fashion – Sew Beach Life

Delphi Sports Bra

Who can resist a fun new sports bra? Especially with options for a super cute infinity, twist, or simple back design. I am all over trying new sports bra patterns, and the infinity strap design is just so unique and fun.

I don’t limit myself when it comes to wearing sports bras. They get worn to the gym, as a swim top at the beach and in the pool, and for everyday wear. They also get worn with shorts when I skate around my neighborhood, because that is #floridalife. 🙂

The Delphi Sports Bra pattern calls for athletic fabric. I used nylon/spandex Supplex and nylon/spandex Align 2 for my two bras. You could add powernet if you wanted, but I found that the compression and firmer rebound of Supplex and Align 2 were adequate for me. (For reference, I wear and buy a size 32D bra at Soma.)

I wore one of my freshly made bras all day yesterday and it was super comfortable. The straps stay in place, and the neckline depth is perfect. It’s high enough to be supportive, but low enough to not show under a scoop or V-neck top.

You can use 3/8″ or 1/2″ elastic in the straps. Although the pattern calls for 1-1/2″ or 2″ elastic in the band, because I am rather short-waisted (which seems weird for a tall girl, right?) I chose to use 1″ elastic in my band. Of course that meant adjusting my band height to 2-7/8″, but I love being able to personalize a pattern to fit my body. That’s one of the reasons that I sew my own clothes.

Greenstyle has once again nailed it on a fun, great-fitting, well-designed pattern with the Delphi Sports Bra. It doesn’t take a huge amount of fabric, and can be worn with shorts, skirts, leggings, and under your favorite top. Sizing ranges from 32″ to 61″ at the full bust. If you need it, there are 2″ and 4″ full bust adjustment pattern pieces for the front.

The details:

The Delphi Sports Bra pattern is one of the many awesome patterns by Greenstyle. I had some plum Supplex from Phee Fabrics in my stash for the first Delphi Bra I made. The teal Align 2 for my second bra was purchased from Greenstyle a while back. Although this particular color is no longer available, they have lots of pretty colors in stock. I also recommend the Signature fabric line, which is another high quality nylon/spandex athletic fabric.

For reference, I made a size C1 with the plum supplex. For the second bra, I again used size C1, but cut the front in size B2 width (keeping the C1 length), which feels more comfortable for my shoulder width and at the armscye. I dislike anything being too close in the armscye, and this combination works perfectly for me.

I can’t remember which pattern I used for the swim bottoms, but the Delphi Sports Bra is also shown worn with the Windward Shorts and Tidal Skirt, blogged here and here.

I purchased my 1/2″ and 1″ knit elastic at Wawak, along with the Maxi-Lock serger thread. There are steps in the pattern that I highly recommend using your sewing machine to stitch, such as the side seams, and attaching the back infinity straps. It’s also important to trim those seams to reduce bulk and help them lay more smoothly when turned out to the right side. I drive a Bernina sewing machine and LOVE it! Other seams and the cover-stitching on the straps were done on my Babylock Triumph, which I also love.

I cannot stress strongly enough how much easier and more fun it is to sew when you use high quality patterns, fabrics, and machines. It isn’t that you can’t sew with a cheaper machine, because I sewed for decades on much, much less expensive machines. But once I had saved enough money to purchase my current machines, I really feel like the quality of my work, and ease of sewing (due to less frustration with machine capacity, bobbin struggles, lack of foot height, and motor strength) has greatly improved.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of patterns, sewing, fabric, and cute sports bras! The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I do like knowing whether the time I spend writing posts actually interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review, but I write for me. It’s one more creative pursuit that I hope is helpful or interesting to others. I write to share my love of sewing and to encourage others to love it as much as I do! ❤

Tidal Skirt Love

Who doesn’t love a pattern with multiple uses and lots of options? While originally designed as a swim cover up (like the Ripskirt Hawaii), I wear my Tidal skirts for daily use. With 14″, 16″ or 18″ length options, you can go as short as you dare! The pockets are deep enough to safely hold your phone or stash your cards, ID, or a house key.

