pattern testing – Page 4

The Staple Tank

Call It A Basic, Call It A Staple

You can call it a basic, or call it a staple, just know that you need the GreenStyle Creations Staple Tank in your wardrobe! A few months ago there was a post on the GreenStyle Facebook page asking if there was a pattern you hoped would be designed. Everyone was invited to share Pinspirations, photos, or whatever they wanted to convey their idea. Some people envision something fancy or fashion forward, but I am a basic girl. I shared a .gif from the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie, you know the one. Where she’s running through the jungle, and her tank top stays perfectly in place. Her bra straps are covered, and the top looks perfect from every angle. That is what I was looking for- the perfect tank top.

And Angelyn of GreenStyle designed it! Can you imagine trying to design a top that fits XXS to 3XL, with all of the wonderful body shapes and heights that encompasses? I was lucky enough to be on the pattern testing team, which means that I have sewn several of these tanks. The pattern is a simple sew, and includes the option for neck and arm bands or bindings. So if you love the clean look of bindings, you’ve got it. If you do better at sewing bands, you’ve got that too.

It’s the perfect fit to throw on with a pair of shorts (in my case, Brassie Joggers cut at shorts length, made out of Phee Fabrics Supplex). My bra straps are completely covered, and the scoop neck is a flattering depth, without being too high or too low. It’s a slim enough fit to look cute tucked in, and you can layer it under another top, a sweater, a jacket, or cardigan. I love my Sunday Cardigan(s), and even when they are made of a super lightweight or sheer fabric, the Staple Tank lays smoothly under them.

I love a dressy basic that looks great with a skirt. The super soft rayon spandex from Phee Fabrics is the perfect weight to not be sheer and has enough recovery to make perfect bands (or bindings). I need a Staple Tank in all the spring colors! I can get dressed in minutes, throw on my cardigan, and look put together and ready for the day. It’s definitely a staple in my closet!

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links. As always, I only give my honest opinion. After all, it is my blog, which represents me! Thank you for reading and supporting my love of sewing!

GreenStyle Studio to Street Top

Change the fabric, change the look!

I am always excited when I am chosen to test a pattern. I don’t apply to test that often, and I only apply when the pattern looks like a style that I would wear. You’re generally expected to make two or more of the item, so there’s no point in applying if it’s not something you want in your closet!

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a “trendy” person. I tend to choose clothing that is classic, simple, and that I can wear for years. My career wear leaned heavily toward suits, and dresses with a jacket. Athletic wear now dominates my wardrobe. I go to yoga class 4 (or more) days a week, so other than my weekend shorts, tops, and dresses, you’ll generally find me in workout wear. Which brings me to the GreenStyle Studio to Street Top.

I’ve stopped by the grocery store on my way home from yoga class on more than one occasion. While it generally doesn’t bother me to walk around in workout wear, stores in Florida, and grocery stores in particular are cold. They seem to keep the A/C cranked down towards refrigerator level. While I appreciate that they are trying to keep the food fresh, I don’t like freezing while shopping. So the Studio to Street Top is perfect for popping on after class, looking “put together” and completing your errands in comfort.

My measurements put me in a size Large, so per testing guidelines I made a size Large, adding 1″ to the length to account for my height. For my first test version I used some rayon spandex from JoAnn Fabric that I had in my stash. I chose the V-neck split-band bottom with a crew neck back. (This pattern has so many great options!)

It could have been the super stretchy fabric, but the size of this trendy style felt a little too slouchy for me. (Hey, I lived through the ’90’s already, the Flashdance look just isn’t my personality!) So for my next two tops I sized down to a Medium. That, and using high quality fabric, was just the change I needed to fall in love with this top.

Winter white rayon spandex from Phee Fabrics is the perfect fabric for the V-neck, split-band front, full length V back version. It’s a trendy, yet classic top that fills a hole in my closet. I can throw it on over my workout wear to run errands, and it’s long enough to cover my “assets” if I want to wear it with leggings.

