Active wear.... Kwik Sew 4181

Sorry I am a very intermittent blogger lately.  We have had a week away on a camping holiday and you know how it is... stuff.

Anyhoo, I have finally got around to showing you my new Kwik Sew top 4181.  

I have made View B, pretty much straight from the pattern.  The only adjustment I made was to grade out to a larger size at the hips.

The fabric I have used is supplex for the royal blue parts and black back and bindings and the contrast V is a funkifabrics purchase called Pompeii Ice.  This was an easy sew.  The part I had the most difficulty with was sewing the applique neatly.  This was more related to the type of fabric than the pattern.  The funkifabrics fabric is called flex and is like a swimsuit fabric so was a little tricky to turn under.  From memory I think I tried basting glue and it didn't really work, but I got there in the end.

Pretty happy with the fit and finish of this pattern.  I didn't bother with the shelf bra but wear it with a racer back sports bra and like how the back covers the bra straps.

Other than that I have been sewing for my etsy shop... a few new bags, including this one from an OOP Alexander Henry fabric....

and some new headbands...

Hope you are all having fun with your sewing... Ciao kittens!

Activewear - Pneuma tank and Monica pant

Phew!  Just finished preparing my reviews for my entry into the activewear contest.  High five someone... felt like a workout getting them done! 

I made 2 pieces to coordinate (hopefully!).  The Papercut patterns Pneuma tank and the Stylearc Monica pants.  I have given them the trial at the box which allowed me to get the "action" photos.  Hence the faces - lifting face and wod pain face!  That is why I think this is my best shot! 

I was concerned I might be "mutton dressed as lamb" in this top, but now that I have worn it I don't care any more!  It is so cool and comfortable to wear with the light tank that sits away from the body.  

I did a bit of extra reinforcing in the crop and it seems to work fine. The crop was lined with power net and then a lining of supplex over the cups that have an opening at the side to allow the addition of a removable cup.

For the straps they recommend bra strapping but I made my own straps using this great tutorial.  Seriously great tutorial - they look exactly like the straps on my Lululemon crop. I also had 3 straps on each side instead of 2.  Love that look.

Deadlift - a PB!.

This top may have to be my lucky top now as I did a PB on my deadlift that day!

I wanted the pdf download for the Monica pant as I wanted the pattern quickly and didn't want to pay postage.  It wasn't in the Stylerc etsy shop but Chloe was super helpful and put the pdf of my sizes up.  You actually get 3 sizes when you buy the pdf. 

The pants did not need much modification except for shortening the leg and in the next pair I will shorten by about an inch above the knee as well.  I am wondering if I should add a bit more fabric to the booty area as the pants dip slightly at the back waist.  Not enough to make this pair uncomfortable but I might try it for my next pair.

So the exciting part of the WOD that day is that I can now do a box jump to the full height of 20".  I have been working on this skill for awhile now so I am excited to see progress.

Two more pics and the link to the complete reviews...

The review for the Pneuma top is here and the Monica pants review is here.

Ciao kittens - a bit of crafting may be next on the cards...

Gym pants make-over - Jalie skort

Last year I made the compression shorts (here) from the Jalie 2796 pattern as I needed another pair of gym pants in a hurry.  I have worn them a couple of times and they did fit the bill, but I don't feel comfortable wearing them.  This style of pants is just out of my comfort zone, so when I realised they sit in the drawer and don't get worn, I decided they needed a make over.  

The best idea I could come up with was to add the skirt to make them into a skort which I know I am a lot more comfortable to be seen in.  I traced off the skort pattern in the same size as the shorts and assembled the skirt.  I decided to leave off the side pockets so cut one side piece only (no top pocket piece)  and adjusted the hemline to be straight across.

I used some tactel nylon lycra for the skirt front and back and I cut the side panels out of sports mesh.  I have used these fabrics before (see this post).   The compression shorts will be underneath so nothing will show through the mesh.  I thought it would just look cool!

I tried to attach the skirt to the compression shorts but to accurately sew the skirt, stretching it and lining it up with the existing waistband seam was not going to happen in any nice way. So I thought about unpicking the waistband but I had really sewn it well!  Overlocked the seam and then top stitched over the seam with a triple zigzag.  

When I tried to unpick this black thread from black fabric it was a disaster and I was just making holes, so I did what all good sewists would do next and just cut the seam off!.  Then I could assemble the skort as per the instructions.

The shorts were a bit long under the skirt so I shortened them slightly as I don't like the look of the shorts showing below the hem of the skirt.

I am pretty happy with the makeover and wore them to gym today but I found the legs kept sliding or rolling up and I was pulling them down all the time.  I am not sure if that is connected with shortening them because I don't remember the shorts being like that before. 

I plan to try adding some gripper elastic to the legs.  I haven't done that before.  Any tips  kittens?

Same, same, different... Jalie 2682

Back in July 2012, I made a long sleeved gym top with Jalie 2682 - blogged here.  I wore this top a lot that year (and perhaps the year after?)   It was a little on the tight side around the upper back/chest as the fabric never had the stretch the top needed.  Regardless it served me well, but I moved it out of the wardrobe as my shape has changed and it was too tight to continue wearing.

Now in 2015 I am a little bigger but enjoying CrossFit and I must say a CrossFit Box is a cold place in winter and so I started looking for another long sleeved top.  I lucked across some merino/polypropylene blend fabric marked as wicking at the The Fabric Store in Brisbane and it was half-price... $8/m.  Well of course I bought that instead of investing in  a RTW top.  The ones I had been eyeballing were between $70 and $125!

