GreenStyle Creations – Sew Beach Life

Savannah Dress pattern by GreenStyle

The new Savannah Dress pattern is so cute! I love that it has so many options: a fitted look (with or without a center back seam for extra shaping!); a half or full circle skirt; narrow or wide straps that can be sewn as straight, crossed or in a V; an optional shelf bra, with a full bust option; and an optional removable bra cup panel.

I don’t normally wear fitted dresses, but this one intrigued me. I’m super glad that I’ve made a couple because they are comfortable and perfect for the sunny weather here in Florida.

Fitted dresses are great for walking the beach because even on a windy day, you don’t need to worry about a full skirt blowing up in the wind. Although technically, you don’t need to worry anyway, because this pattern includes shorts too!

I chose the straight skirt option for both of my dresses and made the optional shelf bra (because who wants to deal with a strapless bra?) with crossed straps. The first dress had the one piece back, but several pattern testers thought that perhaps a seamed back would better fit and accentuate our curves. The designers made that option happen, and I like it!

Have I mentioned how much I love well-drafted patterns, and designers who work hard to try and make a great fitting pattern? Probably several times now! It really does make a difference in your sewing success when you use a well-drafted and tested pattern, and grade to fit your body.

Speaking of grading, always start by taking fresh measurements of your upper and full bust, waist, and hip, and reference the size chart before printing your pattern. Use the layers function when you print, and print just the size(s) you need. You may want to print a size larger and/or smaller if you’re on the edge of a size range. My upper bust measurement puts me in a size E, with my waist and hips falling into size G. So that’s how I graded the dress, and made the shelf bra in size E.

I didn’t use powernet in the shelf bra of the purple dress, but I did add the optional bra cup panel in case I ever want to add cups. It’s pretty supportive, even without powernet. This purple nylon spandex tricot was purchased at Phee Fabrics, and I love the happy color!

Supportive enough, even without powernet or bra cups, which is saying something considering I am a mature Grandma!

The center back seam really does add nice shaping if you have a curvy booty, or sway back. It also seemed to save on fabric, because I was able to fit my blue dress on one yard of 60″ fabric. If you’ve followed my blog or noticed my comments on sewing pages, I am all about playing fabric tetris to use the least amount of fabric possible, because I love high quality fabric. The beautiful blue nylon spandex fabric was purchased from Porcelynne.

The center back seam shaping fits nicely over your curves. And if you’re wondering, my straps are crossed and stitched at 2″ to either side of center.

I decided to use powernet as the optional bra cup layer on the shelf bra of the blue dress. I probably should have used a layer on the shelf bra back too for a little bit of smoothing, but whatever! Hopefully people are looking at my back muscles from twenty plus years of yoga rather than the back fat. 😉

A bit more support with the layer of powernet, though I don’t know why I bothered cutting the openings for bra cups, since I don’t use them.

Did I mention that the dress has multiple length options? I cut on the shortest length line, adding 1″ to the length because I am tall. The longer lengths hit below knee, which isn’t my thing on this style of dress. The circle skirt pattern pieces are formatted so that you can easily choose the length you want. Super helpful, because when I make the half circle skirt version, I’ll make it a bit longer than this.

Slightly above the knee seems to proportionally be the best length on me for summer dresses.

Do you want to hear something amusing? My husband and I walk along a busy road to the beach to get photos. It is spring break season, and traffic is heavy. First, I got whistled at while walking. Hahahahahaha! And on the way back, a young gentleman leaned out the window of a passing car making, lets call them complementary comments on my appearance. Oh my! I mean, obviously my husband thinks the dresses are “hot” and loves it when I wear them. But it cracks me up when a (much) younger dude still thinks I’ve got it! 🙂

Making a pattern that fits your style and body not only looks flattering, but gives you that extra boost of confidence to really enjoy wearing what you make.

The details:

Savannah Dress from GreenStyle, in sizes B-M (fits full bust sizes from 30″ to 61″, hips from 32″ to 62″)

Blue nylon spandex (and possibly the powernet) from Porcelynne.

Purple nylon spandex (and possibly the powernet) from Phee Fabrics.

1″ wide knit elastic (used in shelf bra) and clear elastic (used in straps) from Wawak.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of patterns, sewing, fabric, and creating practical, useful garments! ❤

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, thread or supplies that I talk about. I don’t even bother to use aff links when I share on social media, so obviously it’s not a big deal to me whether you choose to use them. 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’m writing to share my love of sewing, not to make money! 🙂

The GreenStyle Leeward Tee (and tank!)

When you live in Florida, tank tops can be worn pretty much year round. If you get chilly, you can always throw on a cardigan. In the southern half of the state, a tee shirt is great for the two or three weeks of chilly “winter” weather we may get. A pattern that includes both a tank top and tee shirt is very useful, and the cute new Leeward Tee is one I was excited to test!

Options range from crew, (medium) tank, or scoop necklines; with a plain or pleated yoke back; crop or full length; racerback or tank; and tees with cap, short, long, or colorblocked sleeves; a 2″ FBA front option; and slimmer or fuller cut lines. I love patterns with plenty of options because I can make so many different looks with just one pattern!

Super windy days on the beach make it challenging to to get photos!

I started with a scoop neck, plain back tank in the fuller cut (which was the only width option when the test started) making a size E graded out to F at the hips. The fabric is a fun ombre striped panel that I bought from Mood Fabrics a while back. I hadn’t used the panel because it wasn’t very long and I hadn’t found a good pattern to fit on the limited length. The pattern pieces barely fit on the panel, and in fact, I had to piece the neckband together to make it work! But I love the ombre effect, and the fact that it matches my purple Moxi bike shorts so well. 😉

Angelyn, the main pattern designer at GreenStyle looked over the pattern testers fit photos and made some slight changes in the shape and especially to the fit of the back. She also listened to feedback and added a slimmer cut line option to go with the fuller, flowier fit. I love testing for designers that listen to feedback from testers, and work hard to perfect the fit on a wide range of body shapes and sizes.

Does this mean that testers have to print a new version of the pattern and make another garment? Of course. But that is the whole point of testing, to get a great look and a great fit that people really like!

For my second make I stuck with a plain back scoop neck tank, but chose the slimmer cut line. Once again the shoulders are a size E, but with my fuller bust (but not quite full enough for the 2″ FBA option) I started on the fuller cut line under the arm for the needed bust space, merging to meet the slimmer cut line, and finally grading out at the hip to a size G. My hip measurement is on the edge between sizes F and G, so my grading was very subtle, and only ended up on the size G line at the very bottom 2″ or so of the pattern.

The slimmer cut line keeps the tank or top fitted at the bust, and slightly flowy through the waist and hips.

