yoga – Sew Beach Life

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!

Porcelynne Jackie Bra and Tankini

Workout wear makes up a large portion of my wardrobe, so I like trying out new patterns and styles. Porcelynne is known for their bra making books and extensive bra making supplies. Their current warehouse is somewhat local to me, and that is how I stumbled across the Jackie pattern. Jennifer (the designer, author, and owner of Porcelynne) is in a Florida sewing group that I’m in on Facebook. She hosted a shopping event that included fabric from an estate sale at her warehouse. I chatted with her while shopping, and commented on the sports bra she was wearing, asking her which pattern it was. She told me it was a new pattern that would be releasing soon. Once the Jackie Sports Bra pattern dropped, I bought it, and the Tankini Add-On pattern.

Sewing workout wear is fun, and ensures that I have unique, colorful outfits to wear to yoga class.

Since Christmas was right around the corner, I spent the next month sewing for others and put off sewing anything for myself. January rolled around, and with it, time to sew for myself. The Jackie is marked as a more advanced pattern, so, as suggested in the tutorial, I decided to make the “simple” pullover version, rather than the zip up front to ensure that I had chosen the correct size. The size chart is extensive and includes fitting tips for uneven breast sizes, compression fit, etc. Knowing that I planned to workout in my bra, including upside down poses in yoga class, I sized down one size for the band, and used powernet in the bra. I did not size down in the cups, because I know powernet has a strong rebound factor. Snug but not not tight is the name of the game in comfortable workout wear! This meant that instead of making the 34F that I measured, I went with the 32F.

I always baste powernet to the wrong side of the main fabric before serging the pieces together, then pull all the basting stitches. In retrospect, I should have trimmed the powernet back 3/16″ around all the edges before serging to reduce bulk in my seams.

The Tankini Add-On is based on your band size and has some cool overlapped pockets on the front side panels. Although I like the looks of the pocket panels, all of my workout tights have pockets, so pockets on my top were redundant. Skipping the pockets meant a little more work to figure out the length on the side panels, but it wasn’t really that challenging to mark a new cutting line. The curving lines on the front panels of the tankini are super cool, but the curves on the side seams are not designed for my body shape. The tankini side seams were too “hippy” on me, with bulges on the sides, then a bit snug at the bottom, which makes the bottom want to slide up to a narrower point on the body. Part of this is probably due to the shape of my booty, which I frequently adjust for when making tops or dresses. Have you ever had a top or dress hem be too short in the back (shorter in the back than the front)? Even on a flowy dress, so you know it’s not because it’s too tight in the hips? Yeah, it’s super annoying, but there is an easy solution as long as it’s done at the “tracing the pattern” stage.

Whenever I’m tracing off a top or dress pattern and the back hem is straight across from center back to side seam, I know it’s going to be a problem if I don’t make an adjustment. Booties protrude from your back, and you need adequate fabric to cover them. Obviously you need adequate hip width, so do any grading out to the appropriate size first. In case you haven’t read my previous posts on the importance of grading, I am a stickler about grading to fit your body. Designers make patterns to fit an average of measurements, and they provide size charts for a reason. Just because your bust measurement falls into size x, it doesn’t mean that your waist and hips do too. Maybe they fall into the measurement range for a size y or z. It’s worth taking the time to grade to your size(s). Now back to the booty issue. If you’ve noticed the “too short in the back” issue on your makes, you need to add length at the hemline in the center back of your pattern, curving up to meet the side seam. Adding 1.5″ at the center fold line seems to be the perfect amount for me.

Notice that more length is added at the center back fold line to about the center of the pattern piece, then it curves somewhat sharply up from there.

Using a curved ruler can help you draw smooth even lines, but you can do this by eye. I do this adjustment on every fitted workout top I make. It’s helpful on more fitted tank and tee shirt patterns as well. Many flowy top patterns seem to include a curved hem. Occasionally after making a pattern with a slightly curved hem, I find that I need to add just a little bit more length to the curve at center back.

