New Workout wear- Jalie Pika Bra/top and Cashmerette Saybrook Tank

Last year I decided that I really needed to up my game in the workout gear arena. This came about as I was upping my fitness for my trip to Paris. As some of my readers may know I have a medical condition, Chronic Pancreatitis, that when it decides to flair up it can knock me down and out for a long time. Literally taking my strength and endurance back to step one.

 

So, as I was upping my strength and endurance I really noticed that I had a need for more workout specific clothing. I did what any good sewist would do and started ‘collecting’ workout/exercise fabrics, patterns and books. I now have enough workout fabrics to sew myself a FULL wardrobe of exercise gear! LOL!!I know I am not alone in doing this….

I started off by identifying the types of exercise that I like to do or aspired to do.

Walking with a small amount of jogging thrown in from time to time, long walks/hikes. casual bike riding (meaning using Divvy Bike in Chicago and not owning my own performance bike) Strength training/functional training with dumbells, medicine balls and bands plus some yoga and active stretching. None of these really require any specialty clothing items and I am not doing any sustained high impact activities.

Next step was to get some inspiration. It’s great to have Instagram, Pinterest and Google Images for this part. SO much fun to go down the inspiration rabbit hole J

I then identified what items I wanted to make.

Sports Bras – tops – leggings (both full length and long shorts)

Considerations for my comfort was mostly around the fact that I don’t necessarily like my tush showing while exercising. Most times it is fine but living in a major city means that people will see me while outside and some guys are just crude… So, I decided that I wanted either tops that covered my tush, or an attached skirt or leggings that are patterned and fit well. I also wanted to make sure I had a pocket on my leg for my phone. This was a must for me.

For this blog post I am going to focus on the tops and the bra. Next blog will be for the bottoms.

Patterns:Sports bra/ bra top Jalie Pika #3679 Tank top: Saybrook tank by Cashmerette .

Fit Changes: The only changes that I made to the Pika was to shorten the Center Front length by 1 inch blending to nothing at the side seams.

Wearable muslin

Final version with shortened front

For the Cashmerette Saybrook tank I did make a swayback adjustment but did not add a center back seam so it was just a small one and I decided it was fine to have some extra fabric back there for my workout clothes.

Design Changes: None

Fabric: I used a variety of fabrics from different sources. Some were from my collection and other sources were: Fashion Fabrics Club, Blackbird Fabrics, Discovery Fabrics and J Stern Designs.

For the Pika Sports bra specifically I used the Power Mesh from Discovery Fabrics for the lining and it works perfect!! I specifically purchased the Power Mesh sampler pack to try it out. The main fabric of the sports bra were done with lycra stretch that I used for the bottoms. The straps were done with a variety of activewear fabrics to match the rest of the outfits.

Close up of the power mesh lining

The fabric for the tank tops was from a variety of sources and weights to try things out that I liked. All of them have stretch with lycra in them. The patterned fabric was from my collection and originally came from the Textile Warehouse in Chicago. The other 2 fabrics were from Fashion Fabrics Club.

 

 

3 version of Saybrook tank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up of the reverse 3-thread coverstitch

Interfacing: none needed

Notions/Buttons/Zippers: Only notions needed for the Bra and Bra top was elastic. I used ¼ inch and 3/8 inch clear elastic and ¾ inch non-roll elastic. For applying the clear elastic to the Pika bra neckline and armholes I used a trick that I saw on the Fehrtrade blog about using the elastic foot on the serger with no tension. This really stremalines the process and cuts down on the time! it serges the pieces of fabric together AND applies the elastic at the same time! A big WIN in my book!

Elastic foot set up on my serger

View as you are sewing - the large circle in front is where the elastic goes in and the smaller circle in the back you can see the 4 thread overlocker stitches attaching the clear elastic and the fabric and self lining all together in one step.

Final product all in one! Even there is a slight gathering from the elastic once the top is on that completely goes away and is not noticeable.

Seam construction and seam finishes: I had some fun playing around with different techniques both on the sewing machine and the serger. I read 2 different books which I recommend as a good place to start. Sew Your Own Activewear by Melissa Fehr and Sewing Activewear by Johanna Lundstrom. I also watched a bunch of Gail Yellen’s Gail Patrice Design YouTube Serger and Coverstitch Tip Clips. (these are awesome!)

My first pass at the wearable muslins were done following directions on the patterns which were a combination of both sewing machine and serger/coverstitch. The subsequent versions were done all on the serger and coverstitch with some changes in construction order to facilitate the fact that I have a convertible machine that does both serger and coverstitch.

Hem Finishes: I also took this opportunity to play with these to find what I liked and did not like. I used both front and back coverstitch as finishes and I did some zig zag as well.

Thoughts on Pika bra and top. This is a perfect sports bra for me! I really like it and it gives me plenty of support and is quite comfortable. The top with integrated bra is fun as well and I don’t usually like an integrated bra but this one works for me. The main purple fabric is very lightweight and drapey and will be good for warm weather workouts!

Thoughts on the Saybrook Tank. I was a tester for this top and from the beginning I had thoughts on using it for activewear. I made several different versions, the high neck and high back both with and without the front knot as well as the V-neck with scoop back which is my favorite version. The fit is quite good and I will make more of these.

