My Favorite Patterns for Sewing Joggers for the Family

Let jogger sewing season commence!! I love to put on a cozy pair of joggers, and over the past few weeks, I have been slowly adding a pair of joggers to the closets of most of my family members. It makes me so happy to see each of them wear and enjoy them! 

Depending on fabric, you can make joggers look put together, you can wear them to work out, or you can wear them to lounge around in. Not only are they so versatile to wear, they are not difficult to sew!

I have 3 different patterns to talk to you today about – one for me, one for my husband, and one for all my kiddos 🙂 I also will chat about fabric choices. 

For the Kids – Sofilantjes Cessatio Joggers

This pattern is a newly released pattern by Sofilantjes that comes in 3 languages (Dutch, French, and English). The Cessatio jogger pattern includes sizes 12 months to 14 years and has options that work for all my kids like a paper bag waist (with or without a ruffle), a drawstring waist, front pockets, back patch pockets, or faux welt back pockets. I used a few different fabrics on this one, and I really like the ease and style it has for the kids.

For my youngest, I used a french terry fabric from Knitpop. It is a rayon/poly/spandex blend so it drapes nicely. I have to pay attention to fabric with rayon content that I do not dry it on hot, otherwise it will pill and look worn very quickly.

She is 2 (will turn 3 in just a few months!), but I make her a size 12 months. Since she is tall and slim, I grade up 2 sizes for the rise and for the length of the pants to make them tall enough for her. 

Making adjustments to the pattern for her helps her to have pants that fit her right in the waist and not fall off and be long enough where she needs! I have really had a difficult time buying store bought pants that have a tall enough rise/leg and are slim enough to stay up on her. I am so glad I sew!! 

For my oldest daughter, I picked a similar french terry from Knitpop. I also used the same options as my youngest on her pair. Thankfully, I did not have to make any adjustments for her. She fit right into the size 13. 

The paperbag waist option with the ruffle is probably the most complicated part on this pattern. The front ties are enclosed in the side seam of the waistband and the top ruffle is sandwiched in between the top of the two waistband pieces. The ruffling is caused by gathering a long piece and is not caused by tying the bow.

Here is how it looks to sew the ruffle into the top of the waistband. If you like the look of the ties but not the ruffle, you can omit the ruffle. Both of my girls liked the ruffle look on theirs!

If you have watched me any on my YouTube channel, you already know I am on overclipper. 

For my youngest son, I made a pair in a thick stretch sweatshirt fleece. I did his accents in a green cotton lycra so that the seams were not bulky.

I had to adjust for his height as well and am so happy with how his turned out. The fabric is thick enough to take all his tumbles. He runs and plays hard all day long.

I used the patch pockets on the back on all my kids joggers (except one who did not want back pockets!). The pattern does have a faux welt pocket that looks pretty nice, but my kids like pockets to be real!

For my middle son, I used a really cool wickaway athletic mesh that I got from the Fabric Fairy. This kid is always sweating so I wanted something he could stay cool in for his baseball practices!

I was happy with how opaque this fabric is because some meshes are too see through for bottoms. This mesh does a really good job of not showing anything under it while still having the breathability of mesh.  

The wrong side of the fabric is soft against the skin and the right side is a textured feel. I used the wrong side out on his cuffs, waistband, and pocket openings so the textured part wasn’t against his skin.

I have yet to add a drawstring on this pair. Whoops! Thankfully the elastic in the waistbands of this pattern helps for extra staying up power.

For the drawstring opening (that is there and ready for me to add a drawstring!), I sewed a one inch patch of green fabric onto it, and then used tiny grommets. I like the look of these for the pop of color to match my coverstitching.

My youngest son was pretty bummed that he didn’t get “a pair of eyes” on his. Instead of using grommets on my youngest, I did buttonholes on my sewing machine.

For his drawstring, I used the fabric from his pants and made a long strip that was 1.25 inches wide. I sewed the strip on the long end right sides together and then turned it right side out. His joggers were already getting dirty by the time we made it to this photo because he doesn’t like to stand still at a park!

Joggers for Me – The Greenstyle Brassie Jogger Pattern

For myself, I made joggers using the Brassie jogger pattern. It is one I have blogged about a lot because it is such a staple in my closet! I have made this pattern so many times and love wearing it! I also have a full sew along for this pattern HERE if you want any video support while sewing your joggers. 

This time, I did the midrise file and used a really high end feeling athletic fabric that I got from the Greenstyle shop called Align. I plan to wear them to work out in as well as do my daily active life with the kids in. I copied this pair of pants I saw online and was so happy to have mine at such a better price point! 

I did not use the waistband included in the Brassie pattern. Instead, I used the free contoured waistband pattern so that I did not need a drawstring and that the waistband is nice and firm for working out. It worked out great, but I think I will go up a size on the waistband next time to make it a little less compressive. This fabric has really nice recovery!

It has a cool and smooth feel to it and is not a brushed/warm/soft fabric. I plan to make a pair of leggings with it next. (or a top! It is definitely lightweight enough for a top.)

I tried to get nice photos with a few more of the kids but that didn’t really work out. So, here are some outtakes instead.

For my Husband – The Greenstyle Iron Joggers Pattern

I made my husband the Iron joggers in XL. I picked his size based off of his full hip measurement (the fullest part around his butt) and then used the waistband size that correlates with his high hip measurement (where he wears his pants). I did not use his natural waist measurement since he does not wear his pants that high. 

For fabric, I used this Dharma athletic fabric from The Fabric Fairy. It is a smooth cool feeling knit fabric that is perfect for playing outside with the kids or lounging at home. 

I did a buttonhole for his drawstring opening and used twill tape for his drawstring. This waistband has 2 inch elastic inside of it. 

Since this fabric is so stretchy, I took an extra 1/4 inch out of the inseam all along his thighs to reduce some of the extra ease. 

For pockets, I did the extra deep pocket option on the front and one zippered back pocket. 

In March of this year, my husband began working at home due to COVID-19. Even though this year has been tough, I am so grateful that he has been home with us on so many levels. I am also glad he has another pair of joggers that fit his new lifestyle so perfectly (that happens to be in his favorite color) to round out his collection. 

Resources

• Floral french terry from Knitpop 
• Black wickaway athletic mesh from Fabric Fairy
• This grey athletic knit from Fabric Fairy
• Align Navy athletic knit from Greenstyle
• Sofilantjes Cessatio jogger pattern
• Greenstyle Iron jogger pattern
• Greenstyle Brassie jogger pattern
• Full Video Sew Along for the Brassie and Iron patterns

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XO