New Simplicity 9776 gym tanks + good news!

Guess what sewing friends???

I'm so excited to share some good news.  My boss announced my promotion today and I can finally share it with you!  Since Jan 1, 2015, I am Senior ERA Manager.  It is a recognition of my work on the big software project as well as my additional responsibilities, and I'm just so excited!

Also I made two Simplicity tanks yesterday to go with my Jalie skort.

Since I'm entering the tanks and skort in the PR Activewear contest, the official photo shoot will be this weekend, with better lighting and a cleaner background.

Both tanks are Simplicity 9776, but my pink fabric (Performance Quick Dry fabric in Heathered Pink from Joann's--bought sometime last year or maybe even the year before) is not as stretchy as my prior versions of this tank, thus there are some drag lines.  In an attempt to ease up on my perfectionism, I'm taking this as a lesson learned and moving on.  I think for no drag lines and a close fit, the fabric has got to be somewhere between 50 and 75% stretchy.   The Joann fabric is ~25%.  Also the light color really showcases every line; dark fabric hides that kind of thing.



On the pink fabric tank,  I took a cue from Jalie 3131 and used rings and sliders on the straps.

Because I wear the tank with a bra, the ring does get hidden. But here on my dressform you can see the ring quite nicely.

Honestly sliding the straps through the sliders is very fun.

The sliders, strapping and rings were all from SewSassy.com.

I also used 1" wide (when unfolded) FOE from Pacific Trimming in NYC, purchased during MPB Day 2014.  Usually I use the 5/8" wide (when unfolded) FOE, but this made more impact,  I thought.

For the lace tank, I layered this stretch lace from Chic Fabrics in NYC, purchased in Nov of 2013, over the Joann fabric.  For this lace version, I did not use strapping, rings and sliders, only FOE.


I wore the lace tank + skort at my gym class tonight and it worked out (heh heh) really well.
I plan on wearing the all-pink version the next time I go to the gym (either tmw or Thursday night).

It doesn't count for the contest, but I made a matching headband out of the scraps (and I do mean scraps, there was hardly anything left over).

My local Joann's doesn't have any more of this fabric, but I bought some more of it online this weekend.  If it arrives before the end of the contest, I am tempted to make the Jalie 3131 tank...I made a muslin but didn't like it....but I think I know how to change it.  How long could it possibly take (cue laughter here).

Be well!

Jalie 2796 Snow Day Skort

Last Tuesday was a snow day, so I spent ~9 hours working on the Jalie 2796 skort, the first skort I have ever sewn.



I'm pulling up the skirt here so you can see the shorts underneath.  And because it's Jalie, the shorts are super cleverly sewn in.....

I love love love the shorts sewn into the skort underneath.  I read in the PR reviews that when they say they are compression shorts, they really mean it...plus Jalie wants you to use fabric with 70% stretch and mine (activewear fabric from Apple Annie online--54% nylon, 17% poly, 29% lycra, "From a leading sportswear manufacturer") was around 50%.  My hips are a 40 which means in Jalie that's size V....based on that info I traced the pattern with an additional 1" everywhere (seam allowance, top of shorts and bottom of shorts)  and used it all except on the bottom (the shorts were peeking out of the bottom of the skirt).  There are no side seams to the shorts, just the center front and center back seams, so I used every inch of those additional 4 inches.

The waistband also has 4" added to the size V.

For the skirt part I did not need the 1" SA....with 4 side seams that was 8" extra! The regular V was totally fine, even  though the pink side panels are only 25% stretch.


Here you can see the cute side panel.

 It actually forms a pocket for your iPod or iPhone or iWhatever.

There's elastic at the top of that panel on the upper layer.... and then it makes this cute crossover detailing at the bottom

Ugh it is not perfect but from 4' away it's totally fine.  If I make it again I will  do better with that.  It's too long of a story to describe why it doesn't look better.



The pink fabric (Joann's performance fabric from last year) did not want to take my stretch twin needle at all, hence it's just a plain stitch.

But that Apple Annie fabric?? It *loved* my stretch twin needle. It was like that needle and that fabric were meant to be together forever and never to part. and the hem was still actually stretchy!

SO even though it looks sort of a-line in some of these pictures (like above), it's very much a tight body-con silhouette. I didn't fully realize this just looking at the envelope picture (though I would have had I looked more closely at the review pictures).

You can see more clearly how it's very body con here (I lifted my tank to show the waistband):



How did it do???
I wore it to boogietone last Thursday.  BT is a pretty high impact, active, sweaty dance based class that I adore.  To stabilize the side panels, I used a layer of the Apple Annie black fabric...but that means there are 4 layers of fabric on each of my hips so it just felt like a lot of fabric on me.  The AA fabric is quite thick (it is actually recommended for cold weather workouts) so I think next time I would make the shorts out of the AA fabric (because it is compressing and comfy feeling) and the outer skirt out of thinner fabric.  Also I will never use the pockets so I'd either eliminate the side panel completely or change it to a one layer boring rectangle or even modify it to be A-line (my preferred silhouette).

