As you may already know, I love sewing with knits (here’s my KNITS page), and I’m always interested in whether knit fabrics will work my patterns. All of my current women’s patterns are designed for woven fabrics, but occasionally I add knits to the suggested fabric list. Originally I wasn’t sure if the Luna Pattern would work in knit fabric, but then Kelli of Cut Cut Sew made one of her test pairs in knit and declared it a win.

Shortly after that, I found this super-stretchy grey heather knit at a local shop and decided to give it a try. As you can see, it worked quite nicely. They’re shown here with my Nani Iro tee from way back and my newly-painted garage wall.

These have become one of my favorite every day Lunas. I wore them last week to yoga and they were perfect because they stay put when I’m sticking my legs straight up in the air. Woot!!

Here are a few tips for making a successful pair of Luna Pants with knit fabric, along with some pics of my pair in progress so you can get an idea for what it’s like to make them!

TIPS FOR SEWING LUNA IN KNIT

Consider cutting a size smaller than you would normally wear.
I went down a size and these are still plenty roomy. Keep in mind that you’ll lose a little length both overall and in the rise. I compensated by folding over a smaller cuff elastic casing (1/2″ instead of 1″) at the hems to get back a little length.

Add knit interfacing to the waistband

Knits are easier to work with if you add knit interfacing! My favorite is this tricot interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply; it’s stretchy and adds stability to make the waistband easier to work with.

Try Wonder Clips instead of pins

Some knits can get small holes from pinning (the sharp ends of the pins can puncture the threads and cause the fabric to unravel). Even if you’re not worried about that, pins can come out of the fabric easily due to the way that knit fabric stretches around when it’s being worked with. Wonder Clips (you can get them at most fabric shops or online) are great for holding everything in place!

Use a serger

I know it’s all the rage to say that you can sew knits without a serger, but these pants are SO MUCH EASIER to sew if you’ve got a serger. The seams will be more flexible, better looking on the inside, and the whole project will go four times faster.

One last thing to mention, though it’s pretty obvious: I added a twill-tape drawstring to this pair (it’s a mod you can find the instructions to in the How to Add a Drawstring to Luna tutorial). The buttonholes were a bit tricky to sew in knit. I’m sure there’s some tip for that I haven’t discovered yet, but I ended up sewing each buttonhole twice to reinforce the stitching. Should have used matching thread…live and learn.

Hopefully these tips will have you well on your way to sewing yourself a fun new pair of knit Luna Pants!

This post is part of the Luna Pantsalong! Here’s a list of all the previous posts:

Let’s have a Luna Pantsalong!
Luna Pantsalong: Inspiration
Luna Pantsalong: Planning Luna Pantsalong Day 1: Measure, Print, Tape, and Trace Luna Pantsalong Day 2: Make a Muslin Luna Pantsalong Day 3: Cutting Luna Pantsalong Day 4: Steps 1-4 Luna Pantsalong Day 5: Steps 5-9
How to add a drawstring to Luna Pants
(you can find the Luna Pants sewing pattern here if you need it)

If you’re sewing your own pair of Lunas, please snap a photo of your pants when you’re finished and send it to me, or tag them on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter with #lunapantsalong or #lunapantspattern; it also helps to tag me (@madebyrae) so I’ll see them!

Knit Luna Pants

TIPS FOR SEWING LUNA IN KNIT

Add knit interfacing to the waistband

Try Wonder Clips instead of pins

Use a serger

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