It’s a fun wrap skirt with godets in the back and a contoured waistband for a perfect fit. The pattern tutorial calls for Velcro closures, but you could use buttons or snaps if you prefer. I chose Velcro, and found Sleek & Thin sew on low profile fastener at Michael’s. It truly is sleek and thin, and is so soft that you could use it for children’s clothing. Even the “hook” side of this variety of hook and loop fastener isn’t scratchy at all. I was surprised and impressed at how different it is from the industrial version.

It’s easy to put on or take off the skirt:

And just like that, you’re ready to lounge in the sun, or go for a swim! You’ve got modesty for walking to the beach or pool, and can quickly prep for beach time. It’s simple to slip back on if you’re going out to dinner or walking the neighborhood.

I love the clean finish on the inside of these woven skirts, which is achieved by serging the raw edges of the seams, and top-stitching with a coverstitch. I chose to sew each 3/8″ seam with my sewing machine, then serge the raw edge with a stitch length of 2-2.25 and a stitch width of M without cutting off any of the seam allowance. The seams were pressed in the appropriate directions as per the pattern tutorial, and top-stitched with a wide coverstitch.

I generally use a narrow coverstitch with the needles in C2 and C3 when hemming or wanting a subtle look. But with the fun angles and seams of the Tidal Skirt, I wanted to try the bolder look of a wide coverstitch (with needles in C1 and C3) and accented every single seam!

See how carefully I mirrored each pattern piece on the ombre fabric? I love how the wide coverstitch really pops on all of the seams!

Here are a few tips to make sewing the Tidal Skirt even easier:

When attaching the inner pocket to the outer pocket, I find it helpful to slide my quilting ruler between the pocket pieces and the skirt so that when pinning the curved section of the pocket pieces I can’t accidentally pin into the skirt front.

Ignore the glare of the overhead light fixture reflecting in my ruler, but smile with me at the knowledge that I have a nice bright light fixture to help me see to sew.

To help “tame” the curves when pressing up the hem of the skirt or the bottom of the inner waistband, turn the differential on your serger up to 1.3 (or even 1.5 depending on how deep the curve) and serge the raw edge of the fabric. This will slightly gather it so that when it’s pressed up, the fabric will lay smoothly.

See how smoothly the pressed up hem lays?

The pattern tutorial has you attach the Velcro by sewing through both layers of the waistband. It’s the simplest way to do so. But the perfectionist in me didn’t want to see those stitch lines on the outer waistband. I wanted the Velcro completely hidden. As per the tutorial I attached the outer waistband to the skirt. Then I attached the inner waistband to the outer waistband along the top seam, but I did not sew the short sides at that time. I tried the skirt on, and carefully marked where the Velcro needed to go with pins. (The pattern piece has markings, but it’s always good to try on and adjust placement if needed.) I folded the waistband open so that I could attach the Velcro through the single layer of either the inner or outer waistband. At that point I folded the waistband back down right sides together and stitched the two short edges. Then it’s back to the tutorial and turning right sides out, pressing, and stitching in the ditch.

*Note: it is very important that you top-stitch or coverstitch all the way around your waistband if you use my method to attach the Velcro as it adds the needed stability.

The Tidal Skirt pattern by Greenstyle uses their new, updated size chart that includes sizes A1 through M3 with waist measurements from 24″-53″ and hips from 33″-62″ so it’s very size inclusive.

The details:

I made size D1 and love that the Tidal Skirt can be made with quilting cotton. I don’t own many woven garment patterns that recommend quilting cotton, so this is a great way to use a fun print or some fabric that’s been languishing in your stash for far, far too long…

This teal print may be 27 years old, but it worked perfectly for this pattern!

There is a bit of purple in the teal print, so I chose to accent it by coverstitching with MaxiLock thread from Wawak in orchid. I wore my teal skirt with a Bobby Brami, which you can read more about here.

