I won’t lie and say this sporty skort is for exercising. It is so I can be comfy sitting in the hot sun. I might try to go for walks before games, since we usually need to arrive an hour before game time. That would be a good use of my time, actually.
I always have good intentions of taking a walk while my kid is warming up for his/her ballgames, and this summer it is something I really need to do. We usually have to get there an hour early, and there I sit when I need to exercise a bit. My pants really don’t fit me well at all right now. Wine, I tell ya.
In order for me to be comfortable in doing both sitting at the bleachers and taking a walk, I have devised this skort from a RTW inspiration at Lululemon. It is a running skort that is way shorter than I like and is also pleated in the back.
My version has more of a circle skirt thing going on in the back and is longer. I added some pockets underneath for a phone and keys. This is what the pattern pieces roughly look like (roughly since I can’t draw very well in Photoshop).
I drafted this in an evening and was able to sew up the first one right away. It needed some modifications, so I made those. It is an easy sew. You could easily hack this from a pair of leggings that fits. Then you just need to measure the waistline to get the waist length and go from there. For the front piece I didn’t make it all the way across and drafted it so the back skirt came into the front by about 2-3″.
The waist piece is around 4″ long, and does double duty as kind of a tummy suck-it-in. The doubled up fabric helps with that.
The pocket cuts from the middle of the leggings are 4″ wide. The pocket is 7″ long, which allows for a 1.5″ hem. Inside the hem I added clear elastic, so the fabric doesn’t stretch out and it holds the shape.
And look! Jalie is released one that is really close to mine! They do a great job on their patterns and have a wide range of sizing, so I would recommend them if you are wanting something like mine. They only have pockets on one side, though, and really, the more pockets the better. I bet you could hack the pattern to do the same on the opposite side.
Here is version #1. This was made with a black ponte with good stretch and athletic mesh. The mesh is on the skirt, and with only one layer…a little bit see through. It should be nice and cool, though.
Version #2 made with a Nike athletic poly and athletic mesh. It is kind of a grey-blue color. This one I added another layer in the back.
Version #3. This is my fabric design from Spoonflower in their Performance Piqué. This is a lightweight poly. The leggings and top piece are made from a ponte.
Version #4. This is cotton lycra made with fabric I had printed for me. The leggings are made from a black cotton lycra.
This will see lots of wear this summer. They are comfy and fun, and I love how they turned out.
I will try to get the post up on the tops tomorrow.
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