It’s fun/scary to try new sources for fabric, especially if you’re a bit of a fabric snob like me! 🙂 I’m super picky about fabric because I make clothing to last and wear for years. I strongly dislike the feel and lack of breathability of polyester. So I tend to stick to the same 4 or 5 fabric companies that I always shop or order from because of their high quality of fabric and fabric options. After seeing quite a few positive comments about Purple Seamstress Fabric in multiple sewing groups for years, I finally gave them a try and ordered their modal fabric. It’s a blend of rayon, modal, and spandex, and has the feel, drape, and nice rebound of a high quality rayon/spandex. This bright blue color is rich and beautiful, and I will definitely order from them again.

A couple of testers (me being one of them! :-)) asked for a cap sleeve length for the tee. Cap sleeves just look so much more feminine than regular short sleeves to me, and are much more wearable in Florida heat. So my third make is a cap sleeve tee, with a scoop neck and plain back.

It’s super comfortable, and will look just as good when I wear it with leggings as it does with shorts. We’re heading up to Tennessee to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters in a couple of weeks. Their autumn weather is going to be a lot cooler than Florida’s, so tees are going to be necessary!

This is a super soft rayon spandex print from Mood Fabrics. It has even more drape than the rayon spandex striped print and the solid blue modal that I used for my tanks. This is the tee I’ll throw on when I’m a little chilly and just want to feel nice and cozy. It also shows just how different the same basic style can look and fit depending upon the fabric you choose.

You can’t go wrong whether you choose to make a tank or a tee! The GreenStyle Leeward Tee pattern has so many options to choose from, you can make yourself a dozen and easily have a dozen different looks, especially when you play with both the slimmer and fuller cut lines.

So, what are you waiting for? Don’t you need some pretty new tees and tanks in your wardrobe? In my world it’s always time to sew something new for yourself or someone you love.

Here are the details on my GreenStyle Leeward Tee and tanks:

The fuller cut tank was made using an ombre striped rayon spandex panel from Mood Fabrics. I’m wearing it with the bike shorts from the Moxi Shorts pattern made in supplex from Phee Fabrics.

The slimmer cut blue tank is made of modal from Purple Seamstress Fabric. I’m wearing it with an as yet unreleased shorts pattern. Don’t you love getting a sneak peek at future patterns? 😉

The cap sleeve tee is made of rayon spandex from Mood Fabrics, and is worn with Moxi bike shorts made of supplex from Phee Fabrics.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of patterns, sewing, fabric, and creating practical, useful garments! ❤

Hack Your Style: Endurance Sports Bra

Made More Fun/Challenging With An Upcyle

Sports Bras are kind of a staple in a lot of women’s wardrobes. Whether you wear them for sports, exercise, work, or just because they’re cute and comfortable. The challenging part is finding one that fits properly. Ready to wear sports bras often only come in basic sizes like XS, small, medium, large, and XL. While sizing like that may give an okay fit on some people, I think that it is unlikely to get a great fit with such limited sizing. Which is why I like making my own.

I started making GreenStyle Endurance Sports Bras this summer, and now have three, customized for my style. Funnily enough, none of them are made exactly per pattern directions with a front zipper and bound edges. What can I say? I’m no stranger to pattern hacking, and think it’s fun to try different looks by playing with a pattern.

The great thing about the Endurance bra pattern is that it has specific band and cup sizing. It’s designed to fit a full range of band sizes 28-40, and cup sizes B-H. You get a much better fit when you have cup size options! Speaking of fit, following the measurement chart is the best way to choose your size. My 32″ underbust (ribcage) measurement put me in a 32 band, and my full bust measurement put me in the E cup. The band is a good fit, but I neglected to take into account that the pattern cup pieces are intended to fit over bra foam pieces formed into cups, and I was not using the bra foam layer. So, the 32E sports bra fits, but it’s not snug. I don’t know about you, but I like my sports bras to fit snugly.

It’s still super cute, and I wear it all the time, but I knew that a 32D would fit better, at least with the way that I hack the pattern to use powernet basted to the wrong side of the main fabric, rather than using bra foam. So I made my second Endurance in a 32D.

As you may have noticed, beyond hacking the pattern to not use foam, binding, or a zipper, I also changed the straps. Rather than using the all one piece upper cup and strap, I trimmed the strap off about 3/8″ above where the strap starts. Since my bust is fuller at the bottom than the top, I also trimmed back the curve at the armscye.

I don’t show full pattern pieces out of respect for pattern designers hard work, but you can see where I trimmed off the strap and trimmed back the upper portion of the upper cup piece.

I thought it would be fun to have double straps, so I made straps out of 1-1/2 wide strips of fabric folded in half right sides together, zig-zagging over 3/8″ wide knit elastic that was aligned with the raw edge of the fabric, so that the zig just goes off the edge of the elastic and into the middle of the fabric, with the zag into the elastic, then turning the straps right side out and pressing.

The V and straight combination of straps is a unique look, along with providing additional support.

I basted two straps at center back, and placed the other two straps at 2-1/2″ away. After sewing the main and lining together along the top edges (except at the strap opening) and turning right side out, I tried the bra on to judge strap lengths. The center V straps ended up about 15″ long, and the straight straps about 14″ long. The length you need may vary depending upon the stretchiness of your elastic. I threaded the two straps on each side through sliders because it looked cute, and to give a slight amount of adjustability.

Aren’t the sliders a fun touch? And aren’t I lucky to have such a great wingman to ride along with me as I skate?

For my second Endurance I used size 32D, and again just sewed the center front together rather than using a zipper. For this version I made straps with 1″ wide knit elastic threaded through them.

Instead of skating around the neighborhood like I usually do, we decided to check out a county trail system. It was a workout with the little hills and elevation changes, but fun to have a change of scenery and to see the bicyclists and walkers that use the trail.

The trail is paved, and there are benches along the side every so often. It does cross quite a few busy streets though, so there are 4 way stops. You really have to watch for cars because they have a tendency to do more of a “rolling stop” than a complete stop.

The straps are just crossed in the back for a typical X back look.

Florida sun is intense, so don’t forget the sunscreen!

My new outfit (because of course I *needed* another outfit for skating) is an upcyle. I used some old capri length leggings and a workout top that was too big, unpicking them to salvage the pretty fabric. Working with limited fabric means that you’re going to get a scrappy look, but I tried to get intentional with it.

I managed to get the GreenStyle Moxi bike shorts front and back pieces, along with the Endurance Sports Bra cup pieces out of the capris. The old waistband fabric wasn’t as tall as the Moxi waistband, so the bottom 2″ of waistband was cut from the old teal workout top. Using the teal for the band of the Endurance bra gave it a nice contrast. I had to dig into my stash to cut the lining layer of the bra, along with the side panels of the shorts. The pockets were cut from the mesh panel that was in the center back of the old top. Like I said, it’s a scrappy look!

