Essssspressssso leggingssssss

Not, it's not a typo - it's snake print espresso leggings! And you know why...

Yes, it's the return of Jungle January! That baby wrapped me in its coils till I was powerless to resist. Like this, where Kaa the snake = treacherously sale-priced jersey, and Mowgli = me:

You know what else lives in jungles? Fruit bats.

photo source

And how's that for a segue into HEY LOOK I made my batwing top too! (See what I did there?? BATwing?!)

The plush snake is called Bert. I won him on the Brussels funfair, 13 years ago.

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Pattern notes: leggings

• Pattern: Cake Espresso
• Size: mine! Innovatively custom-sized by measuring yourself and joining the dots. It's a lot of fun! (Disclaimer: if you're really into sewing and stuff. If you're reading, I suppose you are).
• Fabric used: 1 metre of medium/light weight jersey from the Maison Doree sale (so many knit bargains there this month!)
• Fabric notes: the espresso leggings are drafted for two-way stretch fabrics, and the pattern instructions mention that if you use four-way stretch fabric instead (like I did, because SNAKE PRINT), you might need to shorten the leg length due to the leggings stretching down lengthwise. I don't really mind wrinkly ankles on my leggings, but I did have to cut off my original waistband and shorten the rise all round by about 1" - the lengthwise stretch happens at the top of your leggings too, which led to crotch-area sagging. It's an easy fix, so you can definitely make first and change later if you're not sure how the fit will work out, but I thought I'd mention it.
• Construction: insanely quick & easy. I used Fehr Trade's elastic waistband method (tutorial here) and it's GENIUS.
• Conclusion: there are many more pairs of loud leggings in my future. 

Pattern notes: top

• Pattern: Blair Batwing shirt from the first pattern collection by Named (this pattern seems to no longer be available now their next collection has come out - I'm very glad I snapped it up in time, as it's a winner!) Update: it's back online after a pattern revamp!
• Size: the smaller of the two. I think EU 38-40? It doesn't exactly require accurate sizing, anyway.
• Fabric used: 1.5 metres of what I believe gets called "wellness" fleece - the sort of plush stuff that bathrobes are made of.
• Fabric notes: It sheds fluff like a bastard. And is a disaster to get through the overlocker, don't even try. I did it all on the regular machine.
• Construction: as above, insanely quick & easy. Clear elastic in the shoulder seams, instead of whatever Framilon Band is (recommended in the pattern). I also added a +/- 20cm band to the bottom of the shirt, to bring it down to tunic length. As far as my own personal wearing is concerned, the one and only rule of leggings-as-trousers is: full crotch coverage at all times, please.
• Conclusion: there are many more slouchy batwing tops in my future too. 

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What about you - are you an animal print wearer? Or would you, like me, need a little push from some jungle-theming sewcialists?

Either way, I fear there's no going back...