The hand on the hip is kind of pulling the fabric, but the top is the same length in the back as it is in the front.

Although I generally followed the tutorial directions when sewing the bra (which is a good idea when trying a pattern for the first time!), I’ve made enough workout wear to feel comfortable making a few changes. Since I had used powernet on all of the front and back pieces, using elastic along the top seam wasn’t necessary. The caveats to this being: first and foremost, having chosen the proper size; using a high quality powernet (not a flimsy powermesh); and using the differential on my serger. When sewing knits, always up the differential (to 1.3 generally speaking) to keep the fabric from stretching out of shape while serging.

Since the neckline has a somewhat squared shape where the center front meets the side front, I found it helpful to sew with a stretch stitch first, then go back and serge to ensure nice crisp corners.

The interior of the bra and modified band.

The bra pattern includes a normal rectangular band with 1-3/8″ wide elastic. The tutorial for the Tankini Add-On recommends serging narrow elastic into the seam when attaching the bra bodice to the tankini. I much prefer a nice solid 1″ wide elastic enclosed in a band on my workout tops. After all, I’m going to be upside down in headstands during yoga class and want a very secure band! On most tops the seam between the bra and bodice is relatively straight, but the Jackie bra has an interesting upward curve at center front. Rather than just using a simple rectangular band, I hacked mine to have a curve matching the curve on the center front of the tankini bodice.

Since I don’t like loose elastic floating around inside of a band, I always serge one long edge of the band into the seam when attaching the bra and bodice. Since I’m using 1″ wide elastic, my band is 2-1/4″ high (except for the top center, which is shaped to match the bodice). Here’s what works for me: have the bodice inside out; slide the bra down inside the bodice with the right side out (the bra and bodice will be RST); place the band (sewn into a loop) inside the bra, with the right side of the band facing the lining of the bra, matching all quarter points. Serge from the inside of the top, with the band on top. I like to use plenty of pins to ensure that all layers stay perfectly aligned. Just be sure to pull the pins before they get up to the blade so you don’t hit them! If you’re nervous about this, just baste the layers together, then go over to your serger.

Since different brands of elastic can be more or less stretchy than others, I like to pre-stretch my elastic 8 or 10 times, then wrap it around my body where the band will fall (just under the bust) and pull it to a snug, yet comfortable tightness with a 1/2″ overlap. (Using the 1″ elastic from Wawak, mine ends up 27-1/2″ long.) Overlap the ends 1/2″, and zig-zag together, securing the ends. Mark the quarter points on the elastic (I just use a pencil). Pin the elastic to the wrong side of the unfinished long edge of the band, matching the quarter points, and serge, stretching the elastic to match the band. Then fold the elastic up inside the band, overlapping, and just matching the top of the seam. Pin, then coverstitch in place. This will keep the smooth side of the band against your skin, with the seam on the side against the bodice.

No matter how you bend, the band will lay comfortably against your body.

The wrap-up: I like that the Jackie bra is unique, and different from other sports bra patterns. It’s rated as a more advanced pattern, and I’m glad that I have plenty of experience sewing workout wear. It would probably be intimidating to a beginner sewist, but Porcelynne has a pattern discussion and a sew-along group on Facebook, as I recently discovered. It can be helpful to have a group of people to refer to and ask questions of who are familiar with a pattern. When people ask questions in a pattern or sewing group, and I’m familiar with the pattern or problem, I always try to help. Share your experience to help others who are still learning. That’s how we learn and grow, by doing, and seeking help from those with more experience. And I want people to love sewing, not get frustrated with it and give up.

The contrasting inserts on the side back are fun, and give you more seams to accent with a reverse triple coverstitch!

Rather than the padded adjustable straps the pattern calls for, I chose to add fixed double straps of 5/8″ wide plush bra elastic. If I were going to wear the bra as just a bra, those padded adjustable straps would probably be quite comfortable. I really should make a version with adjustable straps even if only to show off the pretty rainbow rings and sliders and plush bra elastic I bought from Porcelynne!