The purple ombre cotton print came from my local(ish) quilt and sewing machine shop in Tampa a couple of years ago. I used Sergin’ General from Superior Threads in periwinkle to serge and coverstitch it. I wore my purple skirt with a slightly hacked Endurance Sports Bra (made with Greenstyle fabric), which you can read more about here. I’ve also worn it with an Azure Tank, shared here.

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links to purchase, without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I hope that the time I spend writing posts and sharing sewing tips interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review. I write to share my love of sewing, patterns, and fabric, and hope that it encourages others to love sewing as much as I do! ❤

Bobby and Billie

From Lounge Wear to All Day Wear to Workout Wear

I love versatile patterns, and the new Bobby Brami pattern from GreenStyle does not disappoint! It makes for super comfortable pajamas when paired with the Billie Shorts. You can lounge all day, clean house, sew, read, do laundry, and snuggle your cat, all while feeling cozy, yet cool.

I love the way he curls his tail around me when I hold him. He loves being held up on my shoulder like a baby.

I interrupted his nap for some kitty snuggles.

But the Bobby Brami isn’t just for lounging. I wear mine out and about while running errands, taking a walk on the beach, and while skating. Fabric choice makes a little bit of difference on which top I’ll choose. All of my Bobby Brami shelf bras are made with high quality nylon/spandex swim or athletic knit. I didn’t even bother using power knit as an additional layer, because the shape of the pattern pieces gives me adequate support. The coral floral print and bright green main layer (and Billie Shorts) sets are rayon/spandex. They are soft and cozy.

It’s been chilly here in Florida, but it finally warmed up enough for me to skate again. When it finally hit the mid sixties, I wore the coral floral Bobby with some Moxi bike shorts to skate.

Some of the side streets have been repaved and they are so much smoother and nicer to skate on.

You’ve just got to pause and have some fun when you get to the top of a little bridge!

As much as I love rayon/spandex, I’m unlikely to wear it while doing a sweaty workout. On those 90 degree days, I’ll reach for the nylon/spandex athletic fabric tops, like my palm leaf print or solid white versions.

When pattern testing, I like to take fresh measurements just to make sure I’m choosing the correct size(s). Garments fit best when you start with your upper bust measurement to get a good fit at the shoulders. Then you can grade for the full bust, waist, and hips. My upper bust is a size D, and my full bust is on the outer edge of D. My waist and hips are size F. So my pattern is graded from D to F starting below the bust. After making the first test version, I realized that my bust projection made the front of my top a smidge too short. But I don’t measure into or need the +2″ or +4″ FBA front pattern pieces. What I do need is a little bit of extra length at the center front. So I reshaped the hem similar to the hem on the FBA front of the Azure top shared here. Adding 3/4″ at center front, gently curving up to nothing at the sides made a world of difference.

See how evenly the hem sits? It’s the same length all around instead of riding up in the front.

I upcycled the pretty palm leaf print fabric from a now too large tunic top (shared here) for my third Bobby Brami. Because it has a higher percentage of spandex and would be more form-fitting and less drapey, I experimented with adding 1/2″ to the length of both the (previously adjusted) front and back of the top. I’m super happy with the results!

This top is so comfortable and supportive, I don’t even have to think about adjusting or pulling on it. Carefree clothing is the best!

The slim fit of the pattern and quality of the nylon/spandex fabric kept the top firmly in place even when doing cartwheels.

All four of my Bobby Brami’s have the V-neck front, U-back, and are the (longest) high hip length. Some may think that’s boring, but I like what I like! 😉 There are a lot of options: high neck, U-neck, and V-neck fronts; and high neck, U-neck, and V-neck backs, which can be mixed and matched; along with bra length, waist crop, and high hip lengths. They can be worn with shorts, leggings, and skirts, like the Paseo Skirt shared here.

I love the *just the right amount* of coverage of the soft V-neck.

