Tights ... buy or make?

[Marietta Graziella]

Headed to Colorado in less than 2 weeks and my friend wants to wear tights instead of a skirt...  Does anyone now of a speedy vendor or a good pattern to make these?  Not that I want to have something else to make in the short time I have, but what else can I do?

So, anyone?  Cotton velvet tights?  Help?

[William of Armagh]

Greetings Marietta, sadly, the 2 best makers--Renaissance dancewear and Fairepair takes weeks to order and receive. Has your friend tried leggings, there must be a lot out there !
we do  have some green velour leggings for you, we can send them out to you for free, you can pay for the postage later
..........or do you have another color in mind ?            Lady A... Will of A

[Marietta Graziella]

Thank you so much for the very kind offer!

My friend is actually looking for burgundy crushed velvet or cotton tights.  I have been surfing the web for over an hour now and still haven't found the right item.  I brought up this question far too late to order from Fairepair (which was the first recommdation I received).  Damn and blast. 

[William of Armagh]

 Greetings Marietta,   you are welcome ,  we will check our "tights box"   for burgundy tonight,   have a good week

[William of Armagh]

Greetings again Marietta, I went to the tights box,  I have homemade footed pair, seams on the frontlegs and back legs. back seams up each "cheek" to the waistband, stretchy  (not as much as spandex) .......I am 6" so I can't pull them up tight to the "crotch".....if your friend is smaller the tights should work..........burgundy, not velvet or velour,  if these might work let
me/us know soon and will send them to you,  a gift   (when you get a chance send the postage) use the message for personal.
                     have a good night/morning

[Marietta Graziella]

Those look so fun! 

I don't think she's quite ready to brave such "tight" looking tights.  She was hoping for the velvet style to still hide a few imperfections 

Personally, I've never worn tights... not sure I can pull it off in a pair like these!  Wowsers but you both must have great legs and, ahem, assets.   

How difficult are tights to make?  I was looking at drawings and it seems to be just 4 panels and straight seems, right?  The challenge is to find the right darn fabric. Ugh!

Thank you, again, for your thoughtfulness is searching out the right pair to offer.   

[Kate XXXXXX]

How skilled are you with stretch fabric techniques?

Here's a pattern: http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/carol

[Dinobabe]

I used to see tights of all kinds at Macy's.  Try the different dept. stores.  Also local dance studios often have small shops.  Call the local college dance dept./studio and ask where you can get some.

[Marietta Graziella]

How skilled are you with stretch fabric techniques?

Here's a pattern: http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/carol

Uhhh     I don't have much experience with stretch fabrics...  how bad is it?!   More accurately, how bad can it be, it's only a couple straight seams, right?   

[Capt Spleen]

i can check a few shops here in CO this weekend.

[LadySeasan]

try the purple unicorn

http://www.purpleunicorn.com/tights.html

[Adriana Rose]

If she can wait there is a shop right in the front gate at Colorado that has tights

[isabelladangelo]

Okay, trying to get down to the basic problem here:  What is it *exactly* she's trying to convey?  What style does she want?  It sounds like she might want to go in men's wear -which is perfectly fine- but I certainly would wear something over the tights!  (Like Venetians or something similar)

[Kate XXXXXX]

Uhhh     I don't have much experience with stretch fabrics...  how bad is it?!   More accurately, how bad can it be, it's only a couple straight seams, right?   

Um...  You need a serger if at all possible.  Otherwise you need to use good stretch sewing techniques and the correct type of needles and threads...  Well, you need those for the serger as well, but it does the stitch naturally rather than you having to work at it!

Here's my essay on working with stretch fabrics:

Knits aren't terribly difficult, they just need care, and, as with so much in sewing, the right equipment!

To start with, you HAVE to keep the stretch nature of kits in mind: use a light touch when handling them, and be careful not to pull the fabric, when cutting or sewing, or even just moving it from one place to another! Be extra careful when pinning out a pattern that you don't distort it as you pin and cut: don't lift the fabric as you cut, especially... One good way to avoid this is to use a rotary cutter and a mat – or three for a long bit!

Fit the right type of needle to the sewing machine. For T shirt fabric a KNIT or JERSEY needle is best. Anything containing Lycra/Spandex/elastane will need a STRETCH needle, and anything like swimsuit fabric or shiny nylon/Lycra knits for dance wear needs a SUPER STRETCH needle.

Match your thread to the fabric, much as you would for any other project. I like to use polycore on cotton knits (polyester thread wrapped in cotton), and bulk nylon in the serger loopers on stretch fabrics... For general purpose sewing with the ordinary machine, a good quality poly thread like Coats Duet thread will be fine.

For seams, I like to use the serger, as the seams have stretch built in automatically, but if you don't have one, there's no reason not to use an ordinary sewing machine. One thing I WOULD advise is that you forget the 'stretch' or 'overlock' stitches on it! Just use a short stitch length and a narrow zigzag: this will build in enough stretch for most purposes. You can neaten the edges with a wider zigzag later if you need to, and trim off the excess seam allowances...

I advise this as the stretch stitches on an ordinary machine are seriously thread-hungry, tend to be bulky, and feel knobbly! Ugh! AND they stretch less than the zz method!

To help the fabric feed evenly without stretching and distorting, use either a roller foot (one with little wheels in), like this:http://www.bredons.co.uk/roller-foot_3000_293.htm or this: http://i14.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a6/a2/c488_1.JPG, or a walking foot like this: http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/P10325047.jpg. This will give you feed teeth on the top as well as under the fabric, and help it to feed through without the presser foot stretching it as you go.

If you have neither, and still want to try, use the 'taut sewing' method: stretch the fabric JUST A TINY BIT with even pressure before and behind the needle. DO NOT pull the fabric through the machine! Let the machine feed the fabric while you stretch it just a bit. This helps the fabric to feed and builds in a little more stretch. It's fine to use on fabrics with good recovery, like those with Lycra, but not so hot on 100% cotton T shirt fabric as the stitching can add too much bulk and the fabric ripples rather than snapping back...

Just start slowly, go carefully, and you'll get there in the end.

[gem]

MG, here's the closest thing I can find: velour leggings. And these.

I'd try searching for leggings instead of tights, as they're popular right now and might be easier to find, since we're going into fall. Try mundane vendors: Amazon, Newport News, Casual Living, Frederick's, etc.

Also, see if you can convince her to wear another color (like black), which will be easier to find in the time you have!