The details: the Porcelynne Jackie Sports Bra and Tankini Add-On patterns are available in .pdf format as well as paper patterns.

The charcoal gray supplex, powernet, and plum nylon spandex were purchased from Phee Fabrics. This particular purple is from my stash and no longer available, but there is a very pretty purple nylon spandex tricot on the site. It’s easier to sew when you use high quality fabric, and moisture-wicking nylon/spandex fabrics are your best bet for workout wear!

When reverse triple coverstitching, I used Superior Threads Fantastico #5154 High Society in the looper. I just love the sheen, and how prettily it accents my fabric. Their variegated threads are fabulous!

Thank you to Ashley @coastalyoga for taking photos while at the studio after a sweaty Ashtanga class!

And thank you to my sweet husband for taking photos at home. Sadly it’s too cold and windy for outdoor photos right now!

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.

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! ❤

The GreenStyle Simpatico Leggings

A not so basic “basic”

One of my most worn clothing styles is leggings, which is no surprise. 😉 Between yoga classes and needing “pants” 🙂 for cool days, leggings are a go-to item. When GreenStyle Creations opened up testing, I quickly jumped at the opportunity.

The Simpatico Leggings are literally a basic style with no outside seams or pockets. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. They are perfectly shaped to fit actual bodies. That may sound funny, but we’ve all bought ready-to-wear leggings that are nothing but tapered straight legs that wrinkle behind the knees, feel too tight on your calves, and have waistbands that don’t end up where you want them to.

Excellent drafting skills went into the design of the Simpatico Leggings. The legs are shaped, they fit smoothly over your calves, they don’t wrinkle or sag at the knees, and the waistband is contoured (rather than a simple rectangle) so it fits and doesn’t gap at the back of the waist. And it has petite, standard, and tall options! For anyone that has ever struggled or been nervous about lengthening or shortening leggings, this is super helpful! A beginning sewist can feel confident about sewing beautifully fitting leggings, and a more experienced sewist can quickly whip up a pair when needed.

No knee wrinkles, and shaping that fits my calves!

You can also choose between a mid-rise or high-rise waistband, and capri or full length leggings. The high-rise waistband is perfect for comfortable smoothing under tops and tunics. I used powernet in the front half of my waistbands (for extra smoothing power!) and clear elastic along the top waistband seam. Whether I’m just walking around or doing yoga, the waistband stays perfectly in place.

My husband seems to enjoy being my photographer and making me laugh while showing off every aspect of my leggings! 😉

Whether you’re looking for simple leggings or capris to wear to yoga class, or a basic to throw on with a tunic and cardigan for running errands, the Simpatico Leggings are a solid choice.

The simple design is perfect for showing off a pretty print!

The details:

The marble print fabric is a nylon spandex athletic blend from JoAnn Fabric. It’s not as thick as supplex, but feels like a lightweight supplex. While I wouldn’t “go commando” at yoga class in this fabric, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. The mint green top is the GreenStyle Studio to Street blogged here. I love that even in the deep V back version, I can wear a regular bra with it!

The navy Supplex is from Phee Fabrics. The top is the Waimea Rashguard blogged here.

The links to GreenStyle and the Simpatico Leggings 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! ❤

Stitch Upon A Time Legend Leggings

When you go to yoga class four days a week, you need a lot of workout wear! I am super picky about workout wear because if it’s not comfortable, breathable, and able to stretch with me, it’s not getting worn.

Making leggings that work as hard as you do can be a challenge. Some patterns are meant to look cute as lounge or daily wear, but don’t really work for exercise. And obviously fabric choice plays a part in this. But the new Legend Leggings from Stitch Upon A Time meet my workout challenge, even after a sweaty Ashtanga Yoga class!

The waistband didn’t roll or give me a “muffin top”. I even wore a Titania Tunic tied up on the side, exposing my belly, which is definitely not the norm for the 50+ year old crowd! That’s how confident I feel in my new leggings!

