* About 17 percent of women's yoga pants affected

* Says pants have an unacceptable "level of sheerness"

* Move to hurt revenue, earnings and same-store sales

* Lululemon shares slide after-hours (Adds details of withdrawal, background, byline)

By Euan Rocha

TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - Lululemon Athletica Inc is pulling shipments of unexpectedly sheer women's yoga pants from its stores, in a move the athletic clothing maker said would hurt its bottom line.

Shares of the Canadian company, known for its pricey women's workout gear, fell more than 6 percent after it said the move will "have a significant impact" on financial results and lead to a shortage of its signature black luon fabric yoga pants in its stores.

Certain shipments of yoga pants that went on sale this month had an unacceptable "level of sheerness," and affected about 17 percent of all women's bottoms in its stores, Lululemon said.

"The ingredients, weight and longevity qualities of the pants remain the same but the coverage does not," the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said in a statement issued late on Monday.

The company, which is looking to expand beyond North America and Australia, said this weekend it withdrew all of the affected black yoga pants from its stores, showrooms and e-commerce site. Customers who bought the affected pants can return them for a full refund or exchange, it added.

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UPDATE 1-Lululemon withdraws sheer yoga pants, stock drops