Burda 05-2011-107, Ruched Front Top

As Cidell and I discussed in our recent podcast, the May issue of BurdaStyle gave me hope for the future. Although it still provided a diverse selection of giant sacks, it also contained some clothing with actual fitting and great details. One that immediately caught my eye was this top, Burda 05-2011-107, as well as the dress version. I love me some ruching, it is great for a little bit of tummy disguise. I was in the mode of looking for top patterns for my trip and it immediately went into the mix.

While I like the twisted strap idea--I used it in the Vogue 8386 dress in my avatar--I wanted shoulder coverage in the tops I was making for the bike trip. I also was not keen on the back view of this pattern, which is a single piece V. I am not crazy about patterns that have only a separate upper bodice and skirt in the front and not in the back.

For the upper bodice and lower back I turned to BWOF 08-2007-105, which I have used several times as the base for other patterns, such as my knockoff of New Look 6729 and my adaptation of plus size Burda 04-2008-128. I pulled it into service once again here. So technically I should probably review this as the 2007 pattern, but the most distinctive feature is from the 05-2011-107 pattern so I'm going with it.

I used one of the wicking waffle weaves I bought from FFC ($3.95/yd). The fabrics came in two different textures, a thick cotton-y texture, like the green for my S4076 twist top, and a thin, slightly sheer version that I used here. Because it was slightly sheer, I fully lined the upper bodice. This was also an easy way to finish the neckline and armscyes. I raised the neckline on the original draft simply by sewing up the center front seam further than marked.

The instructions for the ruched lower part have you gather both center front edges separately and then sew the pieces together. It seemed like it would be a challenge to sew two gathered edges together, so instead I sewed the center front seam with ungathered edges. Once it was sewn, I put in gathering stitches on either side of the seam and gathered. That worked ok, but I couldn't get the seam to stay gathered. I tried zigzagging over it, but that did nothing. Then I hand-gathered, which was ok but still not very stable (if my gathering thread popped I'd be SOL) and the gathers wouldn't remain evenly distributed. My third method was the charm: cutting a length of elastic to the finished length I wanted and stretching the elastic while sewing it to the CF seam. I probably should have stuck with the method in the directions!

This fabric, though it is a jersey, is not very stretchy. I didn't really notice this until it was made, but you can see from the back that I really should have sized up. It is super tight over my large lats (need to do a broad back adjustment on knits, too). It is also much clingier than I would prefer at the waist, but if it is not well-fitted there the ruching will droop so I think showing waist lumps and bumps is what you get for disguising tummy lumps and bumps.

Something ended up weird about the bust on this top. Though I have used the pattern several times and not had any trouble with it hanging off the bust rather than gently cupping the area, here there was no cupping. I did a little bit of hand gathering under the bust to try to create some shape, but it is not a perfect solution. I'm not sure what I'd need to do in the future; maybe gather the upper bust piece before stitching to the lower bodice?

Although the fit of this top isn't perfect, I quite like it. It was as flattering (from the front) as I'd hoped, and has a great style. A pattern with a separate upper bodice was a great fit for the thin fabric; it would have been needlessly hot to double the entire top, and self-lining the upper bodice dealt with the sheerness factor nicely.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Burda 12-2010-105, Shoulder Princess Tee

I really liked the shoulder princess top in Burda 12-2010-105. The princess seams and interesting panel lines, along with the little neck ruffle, looked really fantastic with the French seams (or maybe they're flat felled) and semi-transparent fabric.

I should start by saying that this is not the most helpful review of the pattern. It's meant to be made of "stretch cotton tulle" or stretch satin. I made it in a knit, eliminated the interesting panel seams, tucked the front ruffle down, widened the shoulder for more coverage and left off the sleeve, and lengthened it by four inches. It doesn't really resemble the original at this point!

It was easy to eliminate the panel seams as the pattern is drafted in a regular princess style with full length front, side front, back, and side back pieces and the panel seams are just marked on the pieces. This made it easy to trace for my purposes.

I found some olive green picot elastic at one of the little trim and elastic shops in Montreal during PR Weekend and had to get some. It's a color I sew in often enough that I was bound to make something it would go with eventually! As with my hot pink top with black lace trim (which pilled on the first wearing, grr), I was just so over making solid-colored items that I had to add a little something.

I had originally intended to have the little front neckline gather stand up as a ruffle as in the original pattern, but I had not thought to finish the edge of the fabric first (I would recommend a serger rolled hem or a close zigzag rather than turning under), and I didn't really like the way it was looking in my floppy jersey. So I turned under the neckline all the way around and finished it with the elastic. I had to hand baste the elastic on to get it to sit properly so the picot edge would just peek out.



Aside from a little pressing divot that I apparently wasn't able to press out at center back, the back view on this works. I did swayback correction by taking a wedge out of the center back piece and taking it in along the center back/side back seam as for darts.