Looking scrappy (and happy) because I got to skate.

I love the support the bra offers, and the fact that it can double as a swim top. The V and straight straps are my favorite, so I used them on this bra too.

It’s fun to provide entertainment value by trying to take photos with cars occasionally driving by! 🙂 All you can do is laugh when someone rolls down their window and says, “Looking good!”

Reverse triple coverstitching helped soften the look of the multiple fabrics and bring them together. Superior Threads Sergin’ General thread in teal was a great match to the fabrics.

Don’t be afraid to upcycle, to hack, to adjust, to experiment, and to play with patterns and fabric. I also encourage you to rollerskate for fun and exercise. Even if it’s been a while, you’ll pick it back up. And like anything else, the more you practice, the better you get.

The details: I’m wearing the GreenStyle Endurance Sports Bra and the bike shorts from the GreenStyle Moxi Shorts pattern in all these photos. The navy and turquoise floral print is Align 2 fabric from GreenStyle.

Both the turquoise and purple shorts are supplex from Phee Fabrics.

The swirly print fabric used for the X back bra was secondhand fabric so I don’t have any information on where it’s from.

The rainbow finish sliders used on the double straps were purchased from Porcelynne.

You can make your own sports bra, and can customize it to fit your needs. It’s worth the sew! And a few more photos just because I have so many to share. 😉

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, hacking, sewing, serging, great patterns, fabric, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

The links to Greenstyle may be affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a few pennies if you purchase through my link. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me!

The Briny Swim Top

And a photo session with my daughter!

The timing of the new GreenStyle Briny Swim Top pattern test worked out perfectly with a scheduled trip to our daughter and son-in-law’s home. I make matching clothes for my granddaughters all the time, and they love it. They frequently ask to wear their matching dresses, tops, shorts, etc. But I very rarely get to match with my daughter because she lives so far away.

As soon as I saw the tester call, I sent a photo of the line drawing to my daughter and asked her if she wanted a cute new swim top. I knew that it was a style that she would look great in, and she loved the look. So matching swim tops it was!

My daughter is a smaller size than me, and has a smaller cup size, and the size D fits her perfectly! She chose to have the optional skinny strap, and thought that the bright blue nylon/spandex swim that I used as the lining fabric would be a cute contrast against the GreenStyle Align 2 Paradise print main fabric.

Isn’t she a beauty? Let me tell you, her inner beauty far outshines the outer. I am so blessed to have her as a daughter!

The crossed straps in the back highlights the fun contrast of the solid against the print, and the narrow versus wide fixed strap even better.

It’s such a cute pattern! Very on trend, and looks cute whether worn with swim bottoms or shorts. It’s so comfortable that she didn’t take it off after photos, and wore it for the rest of the day. She threw a white sheer mesh top over it, slid on a pair of pants, and wore it out for date night that evening. I should have grabbed a photo of her, but I was trying to give the girls their baths and ready for bed so that she and her husband could get out the door.

As I have a fuller bust, I made the size E with the darted bust option. Since I knew that I would be sewing while visiting, I had to pack up my serger and fabrics and attempt to sew during quiet times. Let me tell you, when you have very active three and five year old granddaughters who want to play all the time, (well, other than when they are asking for food :-)) there is no quiet time! Hahahahahaha! I don’t know how all you Mama’s with little ones do it.

I took the girls on lots of stroller strolls, visits to the playground and pool, played dress-up, built with magna-tiles, played with stuffies, played pet shop (where the girls pretended to be snow leopards, clouded leopards, cheetahs, pink kitties, puppies, etc. and I would “buy” them as my pets. They were super cheap, sometimes $3, and sometimes $5. It was hilarious! I had to pretend to pay for them (with a beep on the imaginary POS system), and could then open the imaginary cage doors (squeak) and go in and play with whatever animals they were being at the time.)

The darted front (FBA) bodice is the right choice for me size wise. Rather than just relying on compression and a bit of shaping, the dart gives more room, support and shaping for a fuller bust. I’d get even more support from the compression of powernet, which is something that I always use in sports bras, workout and swim tops. However, when packing for our road trip, I neglected to put it in my bag of fabric, notions, thread, and sewing supplies. 😦 whomp, whomp.

It’s such a cute top however, that I’ll likely go through the trouble of seam ripping it, and add a layer of powernet to the wrong side of the main fabric so that I can feel more supported when wearing my Briny as a sports bra for roller skating.

I added the optional strap to mine, and with a heavier bust, I chose to make my strap have a finished width of 5/8″, a little wider than than the pattern calls for. Surprisingly though, I think that if using powernet in the top, I would feel comfortable even without the extra strap. I guess I’ll just have to make another one, and check it out. 😉

I think the top looks great worn with my favorite GreenStyle Moxi Shorts bike shorts (the compression under layer to the loose shorts.)

If you ever have the opportunity to make matching clothes with your adult child(ren) and have a photo shoot, I highly recommend that you do it! It’s fun, you get the chance to be awkward and silly posing together, and you’re wrapping your child in a handmade hug. ❤

I swear my leg was higher than this! We only did warrior III because she said she couldn’t do a yoga toe hold. I think she can, especially if we held on to each other. 🙂

Hugging my girl in the cute handmade hug I made for her.

Since I’d never traveled with my sewing before, here are my best tips: pack your serger or sewing machine in it’s original box, so that it can be safely cushioned by the styrofoam and original packing materials. I brought my Babylock Triumph (combination serger and coverstitch machine) with me, and there is no way I would have done it without it being in the original box. Our car was completely full with not only suitcases, our cooler and bin of snacks, our pillows, and a small blanket, but a coffee maker, car seat, and our daughters order from Ikea as she doesn’t have one near her.

It’s a 13 hour drive, so a cooler with water, sliced veggies, and fruit is essential. Especially since I have food allergies, and can’t just stop anywhere and safely eat. My serger was safely tucked in the back, all snug and secure in its box.

Bring all the fabric (double checking that you have powernet if you’re going to need it!), thread in matching colors, elastic, and any sewing notions you may need. You can’t count on whatever local sewing or big box stores to have what you want in stock. Try to have your patterns printed out, and traced in the needed sizes. When you’re doing a pattern test, that’s a little challenging because there is likely going to be an updated version of the pattern before finals. If where you’re staying doesn’t have a printer, check out the local options for printing your patterns. Other than that, just enjoy and go with the flow. Traveling and visiting people you love is fun. And while things may not always work out as planned, enjoy those little moments and memories, and listen for every “Grandma, I love you” and take every snuggle and hug that comes your way.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, sewing, serging, great patterns, fabric, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

New Year, New Workout Wear, New Supplies

It’s never a bad time to sew yourself some new workout wear, but losing some weight necessitates making new items that fit! My drawer full of workout wear is nearly all too big. Going to yoga class 4 times a week means that I need multiple outfits that fit.

