The advent of the yoga band as a fashion choice had been great in many ways. Its comfortable, creates an attractive silhouette, makes clothing versatile (e.g.: for maternity) and is a good choice for clothing that requires you to move and bend.
However, there is a difficulty using a yoga band on clothing for plus sizes. Although the bigger sizes in many pattern types assume that being bigger means you are just a bigger version of a size 8, that is rarely the case. Plus sized women often have fat deposits that contribute to their size. This may be on the hips, thighs, backside or in my case my stomach. These deposits just don’t behave like a toned stomach or pregnant belly. They are not firm, they are soft. This causes all sorts of problems with the fitting of clothing, including yoga bands. You will take a waist measurement, but find the finished waistband will be too loose, or gapey at the back. I discovered this recently when purchasing a custom made yoga band skirt from Crafty Mamas. Sending my measurements off, I received a beautifully made skirt, that while it stayed up, did not feel very secure. Go for a tighter waistline, and the fabric pulls in, cutting unattractively and pulling up the pants/skirt fabric in the process.
The solution I found in RTW clothing. After my sister purchased a beautifully soft and comfy pair of cotton/lycra lounge pants from Target, I started looking around for a pair for myself. Of course I couldn’t find anything similar in plus ranges, but I did chance across a similar pair of size 18’s in the regular range, and I took a chance that they would fit. They don’t fold down like a traditional yoga waistband, but the waistband is wide, and curved, providing a similar amount of firm hold that a yoga band does. The difference is the insertion of a length of elastic in the top stitching line. This provided the security to hold up the weight of the pants, stretched enough to hold firmly to the tummy, without the extra bulk of gathered fabric.
And so to find a pattern. Not always an easy thing. But found it I did. KwikSew 3384. Yes I know its a pants pattern, but this is my wearable muslin, and mostly I was experimenting with the waistband, to see if it suited my body shape. I didn’t have enough fabric for pants, so I folded in the crotch, cut the front on the fold, and made myself an A-line skirt instead.
I can’t believe how well this has gone. I expected the hipline to cut in, or the waistband to be too tight, but neither happened. And best of all, I got a maxi skirt, not exactly what I was aiming for, but a pleasant surprise. I can’t wait to try this as a pair of lounge pants, or better still, in some slinky for evening wear!
