Valentina Top & Energize Leggings – A Hack
Hi sewing friends! If you don’t know me yet, my name is Tiffani. I have been sewing since I was in elementary school, but took up again about 3 years ago! The beautiful desert of Arizona is my home, and I love it here! I am married to my best friend and we have two adult sons, and are anxiously waiting to meet our first grandson in March 2021! Two of my passions are sewing and I have recently started yoga! I wanted a faux wrap shirt and some fun leggings, so this hack was born! We will be using the Valentina Wrap top & dress, and the Energize Leggings (I adore these! Best fitting leggings I have ever made!),
Let’s start with the top. Select your fabric and size. You may need to blend, and you won’t want to cut into your favorite custom fabric just yet. I always make a fit, and if I can wear it, then BONUS!! For this shirt you will need: Two fronts mirrored (maternity hack listed in pattern), two backs, a neckband, choice of sleeves, a 15 x 1.5 inch rectangle to make the tie. You will cut two mirrored pieces as stated in the pattern for the maternity hack. Instead of cutting the bottom edge curved, we are going to cut it straight across.
Don’t forget to mark your gather points. Then you need to measure from the longest edge of the bottom hem to your new cut line.
Now onto the back. For the back you are going to want to take out as much length as your measurement from the previous step. You can do this at the lengthen/shorten line or from the bottom (that is what I did). For the sleeves and neckband, you will cut as stated in pattern. Complete steps 1-5 as stated in the tutorial.
Create your tie by folding the 15 x 1.5 inch rectangle in half along the length. Sew up one side. Turn inside out. Press. I just knot my ends, but you may finish however you like! We are skipping Steps 6 and 7. Do all the gathering between your gather marks as stated in Step 8. Now lay your front and back pieces right sides together as shown in Step 9 of the tutorial. Don’t sew yet, decide which side you would prefer for your tie. Measure up one inch from the bottom edge of your shirt, fold your tie in half and sandwich that in between your layers, make sure your tie is laying against the front of the shirt.
Now continue with Step 9, ensuring that all layers of the shirt and tie are caught in the seam.
Finish the shirt by folding the bottom edge and the sleeve edges up 1 inch. Coverstitch or hem.
Energize Leggings Knot Cuff Hack.
Select your fabric and size. You may need to blend, and you won’t want to cut into your favorite custom fabric just yet. I always make a fit, and if I can wear it, then BONUS!!
You will need: 2 Mirrored pieces of the Simple Legging version, two cuffs, six 2 inch wide ties, 2 piece of 1/4 inch elastic cut at 3.5 inches.
Cut your leggings out 4 inches shorter than you normally would. For mine, I cut at the 24 inch line, because I would normally cut at the 28 inch line.
For the cuffs, you will fold your fabric from the cut line you would normally cut at and cut it to the cut line you just used, making a four inch cuff. Now cut this in half up the height. You will now have two cuffs that are 8 inches tall (4 when folded) and as wide as the narrowest part of your leggings. Cut your 2 inch strips to create the ties. You will want to make them as wide as your cuffs.
Complete the leggings tutorial through step 12. Fold your strips in half along the length and sew up the long side. Flip them out using your preferred method. No need to finish the edges, they will be sewn into the cuff later. Now tie a knot in the center of each tie.
Now place your ties to the inside of your cuff. I marked my half (where my fold will be) then I measured and placed the ties an equal distance separation.
Pin or clip your ties in place on both sides of your cuff. Fold the cuff in half.
Make sure your ties are sandwiched between the cuff. Sew up the two sides of the cuff, then turn the cuff right sides out. At the bottom of the leggings, quarter the leg opening. Fold the cuff in half and mark with a pin. Place the half point at the seam of the leggings, right sides together matching up the raw edges. You will stretch the sides of the cuff to the quarter marks you made. Sew or serge in place. Optional, fold the raw edge up 1/2 inch and coverstitch or hem (this is optional because the knit wont ravel or fray).
Fold the leg in half and mark the point (there should be no cuff at this place). Measure up 7 inches and mark. Now you will need a piece of 1/4 inch elastic cut to 3.5 inches. Keeping the leg folded, place the elastic right at the edge of the legging, if serging, TURN OFF THE KNIFE!, Stretch the elastic to go from the bottom edge to the 7 inch mark.
You are all done! Enjoy your unique and fun leggings!
xoxo, Tiffani Laye