I played around while doing photos and actually managed to get a few seconds of air time (while flashing my belly, gasp!) on a public beach. Hahahahahaha! Obviously I was never a gymnast or cheerleader, but I have built some decent upper body strength after doing yoga for nearly 18 years. 😉

The inseam free Legends can be shorts, capri, or full length. They can be solid or have stripes that curve to accent the booty.

You can keep it simple and let your fabric be the focal point, or go crazy and cover-stitch to accent all the seams. The waistband can be low or high, but being a rebel (which is so unlike me) I went halfway between for a mid-height.

I love leggings that give me flexibility in fit and style. I had no problems with them riding up or down, no matter how many forward folds, stretches, or holds.

I love leggings that are comfortable and versatile, that you can wear to lounge about or workout. Here is how I personalized them to suit me:

I am tall, so I added 1″ to the capri length. As mentioned, I cut halfway between the low and high rise for my perfect waistband height. To give the front waistband more tummy smoothing power (I like cookies, okay?) I added powernet to half of the waistband. (Cutting the powernet to fit the entire folded over waistband would give even more holding power.) The powernet was basted to the front waistband, then the front and back waistbands were sewn together as per the tutorial. I recommend cover-stitching the side seams or stitching in the ditch with a sewing machine to keep the side seams aligned if you add powernet. I also gave myself a little more booty room by cutting along the Medium inner back crotch curve line, while cutting everything else on my measured size Large cut line.

It was a great way to give a little more room for “the junk in the trunk”, especially since I like using highly compressive fabric for leggings. Keep in mind that if you have a similar booty/body shape, that you will need to stretch the back waistband a little bit, while easing in the body of the leggings. If you’ve ever had pants that fit nicely over your booty, but gapped at the back waist, this solves that problem.

The details: I used three different colors of Supplex from Phee Fabrics for this fun striped look. The reverse triple cover-stitching was done using a variegated thread in the looper. I just love the fun look you get from variegated thread, especially when working with solid color fabrics. And yes, I will definitely make another pair (or three!) of Legend Leggings. I think it would be a fun look to use powernet as the outer stripe. Kind of sexy and kind of fun, what can I say?!

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 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 sewing, patterns, and fabric. ❤

Tempo Athletic Tights

How I Upcycled, And Made Them Capri Length

The fun curved details of the GreenStyle Tempo Tights finally made me break down and try a pair. 🙂 When they first released, I resisted because there wasn’t a capri option, and it is hot in Florida. I wear capri length tights to workout year round. As a creative sewist, I knew that I could get the length that I wanted, without sacrificing the curved insert at the bottom of the leg.

For my first pair, I decided to do some upcycling, and use a couple pairs of ready-to-wear leggings that were just taking up space in my drawer. So I carefully cut them apart by using my rotary cutter along the inner leg seam, and up the center front and back seams. With the fabric smoothed flat, I laid the side panel pattern piece on the capri length striped material. I aligned the center fold of my pattern with the industrial cover-stitched seam that was down the side of the old workout pants, and left the existing hem in place. Since the upcycled leggings had been capri length, I just folded up the bottom of the pattern to mark the length.

Then I used the fabric from a second pair of similarly dismantled leggings to cut out the front and back panels, as well as the bottom leg inserts. Matching up the seam lines of the bottom inserts with the seam lines at the bottom of the side panel, I folded the insert pattern piece at 1″ longer, to give myself room for a hem (since my side panels were already hemmed).

Then I followed the pattern tutorial to stitch everything together. I also had my first go at reverse cover-stitching. It’s definitely not perfect, but it was fun to practice a new skill at hopes of improving.

The look is fun, it kept two old pairs of leggings from being tossed or donated, and assured me that the fit was right. So I grabbed my Phee Fabrics black Supplex and got to work.