Obviously making new workout wear is much more fun than seam-ripping apart your reverse triple coverstitched old outfits, cutting them down to a smaller size, and then re-sewing them! So I traced off a tried and true pattern (the GreenStyle Power Sports Bra) and tried a new pattern (the Sinclair Flex Leggings).

As a sewist, I always notice when someone in yoga class is wearing a new style. Several women had worn workout leggings with a deep V side panel with pocket, and I knew just the pattern to try. Sinclair Patterns is known for well drafted patterns that include petite, regular, and tall options in their files. There are quite a few Sinclair dresses, skorts, shorts, and tank tops in my wardrobe. They aren’t necessarily known for workout wear, but the Flex Leggings pattern is super cute, so I had to give it a try.

With no center front seam, the leggings fit smoothly across the abdomen and hips. The color-blocked V side inserts can include a pocket, which in my mind is a necessity. The pocket is deep, as in deep enough for even the largest phone to fit securely down into the pocket. I wore my leggings to Christmas dinner at my sister-in-laws house, and my phone never felt like it was going to fall out of my pocket. Of course I had my phone in and out of my pocket all day capturing moments with people that I love! (There’s one of us in every family 😉 and people sort of count on me to catch a few photos to share!)

This candid photo really highlights how much taller I am than my sisters-in-law. It also highlights the shenanigans present every time we get together! 🙂

The above photo also illustrates the only thing I disliked about the pattern. I need a contoured waistband, and always serge 1/4″ clear elastic into the top waistband seam in other patterns. The front and back waistband pieces on the Flex pattern are contoured, but fold-over. I added powernet to the front waistband piece, basting it to the wrong side of the fabric before sewing the waistband pieces together. Even with a double layer of powernet (since the piece is folded over) the waistband slid down all day long.

In all fairness, the tutorial does include optional directions to add narrow elastic threaded through buttonholes in the inner side of the waistband that could be tied to fit. I own one pair of Athleta leggings with an inner drawstring that in the past I have never bothered to tie. Since I’ve lost weight, I currently have the drawstring pulled tight and tied in a knot. But with a smooth front and smooth waistband, I didn’t really want a knot of elastic bumping out in the front. So I unpicked a small section of the waistband to leggings seam, inserted 1″ wide knit elastic, overlapped the ends by 1/2″ and zig-zagged the overlap, and serged the small section of waisband seam closed. I wore my new outfit to yoga class this week, and they stayed up perfectly! Problem solved!

Adding the 1″ wide elastic was the perfect solution! As always, I added a note to my pattern piece so I know exactly how long to cut the elastic (and remember to add it!) the next time I make these leggings!

As with every pattern, it is important to grade to fit your body. I have well developed calves (thanks to skating and yoga), so I knew I needed to grade my pattern pieces. The size chart doesn’t include calf measurements, but I’ve made enough workout wear and know my body shape well enough to estimate that my calves are about two pattern sizes larger than my hips. My knees are slender and I wanted to ensure that the leggings didn’t get baggy at the knee, so I started my grading just below the knee.

A french curve ruler is super helpful for making smooth transitions between sizes. The ruler helped me make a gradual curve on the outer seams of both the front and back pattern pieces from a size 8 out to a size 12 below the knee.

Since I couldn’t know for sure whether my grading was perfect or not, I basted the outer leg seam and tried the leggings on before serging the seam and reverse triple coverstitching. No one wants to have to seam rip that as an experiment! The grading ended up being just right, and now that I have the pattern perfected for my body, future pairs will sew up much more quickly!

These are the 7/8 length, and of course I want to make a pair with the lower leg color-blocking. So I’ll have to play around with transferring my changes to the color blocked pattern piece. What fun is sewing if you don’t challenge yourself, right? 🙂

I also like to challenge myself to see if I can still do a cartwheel. Yoga has kept my body strong and maintained my balance. Apparently it is also amusing/fascinating to watch a Grandma do numerous cartwheels while being photographed. As my husband finished our photo session a young woman lounging nearby at the beach smiled, nodded, and gave me a thumbs up. 🙂

The Power Sports Bra is a staple workout and/or swim top pattern for me. Women with smaller cup sizes can get away with flat front bras/tops, but a fuller bust is curvy and princess seams are great for fitting smoothly over your bust projection. I love playing around with it and trying new hacks. Doing double narrow straps with a criss cross was a fun, easy hack. It’s important to take your measurements and compare them to the size chart on a regular basis. I started by tracing my pattern in a smaller size. Previously I’ve used the 34 band size in cups E/F. The F is a little too high in the armpits, so I blend the E and F. My current measurements put me in a 32F. But my bust is fuller at the bottom than at the top. So I take away a bit of the upper curve on the side cup piece. Customizing the pattern pieces to fit your body is the key to a perfectly fitted garment.

Perfectly fitted princess curves fit smoothly over the bust with no puckering at the seams.

Porcelynne has some really pretty rainbow finish rings and slides that I wanted to incorporate into my top. Generally I use wide straight straps on the U-back Power Sports Bra because I don’t like straps pulling on my traps or up near my neck. I’ve found that I need the 1″ wide (final size) straps to be about 13″ long with either elastic or powernet in them, as in this post.

After cutting my four 1.5″ wide straps longer than needed, I zig-zagged 3/8″ knit elastic into the seam as shown here. It’s important to press your straps after turning, so they are as flat and smooth as possible. Also, pressing as you sew gives your garments a much more polished and professional finish.

Extending the strap connection point on the strappy U-back pattern piece by 1/2″ gave room to add the 3/4″ rings to the back by folding the fabric over the ring and stitching it in place. Then two straps were folded over each ring and stitched in place. The two outer straps were kept straight and the two inner straps were criss-crossed.

I love the fun shape the straight and criss-crossed straps form on the back. Kind of like a stylized W. I also like the muscles that I’ve developed over twenty years of doing yoga. 🙂 Not bad for a Grandma pushing 60, huh?

You control how close to the neck your crossed straps are by the placement of the 3/4″ slides. Slide them up, and the straps are pulled farther from the neck. Slide them down for maximum crossing. Once you’ve found the perfect placement for you, the straps get tucked into the bra front and stitched in place as per the pattern tutorial. My straight straps ended up 13″ long, and the crossed straps ended up 15″ long.

Using sliders not only adds a fun look, but gives you an option to slightly tighten or loosen the straps for comfort.

I’m definitely going to use rings and slides again because it’s just such a fun look! Making even a few small changes to a pattern is not only fun, it personalizes the pattern for your needs. I was also excited to try a new fabric called stretch eclon jersey from Mood Fabrics. Eclon is a brand name of nylon, and if you’ve read my blog before, you know that I am a big fan of nylon spandex. I avoid polyester, especially for workout wear because it doesn’t breathe and tends to absorb sweaty odors. Ewwww! Florida is usually hot, and my workout wear fabric needs to be moisture wicking.

