Support Tank

I have a sewing friend who teases me about being a little bodgy with my patterns.  You know, just sort of laying them out and cutting something different around them, hacking them off a bit, pivoting here, laying different patterns over the top of each other  and coming up with something else.  Well, I have recently bought myself a supply of pattern tracing paper, which seems to have become a bit hard to find in Australia lately and am making a bit more of an effort to do things properly (well, sometimes).

One pattern that is definitely worth making up properly is my basic exercise top.  My favourite workout tops ever were combinations of Burda WOF 11-2007-123 and Jalie 2563.  In later versions, I had to remember to take the Burda in at the waist and out at the hips, lower the neck of Jalie, adjust the Burda straps if I was using them, raise the fold line for the inner bra etc.  Not anymore...now I have created a Support Top Sloper, based on my t-shirt sloper, with various lines drawn in for different necklines, armholes and backs.

I then used this sloper to make a pattern for a design that has been floating around my head for a couple of years now.  I put tracing paper over my sloper and marked my design lines.The design lines are just colour blocking / fabric changes, and do not incorporate any shaping.

  I then traced off the sections and added various seam allowances to make a pattern.

Here is the finished product.

Detail shot, showing construction methods, as I am submitting this in the PR active wear competition.  I bound the edges using a binder and my coverstitch machine.  Seams were overlocked.  Seams were enclosed wherever possibly to minimise chafing.

Inside shot to show the support tank. It was made out of a double layer of mesh.

The fabrics are from Glitter and Dance.  The main fabric is a cotton lycra and the contrast panels / inner support are from stretch mesh. I bought them, along with some glitter knit, to make my daughter a leotard using Jalie 2674.