For my second pair I wanted an even shorter capri length, ending just below the knee. This was going to require more alteration than just folding up the bottom of the pattern! I took my side panel pattern piece, laid it on my master pattern (I always trace my patterns on waxed or parchment paper, and keep my master pattern intact, in case I need to make changes or grade sizes) and slid it down 4-1/2″, being sure to keep straight on the grainline. Then I traced the bottom curves in this new location.

Using a compass, I traced a line 3/4″ inside the curve, to give me the alignment for a new custom bottom insert. Since the original bottom insert is designed for your lower leg, it won’t fit up higher on your calves. But it was simple to lay a piece of parchment paper on my pattern, follow my drawn inner curve, and trace the side and bottom to match up.

Then I just cut along the outer curve and folded the pieces under in case I want to make the longer length next time. Can you tell I don’t want to have to trace the pattern again? 🙂

The tights would have been a faster sew the second time, if I had remembered that I wanted pockets, and didn’t have to seam rip to add them in instead of accidentally skipping right by that first step. Ugh! Oh well, pockets are totally worth it!

It is notoriously difficult to see details on black fabric. I love the length, I love the pockets, and I love the black powernet inserts at the bottom.

Which I of course tried to photograph with a fun yoga move. 😉

And my reverse triple cover stitch has greatly improved! Using the curve foot makes sewing the curves so much easier.

So, do the Tempo Tights beat out the Super G‘s in my workout wear drawer? The Tempo Tights have a simple triangular gusset, which is fine for daily wear, or workouts that don’t involve major stretching. Although I like the look and the variety, nothing beats the comfort of the Super G gusset for yoga, my preferred workout. So, should I hack the Tempo Tights to use the Super G gusset? Hmmmmm… that could work!

In case you’re wondering, the turquoise top is the GreenStyle Staple Tank, which is truly a staple in my closet! I have made at least 5 of them, all in Phee Fabrics rayon spandex, and I wear them all the time. The white workout top is a hacked GreenStyle Jillian Tank, blogged here. The purple top is a GreenStyle Power Sports Bra, hacked into a workout top, and blogged here.

Water Faery Workout Top Version 2

Because One Hack Is Never Enough!

Don’t you love it when you feel like you really got your money’s worth out of a pattern? Fortunately there are quite a few patterns that have enough options, that fit so well, and are a great basis for a pattern hack or mash, and the Stitch Upon A Time Water Faery is one of them. I’ve used the Water Faery Twist & Swim Top pattern to make swim tops and hacked it into a workout top, blogged here. I’ve also made it into a dress, linked here.

As my first workout top used the twist front bodice, I decided to keep this top simple with the plain front. Since the Water Faery is designed as swimwear, the body is quite fitted. So you’ll want to use a well fitting tank pattern (like the Versa Cami) for the body of your workout top. To add a little pizazz (and because my charcoal Supplex scraps weren’t big enough to make a solid back body!) 😉 I added a triangular wedge at center back. I simply folded the back at an angle at the center back fold line from 1″ wide at the bottom, tapering up to nothing at the top.

Using a folded piece of white paper, I traced the line of the angle that was folded away while cutting the two back halves. The fold line is the center back, the pencil line is the “folded away” section, and then I drew a line 3/4″ further out to account for the 3/8″ seam allowances I used when sewing the purple triangular strip in between the two back body halves.

Other than narrowing the straps to end up 1-1/8″ wide, the bodice is sewn as per the pattern tutorial. Keep in mind that it is important to use a layer of high quality powernet in the bodice front and back, along with the suggested elastic, to provide support.

Once the bodice and tank body are constructed, slide the bodice inside the body, matching up the center front, back, and quarter points, and stitch with right sides together. While the body is still folded on top of the bodice, use a zigzag stitch to sew the recommended length of 1-1/4″ wide sport elastic onto the seam allowance. When your top is inside out, it will look like the photo below, with the elastic hanging down below the underbust seam.

All you’ve got left to do now is to hem the bottom, and you can wear your new workout top to yoga class, or for whatever your favorite exercise routine is!