Although I lengthened this top 4 inches--the original is only slightly longer than waist length; I am well past the age of belly-showing--I kept the shirttail hem. In the end, I don't think it works for this particular project. The jersey is really floppy with no body and it really doesn't sit well if not tucked in. The fabric does nothing for a non-flat stomach and just kind of flops over the hips, and you can see all the lumps and bumps of the skirt's waistband (and what's underneath the waistband, ahem) through the fabric. I was fairly disappointed in that, as I love the color. I may go back and put in a slightly shorter, straight hem and see if that improves wearability.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

McCall 5890, Princess Seam Tee with Lace Trim

Since I planned for several t-shirts (right now the plan stands at 6, with 5 completed) for my bike trip, I have been obsessed with finding interesting t-shirt patterns! McCall 5890 attracted me with the princess seams (great for fitting) and the little cap sleeve for shoulder sun protection.

This is one of those patterns that shows somewhat dowdy examples in the photos, while the line drawings reveal good bones. I was a bit concerned about the width of the neckline in the line drawing, but it is not as wide as drawn--my neckline is out of the envelope.

The envelope actually provides the finished bust measurement!!! I feel like I haven't seen that in a good five years. This is a Nancy Zieman pattern, so I don't know if it is her doing or the fact that there was no room on the envelope for the line drawings. The instructions give you hints for sewing in short bursts of 10, 15, or 20 minutes. I am not good at that sort of sewing but it was interesting to have the various steps clocked out.




I just love princess seams for getting a good fit. I shaved some bust curve off the side front piece as shown in this example (example is not the actual pattern here) and took in the back/side back seams for swayback fitting. I *think* the swayback is actually good, and the wrinkles here are just from the sash and the way I'm standing. It seemed good in the mirror holding another mirror, but it's impossible to see your own back without distorting the garment.

The top uses the same pieces as the the knee-length and calf-length dresses. This is fine for pattern-printing economy purposes but it meant that the top's hem was impossible! The pattern just has cut lines rather than extensions that provide for the hem to be the same width as the area you're sewing it to. This means that the lower edge of the top is much larger in circumference than the area you're trying to sew the lower edge to for a hem.

It really needs a hem facing but of course I was trying to hem this late at night because I just wanted to finish and I didn't feel up to messing with measuring and cutting a hem facing (which of course would have been easier!). So my hem is not great. Next time I will definitely use a hem facing, or shape the lower edge to be straighter.



I am not one to wear solid colors. I love a print. So sewing all these solid color tops was making me itchy. I decided to dress this one up with some black stretch lace, purchased a while back from Sew Sassy. First I serged off the seam allowances from the neckline and armscyes. Then I arranged the lace so that there was a "dip" at center front (though later when I put the top on with a pendant necklace I realized I did not quite get center front, lol--no pendant necklaces with this top!) and the armscyes were symmetrical. I stitched the lace on with two rows of twin-needle stitching, one right along the edge of the neckline/armscyes and one at the edge of the lace. I'm not totally convinced the scallops on the neckline aren't going to wilt and droop. I guess I could starch the lace, but that would be uncomfortable and quickly melt off as I sweat on the bike!




This is a nice t-shirt variation. I love hot pink, though the top may be *too* hot pink to wear as real clothes. It is almost as bright as 80s fluorescent pink, and definitely as bright as 90s neon pink. The shape is flattering and easy to adjust for different figure types, and I really like the shoulder coverage. I don't know that I would make the dress version of the pattern because I don't think it would be flattering to my figure, but if it suits you I think it would be a great travel dress.

The pattern also includes elastic waist pants and an unstructured jacket with a band-like/shawl collar. The pants hold no allure for me, but the jacket could be a nice layering piece.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Simplicity 2283, Yoked Cowl Top

I love me a good knit cowl top, so I had to give Simplicity 2283 a try for one of my Supplex piece. I was intrigued by the front shoulder yoke.



The key to a pleasant cowl wearing experience is an adequate cowl facing. If you have enough self-facing coverage, you can put the top on in the morning and not think about it for the rest of the day. If the facing is skimpy, you will spend every spare moment making sure the facing hasn't flipped to the outside or is otherwise visible.

The facing on this was pretty good as drafted, but it is my opinion that you can always go longer. So I added an inch in cutting. As you can see on the inside, it is securely caught into the yoke seam and there is enough length hanging down at center front that the facing is not going to flip out. I had no troubles with it while wearing for bike riding (though admittedly I was wearing a fleece the whole time other than for the photos).

As mentioned, for biking tops I want some shoulder coverage for sun protection but in general don't want a full sleeve because of, well, armpit sweating, to be graphic. Extending the shoulder here wasn't going to be easy because of the yoke. I wasn't even considering the funky sleeve until I saw SewWil's pattern review. Her sleeves are great and look breezy and comfortable, so I cut the fun little pleated sleeve.

On SewWil and on the model it looks like there is plenty of room for a breeze under the arm, but on my I found that the sleeve amounted to a giant wad of fabric in my armpit as the armscye is quite high on me.

Never one to give up, I decided to turn the sleeves into cap sleeves. I marked the pleated, finished sleeve units with arcs, stitched along my marking, and cut 1/2" away from the stitching for a seam allowance. I then sewed in the sleeves and turned under and stitched the lower part of the armscye. This gives me the shoulder coverage I want with the underarm ventilation I need. If you look closely (or not even that closely) at the photos you'll see that the sleeves are not quite symmetric. Oh well! If I do this again, though, I will fix the sleeve in the drafting/cutting process, not after it is sewn.



