Choosing Fabric for Gym Leggings: A Plus-Size Sewist’s Guide
This post was inspired by a recent episode of The Great British Sewing Bee, but you don’t need to watch the show to get something out of it. Whether you're thinking about sewing your first pair of athletic leggings or just curious about what makes good activewear fabric, I’m sharing what I’ve learned — including tools I use to plan, test and sew my own plus-size activewear.
Best Fabric for Leggings: Nylon vs Polyester vs Cotton
If you’ve ever stood in front of your stash wondering which fabric will actually work for gym leggings, you’re not alone. There are a few different types of leggings fabric, but some perform better than others when it comes to range of motion, comfort, and durability during high-intensity workouts versus everyday wear.
Comparing nylon vs polyester vs cotton for gym leggings, here’s the short version:
cotton-spandex blends are breathable and soft, but they often lack the recovery and durability needed for physical activities, and poor moisture-wicking means they tend to feel sweaty against the skin.
Polyester, on the other hand, is a durable synthetic fiber with excellent moisture-wicking properties that dries quickly and doesn't feel wet against the skin.
Nylon feels softer and stretches more comfortably than polyester and is often the premium choice.
For most high-performance leggings projects, you’ll want a nylon spandex blend or a polyester spandex blend. These are a great choice because they offer four-way stretch, meaning they move with you and snap back into their original shape. You’ll often see nylon spandex or polyester spandex blends marketed as legging fabric—nylon tends to feel softer, while polyester may dry faster.
Here’s what I look for when choosing leggings material for workout wear:
Moisture wicking fabric: Pulls sweat away from the skin (especially important for gym wear).
Breathable fabric: Keeps you cool during workouts or warmups.
Good recovery: Means it’ll bounce back after stretching, rather than bagging out at the knees and seat.
Opaque when stretched: No surprises when you bend over or squat!
The Minerva Exclusive Matte Activewear Lycra I’m using ticks all those boxes — and it comes in some gorgeous prints too. I’ve linked the Ocean and Forest colourways below, but it also comes in Slate and Berry if you prefer a darker or bolder look.
Why I Chose Minerva’s Exclusive Matte Activewear Lycra
The right fabric makes all the difference in athletic wear — especially when you want stretch, support, comfort and performance.
For my next Minerva Brand Ambassador project, I’m planning to make myself some gym leggings using one of Minerva’s exclusive athletic fabrics in a colourway called Marbled Memory (available in Ocean, Forest, Berry and Slate) with matte or glossy finishes. It’s a nylon-spandex blend with exceptional stretch and good recovery. It's moisture wicking and breathable too, making it ideal for activewear that needs to handle intense workouts and regulate body temperature.
📹 Watch: Understanding Athletic Fabrics (Minerva Masterclass)
This masterclass from Minerva includes a discussion of the great fabric I’m using to make my workout leggings, so if you’d like to see how that fabric works out in real life, follow me on Minerva and keep an eye out for the finished look.
If you want to skip straight to the good stuff, start watching from 04:28, where they dive into Minerva’s Exclusive Activewear fabrics — including the one I’m using.
I haven’t reviewed the patterns they mention later in the video, so I’d recommend starting at 04:28 and watching until you’ve got what you need.
Before You Sew: How I Use Mockups and StashHub to Plan
I’m a planner at heart — especially when it comes to garments that are going to hug my body, like activewear. I want to know how something’s going to look and fit on my body before I cut into the fabric. That’s where digital planning comes in.
Using AI to visualise my project:
The images ChatGPT generated gave me a clear picture of how the print might look on a plus-size silhouette — without needing to sew a full version just to decide.
To get the ball rolling and to see what my fabric would look like as leggings, I used a mockup of the free (and size-inclusive) Peg Legs leggings by Patterns for Pirates. I chose capri length, contoured waistband, and a side pocket. I used ChatGPT and dropped in two colourways of Minerva’s Marbled Memory matte athletic fabric: Ocean and Forest. The images Chat generated gave me a clear picture of how the prints might look on a plus-size silhouette — without needing to sew two full versions just to decide. (The image above is the Ocean colourway.)
If you're not a fan of AI, StashHub recently added a Magic Mockup feature too. If you upload a line drawing of the pattern and fabric swatch, Magic Mockup generates a preview of the finished garment. It’s a useful way to compare leggings fabric from your stash, especially when you want a quick visual and don’t want to wrangle with writing an AI prompt.
💡 Planning Tip: I use StashHub to keep track of fabric yardage, matching threads, ideas and pattern pairings. If you’re a planner too, you can try it for yourself free for a month using my referral link.
More content on how I use StashHub is coming soon — but for now, just know that it’s part of how I keep track of my projects and plan which patterns and fabrics to use for them.
Sewing Activewear Is Easier Than You Think
Let’s bust a myth: sewing activewear isn’t some elite-level skill reserved for coverstitch owners. Stretchy, technical fabrics can feel intimidating, but with the right approach, they’re absolutely doable on a domestic sewing machine. (You don't even need an overlocker, just a sewing machine capable of sewing a zig-zag stitch.)
I’m embedding one of Minerva’s most helpful tutorials for learning how to sew with nylon spandex below. It covers needles, machine settings, seam choices, and more — ideal whether this is your first time sewing with high-performance fabric, or you’re just brushing up on your skills before tackling a more complex athleticwear pattern.
📹 Watch: How to Sew Athletic Fabrics (Minerva Tutorial)
A Few Extra Tips for Sewing Activewear
Before you start stitching, it’s worth doing a few small tests that can save a lot of frustration later:
Test your stitch settings on a scrap of your actual fabric — athletic fabrics vary wildly in stretch and recovery.
Do a recovery check by stretching the fabric and letting go — your seam should bounce back without warping.
Use a walking foot if you have one — it helps feed stretchy layers evenly, especially at waistbands and pockets.
And when it comes to tools and notions, a few thoughtful upgrades can make all the difference. These are the ones I reach for most often when sewing activewear:
Maraflex Stretch Thread – Lets you sew stretchy seams with a straight stitch (perfect if you don’t have a stretch stitch on your sewing machine).
Silicone-Coated Elastic – Grips gently and stays put, ideal for waistbands and leg hems.
Stretch or Ballpoint Needles – Glide between fibres to avoid skipped stitches and snags.
Wash-Away or Double-Sided Basting Tape – Holds tricky seams or elastic in place—no pins needed.
Clear Elastic or Stabiliser Tape – Reinforces seams and waistbands without adding bulk or stiffness.
Each of these has earned its place in my sewing room — and they make the whole process feel a lot more approachable.
💬 Supporting Me While You Sew
Running this blog — and the social platforms that go with it — takes time, energy, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work. If you’ve found this post helpful or inspiring, one of the easiest ways to support what I do is by using my Minerva link when you’re shopping for fabric or sewing tools.
Until 31st August 2025, you can get 10% off almost everything at Minerva (excluding gift cards and Craft Club memberships) when you click the button above and use the code SEWINCLUSIVE at checkout.
Craft Club members get 20% off with my code because becoming a Craft Club member unlocks an extra 10% off for the next 12 months from the date of purchase. Making it a brilliant time to invest in a bigger project or stock up on staples.
🧥 Even if you’re not quite ready to buy, clicking through now and saving your favourites can make a difference.
It helps me continue to create free content, run the Inclusive Sewing group, and show up for this community in ways that matter.
Thanks so much for being part of it.
👉 Want to know if the Craft Club is worth it? Read my full post here where I break down exactly what you get — and how to make the most of the perks.