Taking the time to press your seams as you sew, and changing your thread color to match the triangular insert when hemming that section really helps to give your garment a professional finish. I love that a few simple changes, and a little bit of extra time can turn some not-quite-big-enough scraps into a fun addition to your workout wardrobe!

I purchased all my fabric, the grape and charcoal Supplex, and the powernet from Phee Fabrics.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission/credit 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 sharing my love of sewing, patterns, fabric, and pattern hacking. ❤

Open Back Pullover

With A Simple Hack

Do you ever look at patterns and think, I really like that, except for…? That’s how I felt about the GreenStyle Open Back Pullover. I like the open back, I like that there’s a deeper scooped back, as well as a closed back option. I like that it can be sleeveless, or have long or short sleeves. I like that there is a crew neck, as well as a scoop neck, along with a hood option. Most people love “hoodies” and banded sweatshirts. I am not one of those people.

Banded bottom shirts are not a good look on me. I own one banded bottom shirt, and it hangs unworn in my closet. I’ve tried to wear it, it looked cute on the hanger when I bought it years ago, but on me, it looks like a maternity top. If I were an expectant Mama I would wear it and look adorable. But since I am a Grandma and long past the age of having babies, it’s just not the look I am going for!

Luckily, it is super easy to hack the Open Back Pullover to not need a band. You are going to want to pay attention to your hip measurement. Make sure you measure the widest/largest part of your hips and booty. If it falls within the measurements for the size you are making, you’re good to go. But if it’s at the upper end or bigger than the size for your bust and waist, you will want to grade your pattern out to a larger size, starting at the waist. Then use a ruler to add 4″ of length at the bottom of the front and back pattern pieces.

Follow the pattern tutorial, (it’s a pretty easy pattern) and instead of sewing on a band at the bottom, simply pin and press the hem up 3/4″ and zigzag or coverstitch to finish the hem.

I like that I can wear a regular bra with the high scoop back, and wear it like any other top. The low scoop back would really show off a cute Power Sports Bra and be fun for yoga class or working out. I thought about using powernet in the scoop opening, (there is a pattern piece for that), but the open back is just the right amount of sexy. It would also be fun to use powernet as the upper back pattern piece for an even airier feel.

I made my top out of Circular Knit, and would totally consider a long sleeved, closed back version in Rayon Spandex or Ribbing for cooler days. If you’re looking for a more traditional hoodie feel, Cozy French Terry would be so soft and plush! Supplex would give a more athletic feel, and would coordinate nicely with Super G’s or Stride Athletic Tights. I’m glad I gave the Open Back Pullover a shot. It’s a simple, slightly sexy 😉 , comfortable look.

My shorts are the Brassie Joggers, made out of Supplex. I purchased all my fabric from Phee Fabrics.

Super Fun Super G’s

And A Simple Pocket Hack

GreenStyle Super G Tights are my “go-to” workout pants pattern. I’ve sewn more than a half dozen pairs for myself and a pair for my daughter. I’ve perfected the pattern to suit me, and decided to really have fun with this pair. Since it’s hot year round in Florida, I prefer capri length (or an inch or two shorter). It’s easy to fit capri length on one yard of fabric, with enough left over to make a workout top. The G in Super G stands for the gusset. It’s one long piece that stretches from calf to calf, and gives your workout tights lots of stretch and movement.

Since the gusset pattern piece is longer than 36″, simply fold up the ends on the gusset pattern, and cut the ends (adding in seam allowances) out of the same or an accent fabric. It’s a fun way to add another little bit of accent to the inside of your leg.

Supplex is literally the best fabric for workout tights. I’ve used Tricot as the accent fabric on the side pocket panels of my Super G’s, but my favorite accent fabric is Powernet. It gives a little more ventilation, and adds a little bit of sexy sheerness.

On the teal and navy pairs in the photo above, I used Powernet for the upper and lower pocket pieces. That makes the panels sheer all the way to the waistband. This doesn’t bother me, but if you’re looking for more coverage, use Supplex or Tricot for your upper pocket piece.