When making the back darts in my B5283 twist top, the hardest part was figuring out where, exactly, center back was. So for this project I thread-traced center back before unpinning the pattern tissue. So very uncharacteristic of me.

Having CB marked made it a lot easier to place the darts, and also made it easier to transfer those darts to the pattern tissue for next time. The shape of my darts matches the idiosyncratic shape of my body. Most of the dart volume is not at the waist but below it at my swayback, and the width of my latissimus muscles means they have to go up nearly to the shoulder to avoid a puff at the top.



Pretend I had had the sense to make sure the back was not caught up above the belt before taking this photo. But on the right side, where the belt has not taken up a fold, you can see that it sits fairly flat on my back rather than ballooning out over my swayback.

The only thing I don't like about this pattern is that it can't be turned into a dress! The cowl width in the front sort of cascades all the way down to the hemline and would not translate well to a full length piece.


















As you can see I've already tested it out! It gets the thumbs up.

I love the sweetheart look of the neckline, that the narrower cowl that is not too low cut, that the facing that stays firmly in place, and the interesting yoke. I did not interface the yoke as directed in the pattern because of the thickness of my fabric--I feared it would be way too stiff and sit awkwardly--though now that it's done I think I should have. I would recommend interfacing if you're using anything less than a double knit.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

=====================


And that is the last piece in my Mini Wardrobe for the PR contest. The challenge was to start with an existing piece in the closet, sew four pieces during the contest period, and end up with at least 6 outfits. I managed to pull off 8!

I started with my self-drafted black and white print dirndl biking skirt from last March.

Then I added two tops, this one and the B5283 twist top.

Next, I needed another skirt, the S2413 pleated silk organza number. Oh, and by the way, I wear biking shorts under the skirts. I'm not going around flashing.

Finally, a topper in the form of this Burda 01-2011-131 wrap sweater.

I love all these pieces individually and I love how they work together. I still have more sewing to do for the trip--more tops and more skirts, which will be fun, and more rain gear which makes me want to die. I muslined the pullover rain jacket last weekend and have not been able to motivate to cut it out this week. I need to pull up my big girl panties and just get started. Then I can reward myself with fun, bright, cheerful sewing (not that it is fun, bright, or cheerful in our persistent, endless winter; it is killing me, people).

All photos for the mini-wardrobe, showing each look as well as the disaggregated pieces, are here.

Burda 01-2011-131, Ballerina Wrap Sweater

We're already a third of the way through this year's BurdaStyle subscription, and this is my first garment from a 2011 magazine. Things aren't looking good for Burda. I made only 6 items out of the entire 2010 subscription. There are definitely more that I'd like to make and considering how many things I am still sewing from 2007-2009 my count will eventually increase, but that is not good odds. It is the only magazine I subscribe to so I don't feel like it's wasted money, but I really hope they step up to the plate soon.

At any rate, here's Burda 01-2011-131. I have a hip-length wrap sweater pattern that I rubbed off a RTW sweater from H&M (as seen in my trip to Turkey), but I like the ballerina vibe to this cropped sweater so I added to the sewing list for my upcoming bike trip. It's made of the heavier Tactel nylon I bought from Fabric.com last January for $3.50/yd and from wearing it around the house during our latest cold snap (sob!) it is a nice layering fabric.

I lengthened the sleeves on the pattern so that I could do another thumbhole garment. As I learned from my 09-2010-121 turtleneck (which I am coincidentally wearing today, due to the FREAKISH COLD WEATHER), while it is convenient to put the thumbhole in the sleeve seam, it doesn't necessarily work anatomically. For the sweater, I constructed the body and sleeves and sewed the sleeves to about 3 inches above my wrist. Then I put it on and marked the thumbhole placement and made a welt opening at my marking.

The first step is to pin rectangle of fabric for your welt over the marked opening, and then mark the openings on the welts (since you'll be sewing on the welt side).

Once you have your patch in place, stitch a rectangle according to your marked opening. For a normal welt, you would only stitch the legs and not the tiny short ends, but I was going for a simplified, sturdy process here so I sewed the whole box.

Once the rectangles are sewn, clip as per usual with a straight clip down the center and Y clips into the corners, cutting as close to the stitching as possible at each corner. Turn the welt patches to the inside through your clips.


Once you have turned and pressed your welt patches to the inside, topstitch the welt patches in a rectangle around your opening at about 1/4 inch. The goal here is to enclose the cut edges and Y clips so that they cannot ravel or deteriorate.

Once your topstitching is done, trim the welt as close as possible to the topstitching. Note that this method requires non-raveling fabric. If your fabric ravels, you'll need to finish the edges of the welt rather than trimming them to the topstitching.

