Military-esque Tracky Bottoms

So comfy and so easy to make! I love the juxtaposition of sloppy and smart and of course tracksuit bottoms as formal wear with a pair of heals have been all over the catwalks for years. Originally I was just going to add the tux stripe using Petersham ribbon but decided that the gold trimming was a bit more gala!...though defo more tricky to add.

You will need;

• Tracksuit bottoms (about €12 in Pennys)
• Approx. 3m black Petersham ribbon
• Approx. 3m gold trimming (both found at A. Rubanesque)
• Wundaweb (iron-on hemming tape
• Black & gold/yellow tread

+ Plus

Pins

Iron

Scissors

Needle

Line-up at the side seam and then fold the ribbon and iron-on tape together over the pocket of the tracksuit bottoms and pin in place (if your trackybottoms don't have a pocket you can fold the edge of the ribbon over the waistband or fold it on itself at the top of the leg, adding a few stitches to hold it in place)

Continue to pin the tape and ribbon all the way down the leg of the trousers...

...then iron down the ribbon making sure the iron-adhesive tape sticks properly everywhere. Repeat for the other leg.

This is where it becomes tricky ; starting at the top of the pocket make loops of the trimming and sew them in place...pain-staking, especially when it comes to getting both sides matching!

Tip: I found it simpler to roughly tack the loops and then come back and sew them down properly once I'd sewed the trimming all the way down the leg. This makes adjusting both sides to match easier.

Use the excess ribbon to replace the drawstring. Stitch-up or burn the ends of the ribbon to seal them

Ta-da! Dress up with a simple white T, black blazer and heals, or dress down with converse and a cozy jumper.


Tips:

• The waistband of these tracksuit bottoms are sewn up so that the ribbon couldn't go all the was around the waist. Instead I put the ribbon through one eyelet and out through the other without going round. This means that you need much less ribbon. If you need enough ribbon to go around the waist you should buy 4-4.5m of black Petersham.
• Don't cut the ribbon or the trimming before you sew it on, that way you can cut to exactly the right length and have a decent length left over if there's extra.