Normally, the lower pocket panel of the Super G’s gets stitched to the upper pocket, and the lower panel fabric gets folded under to form a pocket, effectively hiding the seam. Since I’ve made so many pairs of Super G’s, I thought it would be fun to give the pocket on this pair a different look. (It also means that you can use shorter pieces of powernet, 😉 in case you only bought a half yard.) The pocket can be moved down about an inch or so, and still be wide enough to hold a large iPhone. You may have noticed this hack on my Super G’s in this post, where the pocket is Supplex and the upper and lower panels are powernet.

The fold in the lower pocket panel piece on the left shows where the pocket seam will be. I cut 3/8″ above that (where I am pointing) to give a seam allowance. I added an inch to the bottom of the upper pocket panel piece, (on the right in the photo above.) Now I just need a pocket piece which was made by tracing the folded over pocket section (the top portion of that left pattern piece.) And then the real fun began!

I placed several long strips of plastic wrap on my glass dining table to protect it, and laid the powernet pattern pieces I had cut out on it. The little bit showing at the top left corner was used for a workout top. The small triangular pieces are the gusset end pieces. The pockets are on the lower left, and the lower pocket side panels are on the right. (I used Supplex for the upper pocket panels.)

Art is often an experiment, no matter what media you choose. It is a wonderful way to play and express yourself. And you get to play with color, yay! Since the grape Supplex I was using for my Super G’s was such a fun color, I knew I wanted to do something fun on the side panels. Michaels Arts & Crafts stores often have 50% off coupons in their weekly email ads. Which I greatly appreciate, since the Marvy Uchida Fabri-Ink kit I wanted to try was $25.

I chose the fluorescent set since the purple, turquoise, and green fit solidly in my little wedge of the color wheel. The set includes refillable brushes, but that didn’t sound as fun as randomly dropping splotches of diluted fabric ink with an eye dropper! The darker splotches were diluted 50/50 with water, and the lighter ones are about 25% ink and 75% water.

Things to keep in mind: I always pre-wash my fabric before it gets folded and put in my stash for use. Never, ever, ever skip this step. This removes any dust, dirt, or chemicals that may have gotten on your fabric from the manufacturing process or during freight. You do not want that on your skin, cutting mat, or machine. It also gets any possible shrinkage out of the way. Ink is permanent, so protect your work surface, hands, and clothes. I let the ink dry overnight (although it dries in a matter of minutes) then pressed it with an iron to heat set it.

Mark the back edge of each side pocket panel pattern piece with a clip to avoid confusion later. To assemble the panels, fold the top edge of the pocket under 1″, press, and topstitch with a decorative stitch. Lay the pockets on the upper pocket panels, right sides up, aligning the bottom edges, and baste along the sides. Then lay the lower panel on top of the pockets, right sides together, and stitch. Press the seam up (so it won’t be visible through the lower panel), and topstitch with a decorative stitch.

With the side pocket panels done, you can simply follow the pattern tutorial to finish up your super fun Super G’s.

I’ll tell you a funny story about taking these photos. This pretty foliage is along a rather busy road. It can be kind of awkward posing for photos with cars driving by. While posing so my husband could take a photo of the back of my Super G’s, I asked him if my booty looked good. Right then a truck drove by and the young man in the passenger seat leaned out the window and whistled at me. Straight-faced, my husband answered, “I think you have your answer!” 🙂 Hahahahahahaha!

I love these early morning photos because the colorful sky is a pretty backdrop for my super fun and colorful Super G’s. And who doesn’t love the sound of the ocean as background music?

Sewing is an art, so don’t be afraid to experiment with it, and with other forms of art to make your own fun projects.

All fabric was purchased from Phee Fabrics. The white Supplex workout top is the GreenStyle Jillian I hacked to have powernet inserts and a pocket, blogged here. The teal and grape Supplex workout top is another fun hack I’ll be posting soon.