And voila! These thumbholes are perfectly placed and do not require me to spin the sleeve out of alignment to get my thumbs through them. They are neatly finished and should hold up to lots of wear. If it is at all chilly your hands get really cold while biking because they are out in front of you directly in the wind and in a fixed, unmoving position so they don't get circulation. If it is in the low 50s or below you simply have to wear gloves but I think for higher 50s and low 60s the longer sleeve and thumbhole should be sufficient warmth.

I meant to look at the instructions for this but forgot, so I don't know how Burda wants you to finish it, exactly. However, I was quite proud of my clever hemming method.

First, let me recommend fusing a light tricot interfacing along the foldline of the neckline opening edge. My knit fabric did not want to press flat there because this is a long bias line. I hemmed one of the sides three times before finally resorting to fusing and now it looks good. I couldn't face unpicking the other side, so it is not as flat.

I found the sweater to be a touch long as drafted, so I took a slightly deeper hem than planned. This allowed me to layer the hem allowances to create a beautiful finish on the inside. The deep hem rendered the tie opening somewhat superfluous; next time I probably will skip the opening.



To create the finish, once you have attached the tie, fold the hem allowance over the tie, and then fold down the turn-under portion of the hem. Then, fold the upper edge allowance over those layers and fold up the turn-under portion of the hem. Stitch this whole sandwich and then grade the seam allowances.

When you turn it right side out by pulling out the tie, you will already see how neat your your hem and upper edge allowances will be.



Pin the remainder of your hem and upper edge allowances and stitch, pivoting at the confluence point where the folded edges meet. I used a twin needle so I couldn't pivot the way you can with a single needle, I just kept the lines as close together as possible. You can see how great this looks both inside and outside.




Due to my hatred of facings, I left off the back facing and instead twin needled over clear elastic. When I went to sew down the front edge allowances, I realized that a facing would actually have looked nicer for this project. You can see the offset between my twin-needle finishing for the back and front. Had I faced the back neckline I could have had one continuous row of stitching. I don't really care, probably not even enough to use the facing next time. But something to consider if you will care.

For fitting, I found I needed to narrow the shoulders (I did 1/2 inch, it probably could have used a full inch) and add back darts.





This sweater came out quite cute. When planning it, I was not sure about the cropped length. At my height (5'1.5") I have to be careful about having too many segments of clothing so I don't look squat and even shorter, particularly when taking my high waist into account. However, I think it works, particularly for athletic gear. I love the bright color and I think it will be fun to wear on my trip!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here

Butterick 5283, Supplex Asymmetric Twist Top

When Cidell and I visited NYC last November we dropped in Stretch House to pick up Supplex technical wicking fabrics for athletic clothes. It's funny to compare our purchases (mine and hers--scroll to the bottom of the post) because you can see how different our taste is in color. I've got saturated brights and she has delicate pastels.

I'll be sewing mine up in the next couple months in preparation for my bike trip. I will try not to make this the all activewear, all the time blog, but you're gonna get a lot of it.

This is the third time I've made this view of Butterick 5283, so I don't have much more to say about this project. It was my first time doing it as a sleeveless top. It has an extended/drop shoulder, which is not my favorite look for a blouse with sleeves. However, the extended shoulder is perfect for a bike top. I don't want sleeves because it can be too hot and I don't want my armpits strangled with too much fabric, but at the same time I want my shoulders covered against the sun. This is the perfect compromise!

The outer edge of the shoulder kind of sticks up. I thought it was due to my sloping shoulder but if you look at the pattern illustration you see even in the drawing that it is designed that way (this being a rare exception to the rule that you shouldn't trust a pattern with illustrations and no photo). I don't have strong enough feelings to unpick my twin needle sleeve hem and correct the shoulder slope, but for future iterations of this top I might taper that shoulder seam.

As drafted, this is a somewhat unfitted top, with plenty of ease at the side seams and no shaping in the back. For athletic wear I prefer more fitted clothing for better range of motion. Not that I need that much range of motion in my torso for biking, but whatever. I cut a 12 below the bust to the waist and hip, but ended up taking in the waist a total of around 2.5 inches at the side seams and an additional 1.5 inches in back darts.

I usually add a center back seam to allow for swayback correction, but I had previously made this one with back darts and decided to do the same for this version. Marking darts on yourself is hard, lol. To work with my particular shape, the darts are widest at the waist and for about 3 inches below the waist, where my swayback curvature is most pronounced. They run to the hem foldline and up to the shoulder blades. The hardest part was getting the darts evenly spaced from CB. I'm going to have to mark the pattern with these next time so they will be symmetrical!

The only problem I had was that I *swear* the last two times I made it I sewed the diagonal twist seam and then did the twisting, but on this one I could NOT figure out how that is possible. I had to unpick the diagonal seam, twist, and then re-sew. Odd.

