Greenstyle Moxi Shorts and Tieback Tank

I had been thinking about tracing off my lululemon running shorts, when I saw that Greenstyle creations had a similar pattern in their athletic collection.  Whilst I was purchasing the Moxi shorts, the tie-back tank made its way into my cart as well.  Both these styles seem very current and reflect what can be purchased in athletic wear at the moment.  

I cut the tie back tank from two matching race shirts that neither my husband or I ever wore, to test the pattern out.  I cut a size small, grading out to a medium at the hips.  I thought the tie itself would be annoying, so I just went with the overlap option.  I ended up taking in the side seams to be a size small overall, probably because I didn't need the extra length for the ties.

I made the shorts all one colour, with no contrast binding or waistband.  I cut according to my hip size, but didn't put in the in-built undies.  They are comfortable to run in, but they feel shorter than my RTW shorts and a lot "airier" at the back, which make me feel a bit self-conscious.

I ended up tracing off my RTW shorts and comparing the patterns.  My RTW shorts have a  shorter front crotch length.  The instructions with the moxi shorts (which are very good) describe how to take in the legs, but I think I am better off removing some of the crotch length than outer leg width.  The moxi shorts have a higher waistband, which I prefer.

For my next pair, I ended up combining the two patterns.  

I even put in a waistband pocket.

I haven't worn them running yet, but they were comfortable for a day out over the Easter weekend.

Finding suitable fabric for running shorts is hard.  For both shorts, I used stretch woven poly/lycra fabric from The Fabric Fairy.  I used swimwear lycra for the outer waistband and supplex for the inner band.  I used the supplex for comfort, but am wishing that I had used something a bit more quick dry as they think these shorts would be good for hiking holidays.

Another scrappy running tank

These scrappy running tanks are probably my most worn items, and given that they are made from scraps, cost per wear is pretty minimal!

Tropical Print Running Outfit

 

I was sent to my sewing room for a mental health day, and decided to make a running outfit for the Ecofest Trail run.  My family thought it was a great joke...I could blend in amongst the trees and  miss a few kilometers and no-one would be any the wiser!

The tropical print is from funkifabrics.  My daughter and I squabbled over who would get to use it. In the end, I bought some in the Titan weight for me and some in the regular weight to make swimmers for her.

The top pattern is Jalie 3679.  I used a dark grey supplex for the yoke, the tropical print for the bra, a wicking cotton for the bra lining and a slubby cotton for the outer tank bit.  I left off the hem band, because a hem band would make it harder to use the top as a sweat rag for my face whilst running :).  The top was actually a lot easier to sew than I expected.  The only time I struggled with the instructions was step 22 when it said to sew fabric and lining together.  It took me a few moments to realise that they meant the seam allowances of the yoke and yoke lining.  Here is a close up of the back.

The leggings were made using my favourite leggings pattern, first made here.  I made a few changes to the pattern, which meant that every piece had to be adjusted and re-traced, but I am really happy with how they fit, so it was worth the effort.  The best feature is the huge side pocket.  I prefer side pockets because I don't like the waist elastic too tight and waistband pockets tend to drag the pants down when I fill them.  You can just make out the pocket in the photo below, if you know where to look.  It is in the side panel that curves down into the mesh insert.

I love a bit of matchy-matchy, (and bright colours, and wild prints) and it is fun that I get to do this in my exercise wear when I try to show a little more restraint for my "normal" clothes.

Bike Pants

An Aldi store has just opened near us, and I tell you, the Aldi catalogue is one of the highlights of my family's week.  Not that we get there for the specials....we are just amazed at the variety of stuff that turns up in store.  A few weeks ago they had a special on cycling gear.  By the time we made it to the store, the ladies bike pants had all sold out, except for Sz 6.  Well, I am nowhere near a Sz 6, but I thought buying them and using the chamois from them would be cheaper than ordering a chamois and having it shipped to me.