I hope this inspires you to play with your patterns, and work towards a perfect fit as well as trying new looks.

I love the definition that reverse triple cover-stitching adds to accent the seam lines of well designed workout wear.

The details:

Sinclair Flex Leggings and GreenStyle Power Sports Bra, made of stretch eclon jersey from Mood Fabrics. This and several rayon spandex prints were my first purchase from Mood, so it’s a new supplier to me. I have to say that I liked all of the fabric that I ordered, except one (because it’s only a two way stretch instead of four way. Apparently I didn’t notice that in the fabric listing!)

The rings and slides were purchased from Porcelynne, along with some lovely nylon spandex fabric that I need to share. I made the cutest outfits for my granddaughters! Porcelynne isn’t new to me, I’ve purchased from her before but I don’t really think I’ve shared my makes using her findings before.

Seams were accented with a reverse triple coverstitch on my wonderful Babylock Triumph using Fantastico varigated thread #5028 Peacock Plume from Superior Threads in the looper using a stitch length of 3. Fantastico is one of my favorite threads to use for reverse coverstitching. It has such a beautiful sheen, and the short color repeat is perfect for adding a classy look to garments.

I’m very happy with my new favorite workout outfit, and will definitely be making more! Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, hacking, sewing, patterns, fabric, notions, thread, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

My 2022 GreenStyle Fit Capsule

Sew Much Fun Making So Many Things!

I go to yoga class four days a week, so workout wear is an important part of my wardrobe. Roller skating has made it’s way back into my life as well, and I’m here to tell you, you can’t skate without smiling. I seem to break out into a grin every time I put my skates on. Having these two forms of exercise in my life brings a certain balance that just feels right.

It makes me happy that I was able to complete two workout outfits as part of the GreenStyle Fit Capsule Challenge. Even though both outfits are Spark Tights and Power Sports Bras hacked into workout tops, they’re very different looks. My first purchase of GreenStyle fabric was this super cool Super Nova Power Flex. It’s a nylon/spandex blend, and I love how colorful it is. Scraps of grape supplex (a color no longer available) from Phee Fabrics was the perfect accent fabric to pair with it, so I decided to go wild and color-block the bodice and then accent everything with a reverse triple coverstitch using MaxiLock radiant turquoise.

Coverstitching in turquoise really accented the fun colors and contrasted with the grape pockets and panels and cool Super Nova print.

I added a panel of white powernet to the back of my top for extra airflow during sweaty workouts. If you’re like me, and dislike straps near your neck, doing straight straps is such a game changer. There’s no need to ever adjust your straps again! To see how to do straight straps and add panels, check out this post.

I love using bra strapping and doing straight straps with the U-back.

My other Power Sports Bra workout top and Spark Tights combination is completely solid. I used a shimmery, almost glittery nylon spandex athletic fabric from JoAnn Fabrics. Since the fabric was shimmery I kept everything one color and achieved an extra pop of color by reverse triple coverstitching with Superior Threads Fantastico #5028 Peacock Plume. I just love their variegated threads!

The rising sun really picks up the sparkle in the fabric, and the beautiful sheen of the thread.

Once again I chose the U-back of the Power Sports Bra and used straight straps. Can you tell that these are well-loved patterns? 🙂 The straps were cut along the edges of the fabric where it wasn’t shimmery, just for a bit of accent. And to not waste that couple inches of fabric! 😉

The Valerie Dress, another well-loved pattern, hacked to be sleeveless and made in green rayon spandex will get a lot of use. I wear my Valerie Dresses all the time. Sometimes as a dress, sometimes as a nightgown or loungewear. I’ve also mashed it with the Staple Tank for a slightly different look, seen here.

It was a windy day, which made the dress cling to my body.

If it gets chilly, I can slide on my new Sunday Cardigan, hacked to have tiers, butttons, and a sleeve flounce. You can read about that here.

The cardigan works over dresses, shorts or pants, swimwear or workout wear. I love it!

Last but not least, I had to make another Staple Tank! You can never have too many of these tanks. I was gifted some pretty fabric scraps by a woman in one of my Facebook sewing groups. And this fun crocodile skin rayon/spandex print was actually large enough to eek out a new tank! It makes me smile to have such a fun printed tank!

I like using binding to finish my Staple Tanks. It gives it such a clean look.

Whew! That was a lot of sewing and posing for photos. 🙂 I was pretty inspired by the Fit Capsule Challenge this year, and I’m excited to have made so many cute things. It speaks volumes about how I feel about GreenStyle patterns and the way they fit my body so well. I may have plans to make myself another workout outfit. 😉 I bought some navy supplex, and have some pretty fabric scraps to coordinate with it. But I need to make a few things for other people first.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, sewing, patterns, pattern hacking, fabric, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

The links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a few pennies if you purchase through my link. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me!

A Fun And Flouncy Cardigan Hack

This idea for hacking the GreenStyle Sunday Cardigan has been floating around in my mind for a while. Finally, I took the time to make a plan, get it done, and I love it! It’s exactly what I wanted. It’s fun and flouncy, lightweight and flowy, and super comfortable. It looks cute with a dress, is easy to toss on when I need a layer, and elevates a simple outfit.

Windy days make photography challenging. And sometimes, not super attractive! 🙂

I suppose I should start with my sketch. Obviously, I’m a sewist, not an artist! 🙂 But sketching out my ideas helps me clarify exactly what I want to do, and it’s helpful to note how I plan to do it! A well-fitting pattern with the basic shape you want is always a great place to start. Set-in sleeves are a must, since dropped shoulders and boxy shapes are not particularly flattering on my body. Clean edges, rather than bands were also important. The GreenStyle Sunday Cardigan met all my requirements, and, I know it fits well since I’ve made several. See here and here.

Noting dimensions really helps when you’re planning to start cutting into your fabric.

The tiers needed to start below the bust, because it’s much more attractive than having a seam slice through the bustline. A bit higher than my natural waistline, almost an empire look was the plan. Since the average side waist is 8″, I figured 6″ would work well. Keep in mind that if you have a very large or full bust, or a longer than average side waist, you may want the top section of your cardigan to be a bit longer. I marked my pattern pieces 6″ down from the armscye on the side seam, and folded the excess pattern under. The sleeves were also shortened to 6″ below the armscye.

It may have been easier if I had just cut the bottom of the patterns off rather than folding, but I didn’t want to have to tape them back together or retrace the pattern pieces the next time I want to use it!

