Are you guys getting sick of me talking about my serger yet? It is really exciting to take my sewing to the next level and feel able to create quality garments with ease. I knew when I got my Juki I would want to try making something using only the serger, so I grabbed some stretch material at my local fabric store to make a pair of yoga pants. These are so easy to make, follow my instructions below to make your own (or check out the Avery Leggings pattern for an even easier DIY)!
If you are somebody who feels that yoga pants are not acceptable as everyday pants, never come to Vancouver. You will be confronted with skin tight fabrics stretched across bums of all shapes and sizes everywhere you go. Generally, people in Vancouver are quite fit. Many people do spend all their free time running, biking, hiking, and skiing – sometimes all in one day! Because of this, it is acceptable to wear your workout gear anywhere and everywhere, which I personally do not have a problem with. In fact, I don’t care what people wear, period. Suit yourself!
My exercise activities of choice are biking and yoga. For both, I like a stretchy pant that is very high waisted so there is no chance of them falling down. It can be hard to find leggings with such a sky-high waistband, especially since I have quite a long torso to begin with. It is nice to be able to make my own and control the details. I put a band on the top of these pants so they can be worn at full height, or folded over at the top – hello teenage belly button piercing! I am not ashamed (ok maybe a little…).
To make these beauties, I traced a pair of American Apparel leggings that I wear all the time. I placed one leg inside of the other to make it easier to trace around the shape. Once traced, I cut two legs using my rotary cutter and cutting mat. I picked up these large metal washers at my hardware store to use as pattern weights and I absolutely love them, they work perfectly!
See the infographic below for instructions on how to serge these yoga pants together. I was able to make these in under an hour, tracing and cutting time included! I used 1.1 meters of 150″ wide fabric that cost $6 a meter. So these yoga pants cost me less than 10 bucks! Can you believe it? They look just like Lululemon if I do say so myself.
If you want to skip the tracing (and the math!), I’ve done all the hard work for you and created the Avery Leggings sewing pattern. These even feature a crotch gusset, so you can hit all those yoga poses without worrying about a popped seam! Check them out here.
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18 Comments on “DIY Yoga Pants”
Great yoga pants and damn they fit so well! Amazing job!
Thank you, Andie!
I would definitively love Vancouver – yoga pants everywhere, wow! They’re part of my everyday uniform (I’m a freelancer, so I can wear what I want). I’ve sewn some pairs for myself and found that if I only serge the seams, these are barely resistant enough for yoga. I had no bad experience like opening seams (yet!), but better safe than sorry, I now reinforce every seam with a short zigzag stitch.
That is a really smart idea. I have done some yoga in them without any snapping stitches (yet), but I agree it is always better safe than sorry and a zig zag takes hardly any time 🙂
They look awesome! And that tutorial graphic is truly a thing of beauty!
Thank you, Gillian! I spent way too long on it, haha, but it was really fun!
I’ve been thinking of upgrading my serger to a Juki. I sew on a Juki at work a deal love it…. are those large washer weighing your patter down? I use washers, or some curtain weights. A day a few actual pattern weights that I inherited from my husband’s grandmother
Hi Kimberly! I love my Juki so far, I am going to post a review soon, but want to make sure I am quite familiar with it first. So far I would say it is fantastic, I love how fast and quiet it is!
I find washers make excellent pattern weights, but having some real vintage ones would be so cool!
Totes jelly – I’ve had a pair of Long Johns on the list since before they made sense for the weather, maybe with these instructions I can finally tackle them…
Would you deviate at all from this trace and sew technique if you were making men’s leggings? I can’t see a reason to, but you know so much more stuff than me!
As long as the pants you are tracing fit you well, and you are going to re-make them with a similar material, you can use this technique. One thing you may need is a slightly stretcher fabric for the waistband, so they stay up nice and snug 🙂 I believe long johns also have cuffs usually, no? You can use the same technique for cuffs as you would for the waistband.
Awesome graphic, Helen!
I love your graphics! Well done!
Awesome! I love the waistband!
Hahaha, I love your description of Vancouver! I live in Austin, Texas, and it’s the same way. So many people are like YOGA PANTS ARE NOT PANTS, but I agree with you–if I’m already wearing comfy clothes, it enables me to do whatever I want–go for a long walk, go skating, play tennis, etc.
Anyway, these look really great on you and I love the print. And I don’t know if this is weird to say, but your legs and booty inspire me! You look so fit. 🙂
Woot! This helps with future costuming for me. One small question: any tips for making them flared/bootcut?
Thanks, Brenna! If you have a pair of flared yoga pants, you can start by tracing those. If not, experiment with drafting the shape you want and seeing how it fits! It is always easier to take away fabric than add it, so start large.
Would it be possible to add a pocket on one side big enough for a cell phone?
Yes! We have a post about how to do that here: https://helensclosetpatterns.com/2020/01/17/avery-leggings-with-pockets/