The pattern has sleeve options to cover all seasons. Long sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, short banded sleeves, or you can just hem the sleeve openings. Since it’s usually warm in Florida, I decided to go with the banded sleeves for my third version. I wanted a dressier top that I could wear to church or out to dinner. Circular knit from Phee Fabrics gave the V-neck, deep V back, full length top the perfect element of dressiness. It’s super comfortable and breathable, with just the right amount of sexiness.

The deep V back looks sexy (but can be worn with a regular bra!) Or you can totally change the look by wearing a fun strappy bra (hello, Power Sports Bra!) I will wear this with skirts, shorts, or thrown over my yoga wear all summer long.

I didn’t make a cropped version because it isn’t my tall girl style. But a cropped sweater knit version would look adorable on my daughter or one of my nieces who live in colder climates! With so many options (hmmm, I didn’t make a crew neck front yet..) and clear, easy to follow directions, the GreenStyle Studio to Street Top is a pattern worth owning. Using different types and weights of fabrics will give you so many fun styles it will become a staple in your closet!

As an interesting side note, both the skirt and Super G Tights are made of Phee Fabrics Supplex. Obviously it is my favorite fabric for workout bras, tops and multiple styles of bottoms!

GreenStyle Power Sports Bra Workout Top Hack

How I Made A Good Bra “Workout” Better

I was lucky enough to be one of the GreenStyle Power Sports Bra pattern testers. As soon as I made my first Power Sports Bra, I knew that I was eventually going to hack it into a workout top. I like pattern testing. It gives you a chance to try a new pattern, give your feedback on the fit, construction, and pattern directions. At the end you get to show off your beautiful creations, so you feel like a model wearing something that you made. I like the fit, style and multiple options on the pattern, and knew that it would make a cute workout top!

I used gray Supplex from Phee Fabrics for the bra portion of my top. Since the bra needs to be comfortable, supportive, and able to withstand sweaty workouts, your fabric needs to be moisture wicking with good stability and excellent recovery. Supplex is my go-to fabric for workout wear. I used tricot for the body portion and straps because it comes in fun colors, and is also moisture wicking and abrasion resistant. It is important to use powernet when making a bra. The support and smoothing provided by powernet is, in my mind, essential to achieving a high quality finished product. An added bonus is that I don’t have to use bra cups when I use powernet! It’s that good at keeping “the girls” in place.

Omitting the band, I cut out my bra per pattern directions, as well as cutting a layer of powernet for all the bra pieces. I trim the powernet about 1/8″ smaller on all sides (which is much easier if you have a rotary cutter). Doing this will cut down on the bulk in your seams. I then baste the powernet to my lining pieces, and treat them as one piece moving forward.

Other than the straps, I sewed the bra together per pattern instructions. While I love the look of the double straps, they are more time consuming to construct. So I still cut out four strap pieces, but used them flat (as main fabric and lining fabric) rather than as double straps sewn to each shoulder. I used powernet in my straps rather than adding elastic.

Once you’ve sewn your main and lining pieces together along the top, try the bra on, adjust the straps to length, then push the straps through the openings and stitch.

To avoid bulk, be sure to trim the seam allowances at the back strap openings on an angle before turning the bra right side out. It’s important to press as you sew. It helps everything lay more smoothly, and gives your projects a more professional finish. See the difference pressing makes between the left and right straps in the photo below?

Now you’re at the part where you would normally add the band, but are instead going to make it a workout top. I used the GreenStyle Lille Tank as the tank portion of my workout top.

I literally used a Lille tank that I had made previously, but never wear because I didn’t do a good job on the binding. Since it was just taking up space in my workout wear drawer, I decided to upcycle it by cutting the top straight across below the arm openings. The extra length gave me the opportunity to add ruching to the sides.