I want my biking tops to be wearable, fitted tees, but the thought of having just plain sleeveless t-shirts strikes me with horror. So I've been combing my patterns for interesting but not *too* crazy knit top patterns. This one fit the bill perfectly and since I'd made it before was a no brainer to be included in the mix. One down, five to go (or more--I just made an order from FFC after swearing I'd never order from them again; we'll see about the quality of their $3.95/yd wicking knits)

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Cycling Rain Pants: Once, Twice, Three Times a Muslin

Get out your ice skates and check for flying pigs because I muslined not once, not twice, but thrice for my cycling rain pants. I bought 10 yards of $1/yd fabric for lining at Jomar during PR Weekend Philly, but when I got it home I realized I'd been in too much of a frenzy. It is very loud when walking and also very staticky. I put it in the giveaway bag but realized in the nick of time that it would be *perfect* to muslin these rain pants. It has no stretch or give, doesn't ease, and is impossible to pin. Very much like the Gore Tex.

I purchased the Gore-Tex from Fabric Mart last July when they had it for $9.99, so it's been in stash for a while. I leave for a bike trip in The Netherlands in early May and we have been warned to expect rain so I couldn't put it off too much longer. The Mini Wardrobe Contest is running this month on PR and I figured I'd kick start my bike sewing for the contest. The ladies on the discussion thread were very encouraging about tackling the bike pants so I decided to get them over with.

I looked through my Burda archives for suitable patterns. Despite my triumph with the lapped zipper, I decided that trying to do my first fly front in a difficult fabric in which mistakes are strongly discouraged--every needle hole is a potential leak--which has to be lined *and* all the seams must be sealed (making the order of construction complicated) was not in the cards. So I chose 12-2007-127, a pajama pant pattern with a flat front and elasticated side and back waist.

The first muslin is almost straight off the pattern sheet. My only change was to add a crotch gusset. I was pleasantly surprised by the fit and the look, which was not too Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

I had marked the knee line on the outside so I could compare it to mine. Unsurprisingly, given my short legs, it was about 1.5 inches too low (very useful info for making future Burda pants).

The front waist was also remarkably low. The back fit fine, mostly a function of the elastic I suppose but I was surprised that I didn't need any swayback adjustment for length or volume.

Even the width of the leg was perfect. I could easily pull them on over sneakers but there wasn't any more ease than was needed to accomplish that task. I totally lucked out with this pattern!

Although the knee was too low, when I sat on my bike with my leg in the most upright position, that marked knee line was halfway up my thigh. One of the PR participants had recommended a knee gusset, which makes great sense for biking clothes where the knees go through a much larger range of motion than walking or running.

Because the marked position of the knee moved a good six inches or more as I moved my leg, I added the gusset at the marked knee point rather than my knee. I reasoned that the extra volume is needed not when my leg is straight but when it is bent and therefore the gusset should be at the knee on the upswing. So while the gusset is below the knee when standing, when I raised my leg to parallel it was at the knee.

Unfortunately, when I went and sat on the bike, things changed a bit and the gusset ended up halfway up my thigh. I decided that the utility of the gusset was lost in these wild variations in position. I thought about it for a while and decided in the final version to add extra knee articulation with pleats. I had previously done a web search for cycling pants with an articulated knee. Now I did a search for rain pants with a pleated knee and lo and behold this is quite common for athletic wear. I didn't know whether to feel pleased that I'd hit upon the proper solution or disappointed that I'm not as original as I thought!

On muslin 2.0, I raised the front waist. It now matches the back waist (or close enough for my taste). You can see that the waist on the rain pants is lower than on my cycling shorts, but I prefer it that way. The waistline is at a comfortable spot. Also, I don't know how comfortable the Gore Tex will be against the skin at the foldover waistband, nor the mesh lining. If I'm wearing rain pants, I will also be wearing a rain jacket, which will cover well below the pants' waistline, protecting me from the rain.

I also changed the shape of the crotch gusset for the second muslin. I am short and need a large range of motion to hike my leg up over the saddle to sit down on the bike, not to mention the discomfort of sitting on seams.

For version 1.0, I had drafted a symmetrical oval shaped gusset 6.5 inches long and 4 inches wide. I was pleased that it fit into the crotch so nicely and added a range of motion, considering I'd never made anything with a crotch gusset ever and all I knew about them was from looking at a few RTW items. Note that I did not change anything about the crotch of the original pattern--just used the gusset to add space.

Anyway, the first crotch gusset was remarkably functional, but I saw that while it reached the front of the crotch area, the back ended shorter than it could. So for the second iteration of the gusset I extended the back an additional inch and a half, making more of a kite shape. It now reaches the back of the crotch area.

A downside of making pants is that you end up saying "crotch" way too much. Ick.

I again marveled at how un-Stay Puft these pants are. Then I sat down while wearing the muslin and realized the reason they're so flattering is that they have about 3/4 of an inch of ease at the largest part of my thigh. I had no problem moving in these pants and they didn't pinch or feel too tight, but I just am not comfortable with that little ease in active wear. I don't know how well the mesh lining will slide over cycle shorts or yoga pants over a long ride. And also, I really never want to make another pair of these things so I wanted to be able to accommodate some weight fluctuation.

So for muslin 3.0 I added an additional 3 inches of room in the hip and thigh. Whoa. Now I got your Stay Puft right here! I had drafted the additional room to match the saddlebag curve of my thigh and boy, did it. I pinned out some extra ease to give me a flatter appearance. I still had a good 2.5 inches of ease left, so I flattened out the pattern.

