Love Notions just released a new pattern: the Thomas Track Pants*. I was able to help test them for my four year old, and the short story is that we both love them!
*Affiliate link
My older girls prefer skinny jeans and leggings, so I'm not sure if I will get much use out of this pattern for them. But since it goes up to size 14, maybe they will change their mind eventually. One of them currently plays soccer (but she prefers the social aspect if I'm being honest) and the other one is in drama.
I'm hoping one of them will get into track or cross country like I was, so maybe one day I will get to make them a pair of these track pants.
Maybe.
It probably won't be the one who is in drama. Since I'm being honest. 😆
(Keep in mind that these pants are drafted with boy's bodies in mind. For younger children, that's not a big difference, but for older children/teenagers it can be. I think, however, I can make this pattern work keeping that in mind! Usually this style of pants isn't fitted so I do not think it will make a huge difference if I'm mindful of their measurements. If my daughters ever decide they need a pair of track pants, I will definitely give this pattern a shot. This is just my disclaimer that this was only tested on boys.)
In the meantime, I'm thinking I need to make a few more pairs for their little brother. He was so happy that I made these for him, it melted my heart. He loves new clothes and he was happy that I made them for him, win win!
He is such a cutie, I wish I could freeze this age!
But back to the pants...
There are two views in the pattern. View A is solid while view B is color blocked. There are optional side seam pockets, zippers, and lining. I did view B with lining.
I noticed he never uses pockets on his pants, so I didn't add them.
The zippers look awesome, and they serve the practical purpose of being able to take off the pants while still wearing your shoes. That would be great if you were playing a sport and had shorts on underneath and needed to take off your pant layer. But that doesn't apply to Emmett yet, so I left the zippers off.
As for the lining option, since view B has a lot of seams, I wanted to enclose them all in a lining for a neat finish. These look great inside and out!
I'm sure I will get some use out of the pockets and zipper options eventually. The truth is even though I have been sewing for years, I often avoid zippers. I am not a fan of sewing them and they still intimidate me. It's actually been years since I have touched a zipper! However looking at the instructions and pictures in this pattern has me convinced that it will not be a big deal to add them. The instructions seem very clear and I promise to attempt them in this pattern someday.
Zipper or no zipper, I really love the look of the colorblocking in View B. Here is the side view:
And the back:
All the pattern pieces matched up wonderfully, making it easy to match the color blocked areas.
Another fun thing about these pants was that I was able to use actual Under Armour fabric to make them. Simply by Ti carries Under Armour wickaway fabric and they were perfect for these! As a brand ambassador, Ti sent me some for this pattern test, and I feel like the luckiest person. This pattern and fabric were made for each other!
Simply by Ti also carries Nike wickaway fabric, but I have not had the chance to get my hands on it yet! From what I understand, it is stretchier and fantastic for work out clothes that require a lot of stretch and recovery. I know that there have been some photos of projects from this fabric in the Simply by Ti facebook group, if you want to have a look.
The pattern is on sale through Monday, February 5th and after that goes back to the full price of $9. You can check out the pattern here*.
*Affiliate link. Should you choose to purchase the pattern after clicking the link, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Happy Sewing!