It is really fun to have a bunch of new workout gear!! Makes working out just a tad bit more fun.

Happy Sewing!!

This picture of the princess is just so beautiful! that smile and that hair... She fills my heart with joy. I Loved that she asked me to help her with bath time. She cant quite manage getting all the shampoo out of her hair by herself yet!

A Birthday Suki Robe! or two...

 My mom had her birthday over the summer and I wanted to make her something nice! So I looked through my patterns and decided on a summer robe. Everyone needs a nice robe J and I know that my mom has a winter robe and thought it would be lovely to have a nice summer robe to relax in on a lazy Summer Sunday morning.

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

I have been wanting to make the Suki Robe for a long time. In fact, I was so excited about this pattern that I mistakenly purchased it twice! Oops! When I went through my fabric collection to pick out a fabric to make for her I settled on the 2 combinations that you see here. The floral print and the tiger print. Both lovely fabrics with very different feels to the fabric and very different, but fun, vibes. Decision paralysis hit! For the life of me I could not decide which one to make for my mom. So, I did what any good sewist would do and made them BOTH!! I figured that I really wanted one and liked both combinations equally so one for me and one for mom! The decision could be made later as to who got which one. Luckily I could make the same size for both since there is not a huge amount of difference between us and it is after all just a robe, very forgiving in the fit department.

As I was making them I literally would go back and forth with which one would be for mom. In the end I waited until they were both completed and then had a video chat with my sister and asked her opinion. I REALLY just needed someone to make a decision! She said floral for mom!! After seeing mom in the floral robe it is a perfect fit for her.

Pattern: Suki Robe by Helen’s Closet- View B knee length. Description of pattern from website: The Suki Robe is a luxurious and comfortable robe, perfect for everyday use. It wraps around the body for a flattering waist fit and flares out over the hips. The sleeves offer a classic look while still being a practical shape and length for getting ready in the morning. Inner and outer ties keep this robe closed so you can move around freely. The outer ties are anchored to the back of the robe so you will never lose them and inseam pockets ensure your phone is always at hand. Two lengths are provided and you have the option of contrasting front bands, sleeve bands, and ties. The Suki Robe will surely be your new favorite lounge-wear!

This is a PDF only pattern. I really do NOT enjoy printing out sheets of paper and taping them together so I use an online printing service called PDFPlotting.com They do a nice job and have fairly quick turnaround and very reasonable prices.

Fit Changes: No fit changes except to grade between sizes for larger hip.

Design Changes: Almost None! For a change I made these almost exactly as designed by Helen from Helen’s closet. The only thing I did was to make the main ties longer. I added 6 inches to each tie. I also added a label and hanging ribbon.

Fabric: Robe 1: My Mom’s robe- Digital floral print lightweight linen with solid linen accents. Digital print linen from Marcy Tilton and solid accents from Blackbird fabrics.

            Robe 2: My robe- Tiger print rayon challis with solid linen accents. Tiger print rayon challis from WorkroomSocial and solid accents from Blackbird fabrics.

Interfacing: scraps for the corner insertion on the front band.

Notions/Buttons/Zippers: none!

Seam construction and seam finishes: All seams done on a regular sewing machine with a 3 thread overlock serger finishing. The construction directions are quite nice and I had them accessible on my iPad. For both the sleeve bands and the front bands she includes 2 construction methods, a beginner method – exposed seams and a more advanced method- all seams enclosed. I thought this was a very nice touch and would certainly enable new sewists to expand on their techniques.

For all of the edge stitching and topstitching I used an edge stitching foot on my machine to keep things lined up perfectly!

Robe 1 notes- I did have some fun with all of the topstitching on Robe 1. I used a Sulky 12wt Blendables Long staple cotton thread for a nice effect and for the inner ties I used the serger belt loop binder to create the ties.

For the main ties I added an interior back portion to stabilize them better. The main fabric is quite lightweight and I was afraid that over time they would rip at the back where they are attached. Certainly not a design flaw- just a consideration to take into account with the lightweight fabric.

On the inside I added a piece of the straps and edge stitched it down for re-enforcement.On the outside all you see is the rectangle of stitching that matches up to the  straps.

Robe 2 notes- Matching topstitching as I didn’t have anything special on hand to use! The inner ties were made the old fashioned way of sewing and turning the tubes. The rayon was way too soft for feeding through the belt loop maker on the serger and I didn’t want to futz with starching the pieces.

Hem Finishes: Sleeves are finished with a band and the lower hem is a simple double turned and topstitched.

Additional Notes: This was a fun project! I will totally make more of these Suki robes. They are very comfortable and feel quite lovely when worn. I like having the inner tie as I can sit out on the balcony and have coffee in the nice weather and not worry about any wardrobe malfunctions.

If I didn’t already have 2 winter robes I would be making myself another one! I know of some people on my Christmas list that would enjoy a robe as a gift. We shall see if I can make that happen.

Happy Sewing!!

The Princess really enjoyed exploring some of the art done after Chicago George Floyd riots at the RC Shops close to my home. Many shops that have had to put up plywood to protect the glass at shops have taken the opportunity to invite artists to paint them. Much nicer than just plain plywood! Her favorite was this one with the beautiful floral hair!

Also... a sneak peak of what I am currently working on :) Stay tuned for more information.