At this point I had reached the end of my patience. I admit that I didn't not actually sew up another muslin with the flattened hip curve. I felt confident in my alteration and was ready to cut the Gore Tex.

At this point I'd been working all day and felt like I had nothing to show for it, so I decided to go on to the pockets. I purchased 5 inch water resistant zippers from Joann and planned to make cargo-style patch pockets large enough to hold keys, money, ID, and cell phone (divided between the two pockets). I first muslined them to get size, including pleat width. The muslin looked good, but I decided I wanted a deeper flap. I don't know how "resistant" the zips are and wanted to cover them as deeply as possible.

Once I got started on the real thing, the whole construction order issue of sealing seams revealed itself as quite the puzzle. I am using iron-on seam sealing tape rather than the brush on stuff. I think it looks nicer, I trust it to be more secure, and most importantly I don't have any outdoor space in my condo for ventilation! How I would love to have a balcony for doing toxic things... Anyway, I had planned to treat the lining and fabric as one, but then realized that I couldn't seal the zipper seams from the inside if I did that. So I had to sew the zips in, seal the seamlines, then jigger in the lining.

Once the real pockets were completed, I realized that I couldn't have the deep flaps I wanted. As the pockets are only five inches wide, with the deep flap I couldn't reach in to actually grasp the zipper pull! Luckily, the flap is just a rectangle and had sewed the zipper on one layer (gotta minimize seamlines!) so I just folded it up higher and cut off the excess at the top.

That was a 10 1/2 hour day!!!!! I was tired.

The next day I cut out the real pants (Gore Tex layer) and sewed the outseam. Not as simple as it sounds because it involved the outseam, two rows of reflective tape, and pocket placement and then sealing all the seams. That was enough for one day. I am hoping to finish them this weekend.

All photos of this work in progress are here.

Jalie 2563, Gym Tops

As you may recall me discussing, I've been wearing the same hideous gym clothes for years and years. Despite how much I enjoy working out *and* looking cute, I hadn't bothered to make them two great tastes that taste great together. I finally reached my limit on my horrible gym pants and made four pairs of gym pants last year in September (I didn't post them until November due to The Boot). I hated my gym tops slightly less so I've still been living with them, even though they are too short and pop up over my belly. Yuck. The Pattern Review activewear contest finally got me to move on making some tops.

For the upper portion of the top I used Jalie 2563. It comes with both a traditional racerback sports bra and the strappy racerback bra I used here. This was my first Jalie, but I know that they are activewear experts.

Burda published a racerback yoga top in November 2007 that I've had on my list since, well, November 2007. But I decided to go with Jalie because of their good reputation and because I wanted a separate upper and lower bodice. To ensure that I had adequate bust support(=compression in this style), I made a Size Q, which is on the "girls" side of the chart. *insert Debbie Downer whomp whomp sound*

I bought technical fabrics last time I was in NYC. The supplex for the main parts of the top was $12/yd from Spandex House. The powernet for the built-in bras came from Stretch House at $6/yd. All except the light pink contrast pieces were purchased from Fabric.com in January of last year for $3.50/yd. The light pink I've had in stash since 2007; I'm pretty sure I bought it at Spandex House.

My original plan was to have a black bra with a solid colored contrast bottom. In terms of the science of colors and shapes, this is not the way to go. I would normally want a bright color on top to build up my bust and a dark color on bottom to minimize my belly. However, I had a very specific need here. The weights at the gym are filthy. I mean, truly disgusting. And so every time I put a weight on my chest to add resistance during abs work, I get a disgusting dirt mark on my top. It was a huge priority to me to have black on top so I would no longer have to worry about walking around looking dirty.

However, this turned out to be a fail. It doesn't even look as bad in the photo as it did in real life. But that contrast solid-colored lower bodice was AWFUL and made me look huge. Part of the problem is the fabric. The Fabric.com "sports" stuff is NOT suitable for activewear. It is way too drapey, way way way. The rest of it will be great for making cycling shirts that look like real clothes (but hopefully are better to sweat in than real clothes), but it can be used only in small doses for functional athletic wear.

I had suspected that the solid colored lower bit wouldn't work, so I had only basted it in. I stopped work for the night to regroup and think. I didn't want to have an all-black top except for just the straps. That would be boring. Finally, I hit upon the idea of a contoured side panel that could be made in the contrast color. Again, I am violating the science of figure flattery here--better would be a colored center and black side panels to narrow my waist and hips, but the fabric was not sturdy enough to be the center panel.

I fitted the lower panel as well as I could, given the fabric properties, and checked the length. Getting enough length was as much of a priority is hiding dirt. I tested the tops for length in Warrior 2, the worst belly-popping move, and the top covers the pants with at least 3 inches to spare. SO GLAD I will no longer be flashing that oh-so-attractive wedge of flesh. I then unbasted it from the top and cut it apart to make a pattern. The side panel seams incorporate the shaping of the original side seam; I did not add any additional shaping as I had already fitted that side seam.