The Billie Shorts have three length options from boy shorts to the longest length, which is what I made. There’s also a lengthen/shorten line if you need to adjust the rise.

I like the longer length, and if you’re someone who experiences “chub rub”, I can foresee these being made in a nylon/spandex to be both smoothing and to protect the inner thighs. I know someone who would probably really appreciate if I made her a pair or two, as this is the style that she likes, and struggles to find in her size. Speaking of size, these patterns come in sizes B-M, which range from a full bust of 30″-61″ and a hip of 32″-62″.

If you choose to make Billie Shorts as a smoothing layer to wear under scrubs or clothes, you’ll be happy to note that there is a liner pattern piece that should be made out of cotton/spandex, bamboo/spandex, rayon/spandex or other breathable fiber. Alternatively, you could just cut a second center front piece so that the full center is lined.

A freshly sewn burrito rolled main top and shelf bra may not look like much before it’s pressed, but when it’s done, you can’t help but admire the clean finish!

One of the sewing techniques used on the Bobby Brami is the burrito roll. Don’t let the idea of it intimidate you. It really is just rolling from one side over to the other armscye, wrapping the right sides around the rolled up fabric, and pinning, then sewing them together. When you pull the fabric out after stitching, it’s amazing to see the clean finish of your garment.

Have I mentioned lately that I love the coverstitch feature on my Triumph? It makes hemming and finishing elastic bra and waistbands so quick and easy!

Though it is a rather soft V (due to the negative ease of the pattern) the V-neck does come to a point. It can be tricky to navigate exactly where to stop and pivot your fabric. I like to use a disappearing fabric marker to mark the center line of my V. Then I can stitch, keep the needle down, and pivot to stitch the other side of the V. I use a lightning bolt stitch for this, as this is a knit garment with a bit of compression. Once I’ve stitched the V, I clip down to but not through the stitching line. Then I can easily serge the neckline while adding the clear elastic to the seam. Once serged, I very carefully snip the elastic at the center of the V, trying not to snip any thread. This will help the fabric lay smoother at the V. I generally use my seam ripper to do this, as the tiny point can easily get in there to do the job.

It was easy to tell the front from the back at a glance as I made V-front and U-backs on my Bobby Brami’s. But I’m making a U-back and front for my daughter, as she prefers a slightly higher cut at the bust. To make life easier, I put a clip at the center back of the main and shelf bra pieces. A simple tip that can make things faster, easier, and avoid confusion when sewing.

Although the tutorial calls for adding clear elastic at both the neck and armscyes, I cannot stand anything tight or constricting in any way in my armpits. So I used clear elastic only on the neckline seam, feel like I have great support, and don’t feel the need for it around the arms.

Good support and a flattering fit? Yes, please!

I’m super happy with my new makes and will continue to get so much use out of them! It was nice to wear a new top to yoga class on Saturday because I do seem to be running out of workout wear and get tired of wearing the same five outfits week after week. I’m in love with these new patterns!

I had intended to add a video of my backbend to wide legged forward fold to headstand and back to wide legged forward fold, but WordPress wants me to upgrade (and pay more for) a premium plan in order to add videos. Lame. So no videos for me. 😦 But check out my new Liforme yoga mat! I bought the XL length during their holiday sale and *love* it! My previous Liforme mat lasted me for six plus years of doing yoga 3, 4, or 5 times a week.

The details: Greenstyle just released the Bobby Brami and Billie Shorts patterns.

The bright green rayon/spandex, and palm frond print nylon/spandex were from Phee Fabrics.

The coral floral rayon/spandex was given to me by my daughter, no clue where it came from.

The white nylon/spandex double brushed jersey athletic knit was from Porcelynne. As was some of the nylon/spandex swim type fabric used for the shelf bras.