Since I was looking for a knee length cardigan, I measured down to the knee length mark on the pattern, and figured I needed another 23″ or so from my 6″ mark on the side seam. Since I wanted two tiers, I made them each 12″ high to give me a seam and hem allowance. To figure out the width of the first tier, multiply the bottom of the bodice (where you folded or cut off the bottom of the pattern) by 1.5, and multiply that number by 1.5 to give you the width of the second tier. My first tiers ended up being 12″ high by 20″ wide for the front, and 40″ wide for the back. My second tiers are 12″ high by 30″ wide for the front, and 60″ wide for the back. Since my fabric was only 58″ wide, this was a case of “close enough is good enough”!

See? There’s no way to tell that the back bottom tier isn’t quite as wide as it “should have” been.

Cutting the tiers was pretty easy using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter. I use a ruler and rotary cutter all the time when cutting out bands, bindings, cuffs, or any other rectangular piece. It’s so much faster and easier, and much more precise than cutting around a pattern piece. Making the sleeve flounce was much less precise! 😉

My fancy method of making the flounce pattern piece involved tracing around the largest bowl in my cupboard. You know the big bowl you use when hosting a large backyard party and you make a huge taco/pasta/(insert your favorite) salad? Yeah, that bowl. That’s the outside of your circle. Then measure across the bottom of the (folded under or cut off) sleeve piece, and subtract the seam allowance. That’s how big you want the seam line of the circle to be. Since I used a 1/4″ seam allowance to attach the flounce to the bottom of the sleeve, the cutting line needs to be 1/4″ inside the seam line. I’m sure there is a math whiz who could tell me how to arrive at the proper inner circle circumference, but I just found a mug in the cupboard that was the same circumference as my seam line circle, and used a compass to make my cutting line circle 1/4″ inside the seam line circle.

My super scientifically designed sleeve flounce ended up 15″ across, and the inner cut line 3-3/4″ across. This gave me a flounce depth of 5-3/4″.

With all the pieces cut out, it was time to sew everything together. Gather each first tier piece and attach the front tiers to the bodice fronts, and the back tier to the bodice back. Gather the second tier pieces and attach the front tiers to the bottom of the front top tiers. Attach the back tier to the bottom of the back top tier.

The cardigan is really starting to take shape!

With right sides together, sew the shoulder seams and side seams. Sew the sleeves together, and mark the quarter points on the sleeve bottom and the quarter points of the flounces. Match up the quarter points and serge the flounce onto the sleeve. Set in the sleeves and get ready to hem. My best hemming tip for circle sleeves, skirts, or anything with a steeply curved bottom is to four-thread overlock the hem using a stitch length of 2, stitch width of M, and up the differential to 1.5. This will slightly gather the hem so that when you fold it under it will lay nice and flat for you. Pin up your sleeve hems and cover or top-stitch.

Once everything is cover-stitched and pressed, the flounce hem will be smooth and hang perfectly.

Now it’s time to finish the front edges of the cardigan. I do this little trick on every Sunday Cardigan I make. Cut 3/8″ wide strips of feather-weight fusible interfacing. Press the strips along the wrong side of the entire front edge of the cardigan. Snip the interfacing strips almost all the way through to help it curve when going around the neckline. Then press the edges under 3/8″ and cover-stitch.

Using interfacing along the front edges of your cardigan makes finishing it so easy! It helps the fabric stay perfectly smooth and flat, and keeps it from getting stretched out when you top-stitch.

All that’s left to do is hem the bottom edge. I use the same four-thread overlock settings as above, except I only up the differential to 1.3. Then pin the hem up and coverstitch. You can leave the cardigan with an open front, add buttons and loops at the top bodice, or go as far down the front as you want. I decided on 4 buttons and loops to hold the bodice closed when desired.

I love the dreamy look of the buttoned bodice with the ruffled tiers and flounce sleeves.

This is a super fun and super useful cardigan. It’s pretty over a dress when you want a fancier look, and simple enough to throw on over workout wear. It’s a lightweight cover-up at the beach, and would work as a bathrobe too. I could see it made in a stretch mesh or a soft rayon spandex. My version is made from a pointelle knit that I’ve had in my stash since the ’90s. The store it was purchased from has been out of business for decades, so who knows the exact fabric content. I’m usually pretty good at identifying fabric content by look and feel, and my best guess is that it’s a cotton/maybe a bit of rayon?/spandex blend. I just know that I’m super happy with my pattern hack, and am dreaming about another one!

Floaty, flowy, and fun. What more can you ask for?

The details: the Sunday Cardigan is one of the older patterns that hasn’t been updated to the extended size chart yet. It includes sizes XXS-3XL, and has an optional hood and pockets.

My cardigan is shown over a Valerie Dress (hacked to be sleeveless), made of rayon spandex purchased at Phee Fabrics; and over a Power Sports Bra and Spark Tights, made of a nylon/spandex athletic fabric from JoAnn Fabrics.

Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, sewing, patterns, pattern hacking, fabric, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

Links to GreenStyle may be affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a few pennies if you purchase through my links.

Mix It Up With The Moxi Shorts

Moxi Shorts and a hacked Power Sports Bra make a fun summer outfit!

The Moxi Shorts pattern just got updated into the extended GreenStyle Creations size range, the pattern received a few tweaks, and a youth size version of the pattern was released! The Moxi’s are one of the few GreenStyle patterns I hadn’t tried yet. I think I was afraid that they’d be too short, or hard to fit, or something. But living in sunny (although currently rainy, thanks to the tropical storm) Florida, I need all the shorts patterns!

Color me very pleasantly surprised with the fit. I mean, look how cute these shorts are!

Although they are shorter shorts, they’re not too short if you know what I mean. When I cut out the first pair, I figured that I’d want to make the optional bike shorts as a lower layer to cover a bit more leg. But once I sewed them up, I was happy with the coverage and decided I didn’t need either the bike short or briefs under layer. There is a great FIT TIP in the tutorial to help slim the lower back leg, and it worked perfectly to curve in under the booty. I narrowed the lower back one size and it gave me just the fit my booty needed!

Everything stays in place whether I’m jumping into a cartwheel…

…or completely upside down, no one can see my panties!

The Moxi shorts have a unique method of construction, and the wide binding is a great opportunity to add a pop of color whether you’re using a solid or patterned stretch woven fabric. Here’s my little tip for binding: although you can use stretch woven cut on the bias, I think it’s easier to use a high quality knit with plenty of spandex. That way you don’t have to cut on the diagonal and stitch a bunch of strips together. I chose a nylon spandex swim fabric for my binding, and cut it with the greatest stretch (across the “grain”) and it worked great!

Here is another sewing tip for the Moxi’s: although stretch woven is just that- a woven fabric, since it does have stretch, it’s a good idea to up the differential to 1.3 on your serger to keep the seams from becoming wavy. It seems like such a small change, but it can be the difference between a good sewing job and a much more professional looking job.