After making the first test version of the top, I refined the fit of the pattern for swayback and length. This is the final result. I can see why you all muslin. For the last two tops, I knew I could cut out this pattern and sew it up and it would fit perfectly and I could put in a 1 1/4 inch hem without even trying it on. I enjoy trying new patterns too much to go through this process for everything I make, but for a garment I will want again and again, being able to sew it right out of the box is awesome.

You can see that I used two notches for ease in construction:

-At the top of the side piece to indicate which side is to be sewn to the back
-At center back, so I don't accidentally sew CB to the side panel
-I also added notches at lower CF and CB of the bra for elastic application.

After I had my pattern perfected, I made full size patterns of the front and back bra and the lower front. That way I could cut out two at a time for better efficiency. So handy!

Construction:

Note: Because Jalie uses 1/4" seams I used them as well on my pattern for the lower bodice. All seams are 1/4" except one, as described below

1. Serge side seams of upper bodice and inner bra. Press side seams of inner bra toward front and upper bodice to back.

2. Serge lower bodice seams (front side panel, back side panel, center back).

3. Serge lower bodice to upper bodice in a 1/2" seam. I found the seam was a little too low otherwise, but I did not want to shorten the bra pieces because of the inner bra elastic construction.

4. Place inner bra inside upper bodice, wrong sides together (that way no seam allowances will rub against me). Pin along front and back neckline.

5. Cut colored strips of fabric 1.5" wide and 5 1/4" (x 1 for front neckline), 2 1/4" (x 1 for back neckline), and 21 1/2" (x 2 for armscye and shoulder straps--I have short shoulders, measure your length!) long.

6. Pin neckline strips to right side of upper bodice/bra front and back neckline, right side against right side. Stitch in a narrow zigzag at 1/4".

7. Turn strips over to inside of garment, folding edges under and making sure the folded edges extend beyond the original stitching line. Stitch from the outside/right side in a narrow zigzag just inside the binding. Make sure you've caught the folded edge.

The binding is not beautiful from the inside because of this, but I did the first one the opposite way (sew binding to inside first, then fold over outside and stitch on top of binding) and I didn't like the way the stitch line looked on top of the binding.

8. Bind armscye edges as described above, having the strap extend two inches beyond the front and remainder extend beyond the back for the straps.

9. Taper ends of straps. Fold straps as for binding (in half with seam allowances folded to inside) and stitch 1/4" from edge (mine are not perfect or beautiful).

10. Fold extending front strap through a ring and stitch down. Fold extending back strap through other end of ring and stitch. Jalie has the rings in the back, but I like the detail of them in the front and it made it easier to try them on. Stitching these little ends down in an attractive way was truly the hardest part of this whole process. The edges kept wanting to roll out beyond the finished strap, thus the tapering.

I had one random set of square metallic rings (well, I guess not rings) in my notions stash, presumably cut from some garment I got rid of ages ago. I hate when I actually find a use for this stuff because it reinforces my pack rat tendencies! For the other rings, I euthanized some sports bras that hardly merited the title and were made of a cotton blend that stank of mildew the moment I sweated in them. Good riddance.

11. Cut a length of elastic 21 1/2" long (this is just to hold it in place during workouts, not to provide support, so it's need to be fitted but not tight) and sew into a tube. Mark the quarters and match up with the quarters of the lower edge of the inner bra. Fold the edge of the inner bra over the elastic by 3/8", such that the raw edge will face toward the outside of the top, and twin needle in place.

12. Tack inner bra to upper bodice just above empire seam by stitching in the ditch at the side seams.

13. Twin needle the hem.

This process involved a fair amount of changing needles and thread with my contrast colors, but I think the changes were worth it.



And here they are! I also did a catalog shot with their respective matching pants. I now have four matching and even cute sets of gym clothes. Yay!

I amused myself by doing a "fitness" shoot for the photos. It can really take pictures to help you see exactly what you look like sometimes. I am always startled by my rear view. Doubt not that I am pear shaped.

I didn't actually learn my lesson from making the pants. I realized that I should have made a test pair and then actually worked out in them before making more, which would have allowed me to catch the crotch wrinkles and beef up the elastic at the waist. But, as with the gym pants, once I got started I just wanted to get these done! All my sewing for 2011 so far has been utilitarian (coat and gym clothes) and I am so ready to move on!!! Will report back next week when I wear one of these to the gym on how it does.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here

Utilitarian Sewing: Gym Pants

The glaring exception to my Look Cute Every Day philosophy is gym clothes. I spend a lot of time in the gym, and all of my gym clothes are horrible. The worst of the pants is exhibited on the left (but were they really the worst?). Seriously, is there anything worse than a sagging crotch? The waist on these stays up with a drawstring, just a regular drawstring and not an elasticated one. The little shoelace drawstring came through small eyelets so I couldn't really add elastic to it. As I worked out the waist and crotch would droop lower and lower, exposing my belly. Also, they have side seam hip-height pockets. Because when you're doing squats what you're really hoping for is gaping pockets to widen your hips (I stitched the pockets closed). The pants at right were not quite so ugly, but I had worn them to DEATH as you can see by the fuzziness. I also had a pair of Kardashian-esque black drawstring pants with white stripes down the side that were clearly not actual athletic wear but fashion athletic wear (shudder). With a saggy crotch.