I can’t be the only one that curls their legs up when sitting, right? 🙂

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I hope that the time I spend writing posts and sharing sewing tips interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review. I write to share my love of sewing, patterns, and fabric, and hope that it encourages others to love sewing as much as I do! ❤

GreenStyle Mini Flare Leggings

On Trend With Fun Style

Since we’re moving into winter, it’s definitely time for pants, even in Florida! The new GreenStyle Mini Flare Leggings are very on trend, with the flare starting at mid-calf. And the best part for a tall girl like me? The pattern comes with petite, average, and tall files!

They’re dressy enough to be worn with a blazer or cardigan for work or other events, while also being “fun” pants. I mean, if neon green doesn’t scream fun to you, I don’t know what does! 🙂

My husband says he likes my groovy bell bottoms. 😉 Since we lived through the ’70s (albeit in middle school) I can’t disagree! 🙂 They are very fun pants, and I like them.

Truth in advertising here though: if you have average (for your size) knees and/or calves, the pattern is great as is. I have quite muscular legs, with 15-3/4″ knees, and 15-1/8″ calves. This is way larger than the size F tall leggings are drafted for. Since the leggings are quite fitted at the knees through upper half of the calves, I knew I would need to make some adjustments. I added width to help the leggings fit the shape of my inner knees, as well as both sides of my calves. They are perhaps still a bit in need of space for my knee and calf muscles, but my husband and I were traveling to visit our granddaughters for the Christmas season, so I didn’t have any more time to play with the pattern.

The pattern has markings for the knees, and the tutorial has been updated to add a fit guide. If years of skating, yoga or other exercise has made your legs more muscular than average (like me), you’re probably going to want to check out that fit guide.

I chose the higher contoured waistband, and it is perfect! I didn’t even bother to add powernet or elastic along the top waistband seam because it just fits so well. If a contoured waistband isn’t your thing, there’s also a seamless (folded) top waistband option.

The striped top I’m wearing with my gray leggings is a Leeward Tee. I upcycled an old tunic top and kept the 3/4 length sleeves for winter wearing.

The colorful tunic top worn with my neon green pants is an old ready-to-wear top from the back of the closet.

The details:

The GreenStyle Mini Flare Leggings pattern just released, and comes in sizes B-M (32″ to 62″ hips). It took 1-1/2 yards of fabric to make size F Tall.

The green pair is made of high quality heavier weight cotton lycra. I used supplex for the inner waistband, since cotton lycra can become baggy after wearing for several hours.

The gray pair are a high quality nylon/spandex ponte athletic knit I found at my local(ish) sewing machine dealer. I wish they had had more colors available.

If you’re looking for some trendy leggings, you may want to check this pattern out!

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I hope the time I spend writing posts actually interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review. I write to share my love of sewing, patterns, and fabric, and hope that it encourages others to love sewing as much as I do! 🙂

All About The Azure

Greenstyle has been knocking it out of the park with new patterns, and the Azure Top and Dress is another winner! There are options galore with crew, scoop and V-necklines; narrow or wide tanks; cap, short, full, or long sleeves; crop, high hip, or low hip tops; and a super cute dress with elastic in the back for shaping.

When you make three tops and a dress, it’s a sure sign that you love a pattern! 🙂 My first make is a V-neck narrow tank in the high hip length. When I texted my daughter a photo to show her how cute it is, she said she “loves the modern length on me.” Hahahahahahahaha! Obviously I have not been wearing tops with a modern length! She’s not wrong. After losing some weight, most of my tanks and tops are big, baggy, and too long on me. So I really needed to make some new ones!

I love the V-neck, I love the drapiness of rayon spandex for this style, and the narrow tank width is perfect for my shoulder width.

Since those style choices worked so well the first time, my second make is another V-neck narrow tank in high hip length.

This green rayon spandex is a bit heavier weight than the cheetah print, and as usual for testing, the pattern was updated slightly to fit a little slimmer at the armscye and bust. This top may look a little snug at the bust, but it is super comfortable and will fit an average bust quite nicely.