The Aldi pair had an interesting design, in that there was no elastic across the front waistband.  Instead, there was a doubled over yoke, similar to a maternity panel.  I guess if you are sitting on a bike, there is no chance of your pants falling down, so this seems like a comfortable option.  I got out my pencil and paper and drafted a pattern with this feature.  I also included a side panel with a big pocket, in case the chamois didn't work out and I decided to use these for running instead.  This time, I used Jalie 2920 as my block for drafting.  It is a one piece pattern, which makes drawing on design lines easy.  Then it is just a matter of cutting up the design lines and added seam allowances.

My fabric is from funkifabrics.

 Front panel (lining up with side pocket)

 Inside view of front panel

Inside view of back, showing elasticised waist

Large phone pocket

Being modelled

I only go cycling once a week, and I've actually missed the last couple of weeks, so I can't even report whether or not the chamois improves the cycling experience!  I've only attached it with a wide zig-zag in case I need to re-position it.  

VPL inspired sports bra

I love the look of the VPL insertion bras, and have been wanting to create a pattern for something similar.  I drafted my own pattern last year, but it didn't quite work out.  I had literally pushed it to the side of my sewing bench whilst I got distracted with other sewing projects.  Then, when I was looking for something else, I came across a bra pattern that I had never used, but I thought had good potential as a starting point. Ezi-Sew 104.  This pattern has horizontal cup seaming, but when I get all the kinks worked out, it shouldn't be too difficult to change it to the vertical seaming used in the inspiration bra.

I changed the back band closure to a fold.

I trimmed off the strap portion of the upper cup, and after a muslin, changed the angle of the front neckline slightly.

The resulting bra fit pretty well, though I think it would fit me even better if I removed some of the cup depth for next time.  Sadly, the bra pictured at the top of this post is too small for me.  The power mesh I used on the back is much stronger than the lycra I used for my muslin.  Which is a shame, because it would have been the perfect match for my last running capris.  At least I don't have to worry about unpicking the twisted straps and resewing them.

This next one was made using power mesh on the back (I increased the back band pattern) and wicking cotton spandex for the front.  I dyed the power mesh.

It is a bit tricky working out where to sew down the elastic that wraps from the front strap round the side.

Of course, the defining feature of this bra is the wide coloured elastic used for the strapping.  Locally, I don't have a lot of elastic to choose from, and mostly it is polyester, and I have not bought dyes suitable for polyester.  Then I found this "fine lines" nylon elastic in Lincraft, which I presume is an underwear manufacturer discard.  It dyes well with acid dyes.  I used this elastic in my first version (not pictured) and have been wearing it for a few months and the ealstic has held up well.

I was going to continue with my bra sewing, but in the meantime I have been distracted by the Sudoku Wardrobe challenge aver at pattern review.  It sure is hard to maintain focus in the sewing room!

Much needed sports bra

I have been sewing for so long now, that I generally have way more clothes than I need.  Lately though, I've had to go digging through the washing for a sports bra, as several of mine have bit the dust.

This is my TNT sports bra pattern, and was drawn up by cutting up a Berlei compression style sports bra.  This time around, I used a wickable cotton spandex, from Bra Makers Supply, for the main fabric.  I know lots of people don't like to wear cotton for exercise, because it is heavier when loaded up with sweat than synthetic fabrics, but I prefer the feel of cotton.  I have run in this one a few times, and it does feel better than my regular cotton spandex sports bra made from the same pattern.  It is thin for a sports bra, but I have doubled it up with a fairly substantial power mesh.  I dyed the power mesh to match. 

I bought the wickable cotton fabric in 3 colourways, and hopefully I will get the others sewn up soon.  I did start on a Sewaholic Dunbar sports bra, but the pattern sizing is way off and I put it to the side a few weeks ago.  I need a few clear hours to get back to it.

Fehr Trade Knot-Maste Yoga Set

I was a pattern tester for Fehr Trade's Knot Maste Yoga Set.

For the bottoms, I used an organic terry knit from Tessuti.  It is a lovely fabric, but I had bought it online hoping to make a t-shirt, and it was a heavier than I wanted for a t-shirt.  It might be a tad heavy for yoga pants too, but I am planning on wearing these for lounging around in winter.  It is perfect fabric for that.

