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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