All of my makes are a size E graded out to size F. My upper bust is 33″, which is the smallest end of size E. My full bust is 37″, the largest measurement for size E, so right on the edge of needing an FBA. Because Greenstyle is awesome, they include a +2″ FBA option in the pattern. 🙂

Which leads me to the third V-neck narrow tank in high hip length, made using the +2″ FBA front pattern piece. Along with a bit of width at the bust, the FBA adds length to the center front, which is super helpful for those of us with a lot of bust projection. Although I don’t mind the slightly high low look of my first two tanks, my FBA make has a more level hemline.

This tank is an upcycle made from an old RTW dress. Although the fabric is a polyester spandex (if you know or follow me, I’m not generally a fan of polyester) the print and colors were too fun for me to ignore.

Polyester spandex doesn’t have quite as nice a drape as rayon spandex, but it still works well for this pattern. I wore this outfit all day while playing with my granddaughters. The six year old and I went roller skating around the neighborhood and I was so comfortable that I didn’t even think about my clothes.

Photo courtesy of my six year old granddaughter.

I love that the “modern” 😉 high hip length keeps my belly covered even with arms raised overhead. One of these days I might try the crop length, because it would look super cute with a Paseo Skirt…

After seeing the cute Azure dresses during testing, it was impossible to not make one. The back elastic just gives it such pretty shaping.

The length is perfect! Short enough to be cool and breezy (because let’s face it- Florida is hot and humid for most of the year), but long enough to wear to Mass.

The back elastic not only provides shaping for the front of the dress, but helps it lay smoothly and comfortably against your back.

If you’re nervous about sewing an elastic casing on stretchy knit fabric, I’ve got great tips for you. First, make sure you mark your casing lines (on the wrong side of the fabric) with a high contrast color. I like using tracing paper and a tracing wheel. Then press up both long sides of the casing.

My (not so) secret weapon for keeping the casing from stretching or shifting out of place when sewing is Wash Away Wonder Tape.

Place a strip of Wash Away Wonder Tape along both pressed up edges of the casing. Flip the casing over so that the wrong side of the casing lines up with the marked lines on the wrong side of the dress back.

Start peeling the paper backing off the strip on the top edge of the casing, then use your hands to press it in place along the top marked line. Once the casing is perfectly aligned and pressed into place, do the same with the bottom edge.

My sweet kitty likes to be close by while I’m sewing. He lounges on a chair while I cut or do prep at the dining table, then follows me into the sewing studio when I sew. ❤

The Wash Away Wonder Tape will keep the casing perfectly in place for stitching. What you may have thought of as a challenging step becomes super easy, and you don’t even need to worry about using or pulling pins when you sew the casing in place!

Maybe this winter I’ll try a version with sleeves, but for now the V-neck and narrow tank options are perfect for both the top and dress.

My favorite fabric for both the tank and dress is of course rayon spandex, because I love that fabric blend for pretty much any knit tank, tee, or dress I make.

But I have to admit that the polyester spandex blend worked well too.

Whether you’re working, playing, walking through the woods or just stopping to smell the roses, the Azure Top and Dress will keep you comfortable on your journey.

The details: the Azure Top and Dress is a new pattern from GreenStyle Creations. It comes in sizes B-M (full bust of 30″ to 61″ and hips of 32″ to 62″) and has options galore for the neckline, tank styles, and sleeve options, with three top lengths (plus a dress length!)

I purchased the rayon spandex cheetah print from Mood Fabrics, and wore my tank with bike shorts from the Moxi Shorts pattern.

I purchased the green rayon spandex from Phee Fabrics, and wore it with my Windward Shorts (you can read all about them here.)

I upcycled the teal and purple polyester spandex fabric, and wore the FBA version of the tank with Moxi bike shorts.

The blue rayon spandex for the dress was purchased from Phee Fabrics. The Wash Away Wonder Tape and the 1″ knit elastic used for the back elastic casing were purchased from Wawak.