I didn't have quite enough fabric, so I used a contrasting cotton lycra for the waistband.  I made the waistband narrower than the test pattern, but I know that Melissa altered the width of the waistband after the testing round, so have a look at the waistband on some other finished versions if you would like to know how wide it really is.  The pockets of these joggers are cut on with the main panels, and in conjunction with the gathered waist, make for a nice slouchy look.  They are my favourite feature of these pants.

 

(Oops, threads hanging out in the above photo.  I had only basted the hem bands on at this stage, as my fabric was not as stretchy as recommended, and I wanted to check that I could get them on over my feet.)

I didn't like the top when I made it up.  It felt too loose and maternity-ish.  Now that I have seen the pattern sample made up, I realise that it would have worked much better in a soft, drapier knit.  My fabric is the active wear fabric from Lincraft. In my fabric, the knot at the back felt all too bulky.

So, I love the pants and will wear them a-plenty when the weather cools down.  I have already given the top away, so I can't even get a photo of the knot tied for you.

Scrap busting running singlets

I've had these running tops in mind for a while,  but Zoe's post on scrap busting being published as I was attempting to declutter my sewing room spurred me to action.

Top 1

 Top 2

Top 3

The fabrics were all from my scrap drawer, all lightweight and non-clingy.  There is a real mix of fibres...cotton, silk, polyester, mesh, bamboo.

The pattern is my own.  I started with one of my woven tank patterns, ignored the bust dart and used the side seam of the back piece to draw a new side seam for the front piece.  I then lowered the armhole and added some width to the side seam below the armhole to give a loose fit.

I didn't get too precious about the sewing, so in some places the binding is less than perfect and I think one of my seams ended up on the outside instead of the inside.  After looking at the photos, I think I need to adjust the tensions on my overlocker.  All the piecing was done on the overlocker.

I wore the first one for a run last night, and it went well.  The run was very hot and a loose tank over a sports bra is my preferred running attire for hot weather.

Funki Steeplechase leggings

This is my first time running in less than tropical conditions, so when Melissa posted about a sale at Funkifabrics a couple a weeks ago, I thought it was time to give them a try.  I bought a metre of FL0134 fracture purple printed titan and made it up into a full length pair of steeplechase leggings.

Melissa did a great review of funkifabrics technical fabrics, but the temperatures that she considers warm (15 - 17°C) are temperatures that I find cold.  Up until now, most of my running has been done at 25° to 32°C.  Once, I ran in Brisbane, at 12°C, and my ears hurt, my hands hurt and I wore 2 t-shirts.  Call me soft :)  So anyway, last weekend we had a cool moment of only 12°C when I started my weekly longer, slower run and seeing as I had made these leggings just the day before, it was perfect timing to test them out.

First up, I didn't know whether to wear my knee guard inside or outside of the leggings.  I have never worn full length leggings to run in, and I thought if I put it under, I would not be able to access it if I wanted to adjust it, but if I put it on the outside, it might slip around on the lycra.  I chose outside.  Big mistake.  Even when it was done up so tight it was cutting off my circulation, it still slipped down and I fussed with it the whole run.  I don't have to wear it.  My current physio is not convinced the braces help (her words...they are like "farting against thunder"), but I wasn't wearing it in the months leading up to my current need for physio, so I have decided to go back to it.  I am allergic to tape.

Apart from that, how did the fabric go?  Well, at the 1.5 km mark my legs started feeling warm.  Not enough to bother me, but enough for me to notice.  At the 5 - 6 km mark, I was running in the rising sun by the waterfront, and I would have happily swapped my leggings for a pair of shorts.  I ran 10 km in total, and whilst I was "warm", it wasn't like that feeling when I wear synthetic clothing and I start to sweat and prickle and get irritated.  10 minutes after I stopped running, I went in search of a jumper as the day was still cold.  When I took off my knee brace, the area under the brace was wet, which means that the fabric must have been wicking moisture away from everywhere else, the brace just stopped the water escaping.

