I made a toile to test the fit for the leggings, and both for my Mom and myself, I had to make simple but quite a few adjustments (see below) in the pattern.
The dress and pants have become a winter staple in my wardrobe, and they are in constant rotation.
Pattern: Simplicity 8212
View: A (mid-rise)
Size: M, L
Fabric: black no-pill fleece
Things I learned:
* I had to make quite a few adjustment to the fit. This seems to be the case for me for Simplicity pants patterns: they tend to be too short in the center back and too high in the center front. I added 1 and 1/2 inches to the back and removed the same amount from the front, connecting both sides to the original side-seam length.
*I also used the size S cutting line at the bottom of the legs to shorten the length, because the toile that I had made was too long.
* Because the fleece is not quite as stretchy as the activewear fabrics this pattern was designed for, I decided to serge only a 1/4 inch seam allowance at the side seams of each leg and at the crotch seam. I left the 5/8 seam allowance where the waistband joins the pant legs. I probably could have gotten away with a little bit of a snugger fit, but I didn't want to risk them turning out not stretchy enough.
* I constructed these pants almost exclusively on the serger. I did use my sewing machine to hem the pants. I hemmed them flat. If there is one thing I really don't like fiddling with is hemming small circumferences in the round. And I sewed in the elastic with a zigzag stitch. (I don't know about you, but my sewing machine does not like zigzag stitches on stretchy things like elastic or swim- and activewear: it always skips stitches. I need to figure out why. I use stretch needles on those, which helps, but it's still not great....)
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