The Lille body was wider than my bra. If I were making the body out of Supplex, and wanted it more fitted, I would have slimmed the top of the body a bit. Since I was going for a drapier fit with ruching, I just matched up my quarter points and eased the body to fit the bra.

I could have added a band with elastic on the inside at this point, but wanted to try something else. I used 3/8″ swim elastic cut to fit me at the snug yet comfortable length (just like you would trial fit the wider elastic in the band). I overlapped the elastic and stitched it together making a circle. Then I matched up my quarter points, and zig zagged the elastic to the seam allowance. After that, I flipped the seam allowance toward the bra, and top-stitched it in place.
To ruche the sides, I cut two pieces of swim elastic a couple of inches shorter than my side seams. I zig-zagged the elastic to the side seams and ta-dah, instant ruching!
When I go to the beach to get photographs in my makes, sometimes silliness overtakes me. But we’ll just say I was jump testing the workout top to ensure that everything stays in place!

This workout top passed the jump test with flying colors! 😉 Working out is more fun when you wear cute, comfortable, me-made outfits. 🙂

Happy Sewing!

Not Really Famous

Email “Fame”

Imagine my surprise when I opened the 5 out of 4 Patterns newsletter email and saw myself at the top of the page! Being the slightly dorky person that I am, I of course had to forward it to my daughter so that she could share my excitement. And she didn’t laugh at me, but rather commented, “That is super cool! Do you get to test the cardigan pattern? My black and gray cardigans both have holes :-(“. Hah! So either it really is cool, or, my slightly dorky genes were passed onto my children. Let’s go with it really is cool. As a side note, my husband thought it was cool, so again it really is cool or our children are doomed to slight dorkiness due to both parents!

The reason the collage of me appeared on the 5oo4 newsletter is because I was one of the testers for the new Lola pattern that was just released. If you haven’t tried independent pdf pattern companies, you are really missing out! There are wonderfully talented pattern designers in the world and some of them have discovered that they can sell pdf patterns online. They have Facebook groups and sewists around the world join and ask and answer questions about the patterns, post photos of their completed projects and hacks, and discuss all things sewing.

Facebook pattern and fabric sewing groups are the best! I constantly see comments like, “I just joined this group and this post thread was the first thing I saw. I think I have found my people!” or “I have to share this here because you guys will understand how excited I am about…”. The groups are filled with supportive, funny, and generally down-to-earth people. If you are scoffing at this and wondering how many people would actually join a Facebook sewing or fabric group, you might be surprised to learn that Patterns for Pirates has over 100,000 members! Yes, over one hundred thousand.

So, back to the pattern testing. Designers will sometimes post a tester call in their Facebook pattern group and you can apply to be a pattern tester. You apply online, supplying your current measurements and answer the questionnaire about your sewing skills or style, etc. The patterns have been drawn up and tested by the designer themselves, but they want to test and see how the pattern works on multiple sizes, different body types, etc. You are expected to make a muslin (a practice garment) to check for size and fit, and provide comments, photos and constructive criticism about the pattern and directions as written. The designer reviews your photos and comments, makes any changes to the pattern and tutorial directions and then the testers make at least one “final” garment and submit styled photos to the designer. When the pattern is released you share the approved photos and promote the new pattern.

It’s kind of fun to do, but because there is a time frame, you have to be willing to put in the time and effort as scheduled. I am not a fast sewist and tend to be a perfectionist, so I put a lot of pressure on myself when I test. You provide your own fabric, and do not get paid, so pattern testing isn’t for everyone. But I like to stretch my skills and try new patterns so I think it’s fun and interesting to do. And you do receive the pattern for free once you’ve met all the requirements.

To answer my daughters question above, no, I was not chosen to test the cardigan pattern. 😦 But I did pick up on your hint that you’d like me to make you new gray and black cardigans! 😉 If you haven’t tried independent pattern companies and Facebook sewing and fabric groups, check them out! Maybe they’re your people too!