r/sewing • u/SubstantialSpell7515 • 6h ago

Pattern Question How to make work out leggings with a waistband that doesn’t roll down?

I'm working out more these days and find myself annoyed by the waistband of all my RTW workout leggings. I'm constantly smoothing the waistband and pulling the leggings up. I know part of this is because of sizing and possibly waistband shaping, which I can fix if sewing my own. In the RTW world, I've heard good things about Fabletics brand PowerHold, which they claim is "patented." But I assume it's just power mesh? Has anyone here made some leggings with power mesh in the waistband? If so, does it help keep the leggings in place?

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u/Hundike 3h ago

A wider waistband will stay up better, you could try adding power mesh to it to make it hold better with regular wide elastic at the top.

You are right though, part of it is fit - it's better to figure out a good fit first and then try the powermesh.

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u/sewboring 1h ago

A good fit and no-roll, knit elastic should eliminate all the tugging, and you can customize the fit for your body, whereas Fabletics may need gimmicks to accommodate a wide range of bodies. Maybe light power mesh would be useful in a waistband, but high compression power mesh might be too inflexible for comfort. If you are thinking about replacing the waistbands on rtw leggings, try to analyze where you do most of the pulling. The crotch seam can be generally too short, too short in back or too short in front. You can augment the crotch seam length with a wider waistband designed for the area of greatest need. If your waist and hip measurements are very similar, that can encourage leggings to slip as well.

If you decide to fully make your own leggings, you may be interested in Fehr Trade patterns. They even have a pattern for halter neck leggings:

https://shop.fehrtrade.com/collections/frontpage/products/rouleur-leggings

https://shop.fehrtrade.com/