There is an A-line Jalie skating skirt pattern that I just bought this weekend, so I'm eager to try that out with these shorts (the skating skirt has panties attached, not shorts and I prefer shorts as we do squats and lunges as part of the class).

So this is part of my entry for the PR Activewear contest.  I still need to make a coordinating tank (the one here coordinates but I made it waaay before the timeframe of this contest).  I started muslining Jalie and  Kwik Sew tanks this weekend...though I might go back to my TNT Simplicity pattern instead.  You know there will be a lace overlay involved!!!  Unless I totally scrap this plan and start working on the other plan percolating in my brain....


No dressform pix this time as it is a skort and Izzy doesn't have legs!

Be well!

Every Fabric is Its Own Universe: New Look 6843

Since it's snowy and cold, I don't know when I will get to actually wear this skirt to work, hence the sewing room photos.

Last fall I was on my quilted fabric kick.   Remember when I quilted these samples above?

 Well, in November I went to Kashi's with Tomasa for MPB Day and he had basically what I was trying to emulate:


I know, right?  It's not quilted, but it's the look I was going for.

It's also totally indestructible polyester, that thick and scratchy double knit kind, with a lot of body, and is slightly stretchy.

Closeup of waistband on my skirt....on my dressform.

The inside is gray

And it was $2 a yard.  I would have paid $20 because that pattern was exactly what I wanted and I love love love the small scale of it.

Kashi, darling, throw three yards of it in my box.  Thanks, love.

Front

Back

On my topless Izzy.  I have a slip underneath because the fabric is not opaque, but my slip isn't nearly as long as the skirt....

There is some gathering on the back of Izzy, but less so on me.

I went back to my TNT skirt pattern, New Look 6843.  I was thinking this would be a "quick and easy" project.

Don't get too comfortable.  Every fabric is its own universe.    Sadly I took no photographs of the missteps, but there were several!

I actually started with regular NL 6843 and cut it out my usual size and sewed in all 6 darts (2 in front, 4 in back).  and I thought it looked terrible.  It was SO obvious that the pattern was not matching where the darts were.  That little amt of stretch made a big difference.  It turned out to be gigantic.

So then I went to version of NL 6843, the one I traced off and folded out the pleat for knits.  Its stretch is minimal but enough that it makes a difference.

Basted the side seams and tried it on and it was still a bit big....

Sewed on the elastic waistband, but there was too much gathering, especially in the back.

Tried various things including adding darts to the back--small (just under the waistband)--longer ones (that could be seen), totally hated it.

Basted the side seams closer at the waist.  Reattached waistband.

Then I wound up with the waistband being too small!  There was no way I could wear that all day.

Finally I figured it out:

1. Get the skirt to be relatively smooth front and back by basting the side seams accordingly. 
2. Press the side seams.
3. Take a length of elastic, position it over the skirt, find where it feels comfy.  Cut the elastic so there are a few inches on either side of where the join will be.
4. Baste the elastic into a loop.
5. Try the elastic on again and sit down in it.  If not comfy, try 2 and 3 again.
6. Once comfy, cut the tails off the elastic so there is just an inch or so on either side of the join.
7. Serge the side seams and press.
8. Move the join to the center back (my preference, the join could be at the side seam).
9. Now take tailors chalk and chalk where the elastic meets the side seams!!!  This was the key for me.  I was dividing my elastic and waistband into quarters, but my back at my waist is smaller than my front at my waist....resulting in a lot of gathering back there if I quartered it.
10. Zig zag just the front of the waistband on!  Leave the back flapping around.
11. Try on again and turn around.  Adjust the elastic.  If you have a sway back (as I do), I wound up pulling up the raw edge of the skirt in the center back, tapering to zero at the edges, to remove some of the slight pooling.  Take chalk and mark where the top edge of the elastic should be.
12. Now zig zag the back on and try one more time....
13. Good enough? Now serge it!
14. If everything is how you like it, DO NOT PRESS the waistband if your elastic is the kind that loves steam.  I used Pamela's Fantastic Elastic, which I like quite a lot, but pressing it will shrink it down (hence the too-small waistband in one of my prior attempts).

Then there was the hem....Turning it under an inch and blind hemming looked terrible!  It destroyed the drape of the skirt.  The rolled hem didn't look good either...it is thick poly double knit after all. I wound up just serging the raw edge to maintain the drape.  And pressed the edge.

Also it is longer than usual....but I think it looks more elegant that way?

Spoiler alert is on my dressform:  another new series I have forming in my head entitled "RTW Hacks".  That is the after.  You will giggle at the before.

Yesterday was a snow day, so I made my first ever skort (yes, skirt with shorts attached) out of performance fabric, for the gym.  Quite the adventure.  I think I'm hooked!

Be well!