No matter what options you choose, I am definitely all about the Azure!

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I hope the time I spend writing posts actually interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review. I write to share my love of sewing, fabric, patterns, and notions, and hope that sharing helpful tips encourages others to love sewing as much as I do! 🙂

Going With The Wind

The GreenStyle Windward Shorts

I’ve been waiting for these shorts for over a year! Volunteering to pre-test them last year, and loving them even back then. The pattern was put on hold until this year, when shorts season rolled around again. One of the things that makes GreenStyle patterns fit so well, is the fact that they are truly put through the test. Comments and fit photos submitted by the testers are taken into consideration, and the pattern gets tweaked again and again to perfect the fit.

With curved back seams to fit smoothly over the bum (with an optional fuller bum cut line), and welt pockets (with optional zipper) the Windward Shorts are flattering and practical. I tend to wear a lot of athletic wear style of shorts. I probably have seven pair of Moxi compression layer shorts that I wear all the time. But my dress shorts options are severely limited. As in I didn’t have any until the Windward Shorts came along!

I love being able to add another category of clothing into my life. There are occasions that require a slightly dressier look, and now I’ve got something that fits the bill.

I thought it was so cool that my husband caught this shot of the dragonfly zooming by my head!

The pattern is designed for stretch woven fabrics, so that inherently leads to a dressier look. Stretch wovens can be made of different materials (all of which contain a small percentage of spandex, which is what gives them that little bit of stretch.) The periwinkle stretch cotton twill from Mood Fabrics is a heavier, crisper fabric, which gives a different look than say a polyester blend that is thinner and a bit drapier.

I also made a pair out of stretch charmeuse from JoAnn Fabrics. The softer drape makes them look a bit more form fitting.

I love that the pattern accommodates a wide variety of stretch woven fabrics and looks great in all of them. A unique design feature is that there is no inseam, which makes the shorts very comfortable for people bothered by inner leg seams. The welt pockets are generously sized, so even my large phone fits perfectly. Since it’s anchored in the top and side seams, the pocket lays smoothly, and stays in place.

As a tall girl, I chose the high rise with the 2″ elastic waistband for both my makes. (I actually made a third pair, but didn’t photograph them.) There is a mid rise, and an options for 3″ wide elastic too. With 2″, 3″, and 4″ inseams, you’ve definitely got choices!

I love that there are no zippers or buttons to deal with (other than the optional zipper on the welt pockets) so the shorts are a quick sew and easy to wear.

I hope you’ll flip for these shorts like I did!

I love that I’m not afraid to still do a cartwheel. And I probably did 10 or 15 of them before my husband actually caught a shot with my legs up in the air and his finger not in the frame! 🙂

As a note of encouragement, don’t let the idea of welt pockets scare you. The tutorial is easy to follow and makes a fancy detail simple to accomplish. And face it, all shorts need pockets!

The waistband is comfortable, and makes the shorts easy to wear.

The details:

The GreenStyle Windward Shorts pattern includes sizes B-M, which covers hip measurements from 32″ to 62″.

The periwinkle fabric is stretch cotton twill from Mood Fabrics. I wore it with a Power Sports Bra that I hacked into a workout top made of black spandex and black snakeskin yogi fabric from GreenStyle. You can read more about the hack here.

The brushstroke print is a stretch charmeuse from JoAnn Fabrics. They were worn with one of my Tangled Swim Tops, blogged here.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of patterns, sewing, fabric, and cute shorts with large pockets! ❤

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links (if I did them properly!) which means that I may earn a few pennies if you use my links without it costing you anything extra. Since this is my blog and represents me, I always give my honest opinion about any patterns, fabric, or supplies that I talk about. I do like knowing whether the time I spend writing posts actually interests people enough that they take a look at the patterns I review, but I write for me. It’s one more creative pursuit that I hope is helpful or interesting to others. I write to share my love of sewing and to encourage others to love it as much as I do! 🙂