Isn’t that pop of coral fun against the floral print?

I used GreenStyle stretch woven “Mint To Be” and absolutely love that it coincidentally matches one of my Cami Tanks blogged here. When my husband first saw the fabric, he was surprised that I bought a floral print. I tend to wear a lot of solid colors, and floral is generally not my gig. But once I had them made up, he kept commenting how cute they look. And here’s the proof- the photo he snuck while we were walking.

Husbands take the best sneaky booty shots! 😉

I also like that the shorts are comfortable while sitting. Or preparing to jump off of railings! 🙂

The Moxi’s also look super cute when paired with a Power Sports Bra hacked into a workout top. I hacked this one similarly to the one I made to match my Spark Tights with photo instructions blogged here. Except I used a powernet insert in the back panel, and used two strips of bra strapping for my straight straps.

The Power Sports Bra really does give great support, and looks super cute with Moxi’s!

And no, I didn’t use bra cups in my top, even though it’s white. The design of the bra, thickness and support of the Supplex and powernet is sufficient. Like the Power Sports Bra, the Moxi Shorts are another brilliantly designed pattern that’s definitely worth sewing.

And let’s talk about the updated waistbands. There is an elasticated waistband meant to be used with stretch woven fabric. There is also a nicely contoured waistband meant for knits, with a high and low rise. I ended up making both my waistbands 1/4″ higher than low rise. I know, I know, I’m generally a high rise waistband girl, but going just slightly higher than low rise gave me a perfect fit.

The details: as noted earlier, the mint Moxi Shorts are made of GreenStyle stretch woven. The mint Cami Tank fabric, and the mint waistband fabric came from JoAnn Fabrics.

The navy shorts are Phee Fabrics stretch twill, the neon green and neon coral binding and the navy waistband are nylon spandex tricot, also from Phee Fabrics.

The links to GreenStyle are affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! Thank you for reading and sharing my love of creating, sewing, patterns, fabric, and making beautiful, well-fitting garments! ❤

Spark My Interest

GreenStyle Spark Tights and a Power Sports Bra Workout Top Hack

When GreenStyle Creations comes out with a new leggings or tights pattern I get excited. Their patterns always fit me so well, and I always need more workout wear. 😉 I bought the pattern, but made myself finish sewing up outfits for my granddaughters before making something new for myself. Grandma love, you know?

The Spark Tights have a nice gusset, not quite as big as the Super G gusset, but big enough to provide excellent range of motion for yoga class. The pockets are generous, plenty big for even an oversized phone.

Normally, I don’t coverstitch my gussets because I don’t want to draw attention to the area. But the Spark Tights gusset is the perfect size, and I love the look of the coverstitching!

The back of the tights have a “bridge” section for shaping that curves down for the pockets. Sewing it reminded me of the sewing the Motion Shorts for my husband. I love that it’s a perfect opportunity for color blocking.

Isn’t the curve of the bridge fun? It’s a nice accent for the booty. Also, look how nicely the legs are shaped for the knee. No bagginess or bunching behind the knee. Just a smooth fit down to the calves.

The smooth fit of the legs is another hallmark of the excellent drafting of this pattern. I live in Florida, so I love capri length for my workout tights. The pattern includes thigh and calf measurements so you can grade the pattern to fit your body as needed. I didn’t need to grade at all, and I love that the tights don’t ride up my calves when walking or stretching.

There’s no center front seam and the legs are a smooth fit from top to bottom. The shaping is perfection! The high rise cut line of the waistband hits me in exactly the right spot.

Now, let me tell you about my fabric struggles, or rather the lack of fabric struggle. I thought I had plenty of Supplex in my fabric stash. I originally planned to make some very simple black or charcoal gray tights just accented with scraps from a pair of my Simpatico Leggings, and reverse coverstitched with black thread. Yeah. I only had little scraps of black and gray, and not enough of any one color to make tights and a workout top. I could have just ordered some fabric, but I had already waited to start making the pattern, and didn’t want to wait any longer. So I got super creative with my color blocking.

I knew I wanted to hack a matching Power Sports Bra into a workout top to match my tights. I was working with less than a yard scraps. With a very careful layout and using three colors, somehow, it all worked out.

To tie the green and turquoise of the tights to the green, turquoise and neon green of the Power Sports Bra, I decided to use neon green thread to triple reverse coverstitch my Spark tights. Of course I only had two cones on neon green thread, so I used the neon thread in C2 and the looper. I used emerald thread in C1 and C3. Take the time to coverstitch as you go, and the last leg seam will be the only challenging one. Since I was reverse coverstitching, my needles are on the inside of the leg. Start at the top and work your way down toward the ankle. Stitch as far as you can, and keep adjusting the leg so that you can work farther and farther down the seam.

On the left side of the photo, notice that I used the lightning bolt stitch on my sewing machine when adding the gusset, and pressed the seams open. That helped keep everything aligned and smooth, particularly at the pointed ends of the gusset. Pressing the seams open (or to one side when serging) also makes it easier to coverstitch.

I’ve hacked the Power Sports Bra into a workout top before, but wanted a different look this time. And due to the aforementioned fabric shortage, the back of the top would need to be colorblocked. There was a scrap of green left from cutting out the tights that was shaped like a long curved triangle. So that scrap became the center back of my top.

The folded scrap was clipped on the back fold line, and the shape was traced on the pattern with a red pencil. Then a second line was traced 1/2″ inside the red line.

Once a second line was traced 1/2″ inside the red line, the back body was traced from along the outer edges and over to the inner black line. This gave me a 1/4″ seam allowance for connecting the left and right body pieces to the center triangle. You may be wondering what pattern to use for the body. There are so many options! The Staple Tank, the Cami Tank, the Jillian or Lille Tanks. Which one(s) do you own and love the fit of? I like to add a bit of length to the center back of my tanks, curving up to the side seams. This gives me more booty coverage. If you love the way the Cami or Staple Tank fits, use it as is by folding the pattern under just below the bust, you don’t have to add length or a curve for the booty unless you want to.

The lower left pattern piece is what I got after tracing my pattern over to the black line drawn 1/2″ in from the red line. Don’t forget to mark the grainline! It’s super important to stay “on grain” when cutting out a pattern to keep the garment from twisting out of shape.

Follow the Power Sports Bra tutorial for assembling the bra, but stop before adding the bottom band. You can use any of the variations, I chose the U-back version, but played around with the straps. There have been several discussions in the GreenStyle Facebook group about whether the straps can be made wider instead of strappy, and whether the bra can be made with straight straps instead of crossed in the back. The answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes!

I love the wide straight straps with the U-back!

