have a bit more wiggle room).  The higher rise ensure that your derriere will be fully covered and makes these leggings an easy match with T shirts or tops that hit at the hip.

The Additional Features:

Peek-a-boo has gone out of their way to make something for everyone with their added features.  I did one plain pair and one with ruffles, but I am thinking the plain pair may just need a button tab!  The skirt feature also makes this a more versatile pattern and one that is playground appropriate.  I love my girl in skirts... but hate having to find a diaper cover to match each one... the Lollipop Leggings give the option for a skort, sk-apris, or sk-ants (hmmm not sure those made up names work ;op).

The Petunia Petal Pants are all about the Petal - I mean that is what makes them so dang adorable, RIGHT!  The pattern comes with a long and short petal - which means that you can overlay them for the double petal or use just one.  I love how you can get completely different looks by using all one fabric or using contrasting fabric.  She also includes instructions for what you need to do to get the right look with no petals - so these can easily become a basic pair of leggings too.  And did you know that this will soon be available in women's sizes! *My hubs has dubbed these her 'Storm Trooper' pants... um, I guess that means he likes them ;o)

**My second pair are black with a single ruffle, and somehow they just missed the cue for getting photographed ;op

The Ruffle Leggings are obviously all about ruffles.  The ruffles are sewn into the side seam - which I love, just make sure you stitch them on straight so that they will match up.  You can do 0-3 ruffles because the leggings are hemmed separately from the ruffles.  Jodi even shows an optional neat trick using clear elastic... I didn't have any, but I plan on buying some for the next dozen pair I plan on making.  There is also a very cool tutorial here on the blog for doing EXTREME RUFFLES.  What girl wouldn't want extreme ruffles...so fun!

The Bottom Line:

You really can't go wrong with any of these.  So take a moment and think about your child, think about what you want the leggings to go with, and if all else fails close your eyes and blindly point at the screen; but no matter what - RUN and go get a legging pattern so you can get to sewing!!!!

Make sure to go LINK UP your leggings HERE for a chance to win a free pattern from one of these three designers.

Tutorial: Adding Extreme Ruffles to Your Leggings

Plain leggings are perfectly fine, but sometimes you just want ruffles and LOTS of them ... like EXTREME ruffles. 

If you don't have a leggings sewing pattern yet, you will LOVE the Ruffle Leggings pattern from Jocole  which covers sizes newborn through 14 and includes the dolly size.  The Ladies Basic Leggings covers sizes XS through XXXL.  They both include full length, capri length and short length and can be made with or without euro ruffles along the hem.

Back to the extreme ruffles ... this is a different variation and you are going to LOVE it.  These are super cute leggings that your sweetie won't ever want to take off. 

1)  First you'll need to measure the bottom of your leggings.  Mine were 4 inches

2)  Cut strips 4 times whatever your measurement was in step 1.  Example:  my measurement was 4 inches ... so my strips were 16" long.  I cut 2 that were 5 inches wide, 2 that were 4 inches wide and 2 that were 3 inches wide. ​

​3)  Sew each strip into a loop.  I used contrasting thread only so you would see it better in the pictures.

​4)  Layer each loop on top of the others.  I started with the widest and ended with the narrowest.  I also made the seam allowance on the widest strip sandwiched between the middle strip.  This is so when the ruffles are sewn onto the leggings the seam allowance won't be on the outside.

​5)  Stitch a line of basting stitches through all the layers, down the middle of the loops.

​6) Mark the loops into quarters, and your clear elastic.

I like the leave about 2" on both ends of the clear elastic, then you'll need to mark half of whatever your length from step 1 was (example mine was 4" ... so my marks were 0", 2", 4", 6" and 8")  I just use a regular ballpoint pen and draw directly on the clear elastic.

I tried including it in the picture but it was SOOOO hard to see.

​7) Gather ruffles with clear elastic and a zigzag stitch.  For full instructions please click here.

​8)  Using a zigzag stitch stitch the ruffles on the RIGHT side of the leggings hem (i did i about 1/2" above the edge).