These joggers are the companion bottoms to the Stella Hoodie that I made earlier in the year. Both patterns are found in the Tilly and the Buttons book 'Stretch! Make yourself comfortable sewing with knit fabrics'. The hoodie is certainly comfortable so it seemed only right that I made the joggers too. Both patterns are incredibly easy to make and very well written so they are definitely something that beginners can tackle and end up with a good result. I'm pretty much living in these joggers right now!
Fabric
I bought my fabric at the Guthrie and Ghani stall at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. This jersey is one that they always carry and features often in kits. It's £14.50 a metre and comes in a variety of colours. It's a sweatshirting fabric so has a lovely fleecy back to it and this 'cosy colours' range has flecks of other colours running through the fabric, giving a subtle layer of interest. The fabric itself was great to work with - everything stayed in place as I was sewing it and this made the whole project quite speedy. I used my regular sewing machine throughout instead of my overlocker and it's all come together just fine. I bought 1.5m for this project, which was plenty. (Though my hoodie is also grey, it is a different fabric so they don't really go together, but I wouldn't actually wear a matching ensemble anyway!)
Pattern and Instructions
I'm a huge fan of Tilly's patterns and books - she taught me a lot about sewing and I think she makes everything so accessible. Her patterns are deliberately drafted to be simple to construct and the accompanying instructions are always very clear. Even the pockets are easy to sew in. These took about half a day to sew and I didn't make any errors at all (which is always nice!). I omitted the buttonholes for the drawstring in the waistband, simply because I couldn't find any drawstring cord and so long as they stay up, it doesn't bother me. The benefit of not having drawstrings is that the band can sit flat and not add bulk to the tummy area - there is extra wide elastic inside the band to keep them where they should be in any case so the strings are not essential.
I made a size 4 which matches my measurements and didn't need to make any adjustments. I'm quite short at 5ft so if you are taller, do note that the legs won't have the same excess at the cuff as mine do. I left the leg length as it was because I wanted a slouchy pair for comfort, but they aren't excessively long which makes me think anyone taller might want to err on the side of caution.
The fit and finish of both the Stella Hoodie and Joggers is excellent and I feel that they provide good value for money. There are other independent designers who have individual patterns that would exceed the cost of the Stretch book if bought separately and there's plenty more in the book, as well as lots of tips on how to get the best results when sewing knit fabrics. I've used this as a reference book when making patterns from other designers to check stitch length and other techniques, which can sometimes be lacking so I feel it's definitely worth having a copy in your shelf. These Stella separates have replaced items that I bought from Superdry and I actually prefer these ones more.
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