To make the straps wide instead of skinny, cut out four strap pieces as directed, but instead of sewing each strap individually, stitch the straps in place in the back. Then when the inner and outer layers of the bra are stitched together, the two layers of straps got stitched together too. When turning the bra right side out, it helps to feed the straps through with a safety pin, just like you would normally turn straps. Instead of elastic, I used a layer of powernet in the straps, as well as in all of the bra pieces for extra support. Try the bra on, and adjust the straps to the proper length. You will be cutting off a lot of strap length since straight straps don’t need to be as long as crossed straps.

The straps don’t shift or move whether I am folding forward or flowing through vinyasas.

I added a scrap bit of strap crossways like an H just for fun. I’m thinking of adding another cross strap where the neon bra and green strap meet. But since I don’t have any more scrap straps, I’d have to make one. So it’s probably not going to happen! 🙂

Once the triangle was inserted in the back and coverstitched, the front and back body pieces were serged together at the side seams. Mark the quarter points of the bra, and the quarter points of the body, and baste them right sides together. To make the band for the elastic, cut a rectangle of fabric 2-1/4″ by the length of elastic needed. Overlap your elastic to form a circle, zigzagging to secure. Serge along one long edge of the band, then stitch the short ends together. The band and elastic should be the same length. With the elastic on top, serge the elastic on the wrong side of one edge of the band.

Taking the time to baste (see the black thread?) keeps everything perfectly aligned and makes it easier to serge without worrying about pins or clips.

Then match the quarter points of the band to the quarter points of the workout top, pin, then baste in place. In the photo above you can see that the right side of the body and the right side of the bra are together. Then the right side of the band is on top of and facing the wrong side of the bra. Once it is serged, pull the basting stitches, and wrap the band around to enclose the seam. Pin it in place with the elasticated edge of the band not quite touching the seam line. Coverstich or top stitch it in place.

I love how beautifully finished the top looks on the inside and out.

Now I’ve got a colorful, comfortable, and completely customized new workout outfit.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the Power Sports Bra is supportive, check out the side view. For reference, I measured into and made a size 34F. I’m super happy with the fit of the tights and workout top.

Made with all these colorful scraps, and hacked to perfection, you can see me coming or going from a long ways away! 🙂

The details: The Spark Tights and Power Sports Bra patterns, as well as fabric are available at GreenStyle Creations.

The green and turquoise Supplex was purchased from Phee Fabrics, as well as the neon green nylon spandex tricot and powernet used for the bra.

The neon green and emerald serger thread is MaxiLock. The thread and 1″ knit elastic were ordered from Wawak.

The beach photos were taken by my sweet husband. The yoga studio photos were taken by Jaida Christina Wellness.

GreenStyle Venice Beach Shorts

And Tips For Easy Binding

The Venice Beach Shorts pattern has been out for a little while, and despite it having the option for pockets, (which is an absolute necessity for shorts) I hadn’t purchased the pattern. Perhaps noting all the binding gave me pause? 😉

The Venice Beach Shorts are a rather popular running shorts style, and would give me a different look from all the Brassie Jogger shorts currently filling my shorts drawer, so it was time to branch out a bit! And, since I make a lot of tops and tanks with binding, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with my binding and coverstitching abilities.

There are two methods of binding and construction shown in the pattern tutorial, and I chose the second “alternate construction method”, as it made the most sense for the way I sew. Since I own a serger and was using a knit fabric, doing a single fold faux binding was the way to go. After attaching the pockets and sewing the shorts front and back together at the inner leg seam, it was time to work on the binding.

When doing a single fold faux binding, I like to cut my binding strips 1″ high, rather than the recommended 1-1/4″. To give the binding extra stability when coverstitching, I serged down one long edge of the two strips of binding with my stitch width set on M, and the differential turned up to 1.3. Then right sides together, I pinned the raw edge of binding all the way around the outer edges of the back, bottom, and front of each leg, being super careful to not stretch the binding at all when going around the curves.

Use plenty of pins to keep everything aligned. **Not** stretching the binding on the curves will help keep it from flipping up when the binding is wrapped around to the back.

After stitching, press the binding outwards, then wrap it around the back, and pin it in place. The side panels are going to be stitched into place while coverstitching. To ensure that they stay properly aligned, I basted them in place first, being sure to keep my basting stitches well away from my stitching line.

I generally don’t stitch over my pins because who wants to risk bending or breaking a needle? Since it is important to keep everything smooth and aligned, I took my time basting and was very careful to avoid hitting a pin.

Then it was just a matter of coverstitching all the way around the binding. Having a machine with plenty of harp space (my beautiful Babylock!) makes it way easier to get your hands up in there to maneuver the leg and curves. But if you’ve ever top stitched leggings, or a neck or sleeve binding, you can do it. Take the time to adjust as needed when going around the curves. Make sure your needles are down in the fabric before lifting the presser foot to adjust. That will help keep your stitching line straight.

Did you see my fancy new pins? 🙂 They’re called magic pins, and they are pretty magical! The heads are silicone and easy to grip. They’re also heat resistant, so no worries when pressing a pinned item. They’re so much sturdier, sharper, and easier to use than my generic or glass head pins (which all seemed to be bent or curved, which was super annoying when trying to use them to mark and match up center points). I highly recommend them.

I use curved foot C when coverstitching, as the shorter length makes it easier to “follow your line” when stitching around curves. Then pull the basting stitches, and follow the tutorial for sewing the rest of the shorts. I used the contour waistband, which is recommended over the elastic foldover waist when adding pockets.

I love the smooth look of the contoured waistband under my Cami Tank.

As I always tend to do with contoured waistbands on my leggings, I added a layer of powernet to the front waistband, and serged clear elastic into the top seam when sewing the inner and outer layers together. That keeps my shorts from getting pulled down when I carry my heavy phone in my pocket.

It’s fun to have a new style of shorts! These are the 4-1/2″ inseam, #becausegrandma, but you know, I’d feel comfortable trying the 3-1/2″ inseam. I’ll leave the 2-1/2″ inseam to you runners out there though. 🙂

Oh, did you notice how much better my Cami Tank looks? If you read my previous post, you’ll recall that I had accidentally cut my straps too short, and hadn’t used the shelf bra on this tank. Well, since the Cami Tank is so cute and comfortable, I took the time to seam rip off all of the binding, added the shelf bra, cut the proper length of strap binding and stitched it all back together. It gets worn so much more often now that I don’t have to wear a bra with it! 🙂 Totally worth the time and effort to make it right.

Whether early morning or a sunset stroll, walking the beach is my happy place.

The details: I used a nylon spandex athletic knit from JoAnn Fabric for my Venice Beach Shorts. I’m thinking of trying some of the stretch woven from GreenStyle for my next pair.

You’d have thought that it would be super hard to find serger thread to match the minty/sage color of the fabric. But MaxiLock aqua was a near perfect match. I ordered the thread and magic pins from Wawak.com.