I have been planning to make new gym clothes for, like, two years. My failure to do so was a combination of procrastination and letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. I bought some heavyweight cotton-poly knit from Spandex House in March 2008. I traced a pattern from my one pair of non-horrible gym pants about 4 months ago. But then I was like, "Well, that cotton-poly knit is not really a technical fiber. And shouldn't I try to find/draft a pattern with a crotch gusset?" But really, what could possibly be worse than the horrible pants I kept wearing week after week? I will answer that question: nothing. Piecing together strips of rags and just tying them around myself would have been better than the horrible pants I was wearing.

But still, I kept putting off this boring, non-cute sewing until finally the day arrived that I could not face wearing horrible saggy-crotch gym pants for one more workout. So I pulled out my non-technical fiber and my non-gusseted rubbed off pattern (they don't ride up into the lady area and have all the movement I need so I don't know why I got hung up on the gusset issue) and got to work. I liked the wide, tall waistband of the original (Danskins purchased at WalMart while visiting my parents last holiday season) because no matter how much I raise my arms my shirt doesn't ride up above it and show my belly. I also like the little bit of color contrast at the waistband but I don't care for the volume-adding ruching.

I did one pair of pants as a construction test, and it worked well with the minor tweak of needing to add 3/4" to the top of the colored contrast inside waistband so I went ahead and cut out the other three pairs.

I probably should have waited until I actually did a workout in them because having done so now I should have used shorter elastic in the waist as they can slump down a little during vigorous cardio. And not being versed in the ways of pants, I can't tell if those arrows on the front mean that I need more room in the front crotch or need to shorten the front crotch (input appreciated) but whatever. Nothing could be worse than my old gym pants!

Construction:

Note: I constructed these almost entirely by serger. I used the sewing machine only to zigzag the elastic in place and to twin needle the hem.

1. Cut out. Add 3/4" inch to the top of the inside waistband (or take 3/4" from the top of the outer waistband if you prefer a lower waistline).

2. Inseam.

3. Outseam.

4. Crotch.

5. Waistband side seams.

6. Cut a piece of elastic to fit very snugly around your waist (will stretch out a little when applied).

7. Place waistbands right sides together, with the inner waistband on the inside. Line up upper edge. Pin elastic through both layers about 1/2 inch below the upper edge, stretching elastic. Zigzag elastic in place along the upper edge.

8. Trim the upper edge seam allowances so it extends about 3/8 inch above the elastic. That extension above the elastic is what will cause the colored inner waistband to peek out at the top. I used the serger to trim out of laziness, though I really shouldn't as it stretched and mis-shaped the waistbands. Again, whatever.

9. Turn pants right side out. Fold inner waistband over the elastic, so the waistbands are right sides together. Line up lower edges of waistbands. Pin both layers of waistband to pants, outer side of waistband to right side of pants. Serge.

10. Hem.

Once the pants are cut out, it takes just about half an hour to sew them. Really, what took me so long?

Here's the catalog shot of all four pairs. The different colored waistbands are mostly so I can try to rotate them evenly, and because I like to have some color on anything I wear but black is the only practical color for gym pants due to the embarrassing sweat location issue.

My gym tops are similarly old but slightly less horrible than the pants so I'm not pressed to replace them now. And for the tops, I think I actually do need technical fabrics. I am lucky to have a fairly high tipping point for sweating, but once I reach it I am a faucet. Cotton poly is not good with faucet sweat. Also, I'd like to get a good supportive mesh for built-in bras. Of course, this means I will continue to wear my up to 8 year old horrible gym tops in perpetuity.

You can see in the side view why I get so frustrated about my belly. I have a four pack and a curving line of muscle alongside it and then...a five-month-pregnant-looking belly. It's not for lack of trying (although laying off the sugar would trim it down a little, I know).

The back fit is good, and the waistband goes up high enough that I never feel like I'm going to expose my bum. And it is quite a bum. In yoga when we're in Warrior II the instructor is always saying, "If your bum is sticking out in this pose, tuck in your pelvis" and I feel like he is looking directly at me. I'm like, "Seriously, unless I can tuck my pelvis into the next county, my bum is going to stick out." I think he thinks I'm not trying. In fairness, I should add the I love the instructor, he is awesome and kind and gives a great yoga class. But, like so many male gym teachers, he has no concept that the architecture of the female body is quite different from the male body, especially in the pelvicular area (how I love making up words).

While making these I kept singing "Gym Pants, Gym Pants, I need gym pants!" to the tune of Sex Bomb by Tom Jones (link goes to video--mildly unsafe for work). I was practically giddy to get rid of the old pants. I don't think I have quite achieved Look Cute Every Day with these pants, but I am content to have moved up a notch from Look Horrible In Saggy-Crotch Pants Every Day. Now that I know how quick they are to make hopefully I won't put off replacing this set once they reach their expiration date! Although I would like to alter the pattern for those front crotch arrows--suggestions welcome.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.