I did buy this same fabric in another print, but I think I will use it for a capri version, to eliminate the knee brace issue.  I have taken up cycling, on the recommendation of my physio, so might save these full length ones for that (and hello...duathlons and surf-to-summit...nothing like needing to sew new clothes for a new hobby!)

Now, some notes about the pattern, as a record for next time.
- I started with my test version of the pattern, as it was already cut out
- I shortened the upper leg by 3cm.  This gave me the right length, but I should have checked that my marks for each side of the leg still matched up before I cut it out.  I didn't, and the pieces didn't match so I had to ease the legs together at the back.  This had made the back thigh area a bit loose, as you can see in the photo below (well, maybe you can't see, if you don't know where to look...the unusual seaming on this pattern combined with the graphic print might make it a tad hard to spot) .  For my own reference, I have corrected this on my pattern for next time.

- I lowered the front rise by 3 cm
- I used 4 cm wide elastic instead of 2 cm.  I have a long torso, so Melissa's pattern don't reach anywhere near my natural waist.  I don't know if it is my long torso, or the having had 3 babies thing, but I prefer to wear my pants under my belly.  The combination of lowered front rise and wider elastic put these in the perfect place for me.
- it is hard to stick the back pocket in the right place with the waistband this low...it runs into the yoke seam, so I left it off.

I did feel a bit self conscious running in such bright clothing, but my kids are fighting for the scraps!

Super Stretchy

I have just participated in KCWC, but in the can't-quite-fully-commit way that all my sewing seems to be done these days.  I managed about 4 hours of sewing.  Not daily.  Not keeping the "wild things" theme.

I sewed several pairs of what we used to call "bike tights".  "Skins" is a brand of sports clothing that is covet-able amongst children at the moment.  At upwards of $65 a pair, they seem like pretty pricy bike tights to me.  My boys each have one pair, and they wear them so often that I think that they get washed at less than hygienic frequency.  They get worn under shorts for football (all codes) and under looser shorts for gymnastics.

Last time I was able to order fabrics from Eclipse textiles, I ordered some Atlanta Plus, which feels like a pretty similar fabric to me (I don't currently have a supplier for small quantities of fabric from Eclipse...if you know of one, please put their details in the comments).

The first pair were a straight forward Jalie 2563.

For the next pair, I was inspired by the Fehr Trade Steeplechase leggings to make a pair with no inseam.  I did this by cutting a curvy side seam into Jalie 2796 compression shorts and sticking the 2 pieces back together at the in-seam.  In concept, this worked well.  In reality, none of my kids fit this pattern very well, saying that they are too tight in the bum and too loose in the legs.  Shame, as they look really good on.  I will have to apply that same concept to a different legging pattern.

For the third pair, I man-i-fied Jalie 2563, by cutting out a crotch panel and following my own tutorial to create more room in the crotch for the boy bits.  That is the pattern piece on the left most in the photo below.

And now for the super stretchy bit.  Nearly 2 years ago, I replaced my bottom of the line Janome overlocker with a Bernina 1150 MDA.  The Bernina has a much nicer looking stitch, but I have found that I am more likely to end up with holes or stitching coming apart on my close fitting lycra gear, (including a set of dance costumes that I made :(  ).  I went back to the manual this time, to see that I had chosen the optimal stitch setting, and discovered a 3 thread super stretch setting.  This stitch uses both the needle threads, so at first glance, it looks like a 4 thread stitch.  There is no upper looper thread.  Instead, an upper looper converter accessory is attached, so that the upper looper thread no longer carries thread and the lower looper thread is diverted so that loops are formed.  All news to me.  I have really pulled on the length of these seams, and they have not broken threads.  I thought that this was worth mentioning, for other self taught sewers that may have not picked up on this detail in their manual :).

And the verdict.  My younger son is happy to wear the first pair.  My daughter has claimed the second pair, after they were rejected by my older son...but she says they are a bit tight, so we will have see if she wears them.  The third pair look really good on my older son, but he is not keen to wear them, as they are not "skins".  Maybe when I show him the list of jobs required to earn enough money for skins, he will come around??  Not sure.  Might have to keep them for the younger son to grow into.