The fabric is soft has plenty of recovery and is soft and fuzzy on the inside and has an active wear fabric look on the outside.  So I pulled out Jalie 2682 again and traced another pattern size off.  

I chose to go 2 sizes larger than my indicated size.  I was 2 sizes larger in the last top too, but because of the lack of necessary stretch in the fabric, it didn't fit so well.   This fabric has lots of stretch and seems to recover well, and this top is actually a little on the big/loose side.  However as I want to wear it over other tops I am not bothered by this.  I also lengthened it about an inch to give me plenty of coverage over the hips (I hate being cold!).  I did try and curve the side seams but I don't think I put enough curve in as you cannot really tell.  Never mind, I was hoping to make it look current but I am still very happy with the top.

I lined the bodice front with sports mesh as I did not want to double up on the the thick, fuzzy fabric and it works really well.

I put a piece of  purple fabric through the zip pull.  I sewed it in a narrow tube then threaded through the zip pull and stitched it to hold it together.  A cheats way of having a fancy zip pull.

I have trialed it now and this is my feedback.

• The length and size is great for this top.  If I were to make it for everyday wear I would go back down 2 sizes.  
• The high collar is great as it gives coverage on the back of the neck, when resting a bar on it (which in the cold is not at all pleasant!)

• The half zip makes it easy to take off when I do warm up.

• I really like this top and with the current cold weather it is getting a lot of use.  It is light in weight and very comfortable and I don't feel sweaty in it even after I start warming up.  

• My only negative is that when I do wear it a bit and sweat into it (and I do sweat) it does get a bit on the nose and needs washing before I am game to put it on again.  That is a shame as the ideal gym wear does not get the stink up and can be worn many times.  However the other side of the coin is I didn't pay a lot for this top and I have enough fabric to make more so I can alternate them.

Oh and for completeness I did do the full squat.  (The medicine ball on the floor behind me is just to help me ensure I get the correct depth).

I have plans to use this pattern in another way soon for a different kind of active wear. 

Reviewed here.

Ciao kittens until next time...

Gym wear... Lekala top and Anima shorts

Seriously I think I need an intervention... cant. stop. making. gym. clothes.... 

I decided this week I needed another gym top and shorts... I can't keep up with having clean gym clothes in this hot weather.  I also thought it might be good to have a gym shirt more covered in the shoulders as the weather starts cooling off.  So I decided to try a pattern a few have recommended on Pattern Review - Lekala 4273 - Sports Vest .  I put in my measurements and received my pattern and I have to say I am impressed with the fit.

I used supplex for the purple panel, sports mesh for the shoulder yokes and side panels and tactel nylon lycra for the back.  I got the mesh and the tactel from Joelles ebay store.  I saw mesh used like this on a friend's top at the gym through the week and thought it would work well and (hopefully) look RTW. 

Shown large so you can you see the mesh in the shoulder yoke panels.

The only alteration was to lengthen the top by 1cm.  I would lengthen it a bit more next time I make it and perhaps curve the hem to  make it look a bit more current like Blooms has done on some of her gym tops. 

I thought about making the armhole deeper as I am used to them that way on my gym tops but tried it as it was and found it wasn't uncomfortable.

I was very impressed with the fit, particularly around my shoulders and upper back.  Giving the bust and under bust measurement must make this a better fit I think.

I also made another pair of shorts.  My gym of choice is a crossfit box and I have been going for half a year now.  The pics above show my new top paired with my Jalie shorts which I love, but they are made of supplex and I find they are pilling on the bottom as the floor is quite rough on them.  So I decided to try a fabric with a harder finish and found this black fabric which is a nylon lycra blend but called Tactel.  It seems tougher... it was hard to get a pin through the fabric and I think it blunted my sewing machine needle going by the skipped stitches in my next garment.  So I shall see how it wears.  I decided to use the opportunity to trial a new pattern - the Papercut Anima Pants.  

I was pretty happy with how the pattern went together.  I made them as per the pattern.  The only changes I might make next time is leave off the faux fly (to make the front crotch easier to adjust) and to maybe add some width to the inner thigh area.  Overall I like this pattern and want to make the long version for comfy pants.  The photo is the shorts flat.  I don't think this fabric photographs well so probably won't be bothering to get a photo on me, but I will be using these a lot for gym and am interested to see how they wear. 

So, do I need an intervention?  Ciao kittens...

My me-made gym collection

I have been showing most of the pieces of my active wear wardrobe as I have made them, but thought it would be nice to show you my "collection".

These are my tops.  3 Fehrtrade  XYT tops (X in blue/purple, T in green, Y in purple) and my Kwiksew 3453 vest for the cooler mornings.  Don't need the vest at the moment as we have been having heatwave conditions.

And the bottoms.  The 3/4 Kwiksew 3988 pants (not blogged I just realised but the pattern link is here) and now (thanks to the heatwave) I have two new pair of shorts.  The Jalie 2796 compression shorts and my new Jalie 3351 Swim shorts (but gym shorts for me).  I finished these today and will try them out tomorrow and put a post up after so I can tell you how they perform. :)

... and for those time I need to practice yoga or relax or (most recently) for pj's when camping, my Kwiksew 3988 pants this time in View B and the Kwiksew 3115 top.

I am really pleased with my "collection".  I will post about the new Jalie swim shorts (as gym shorts) soon.  I realised I haven't blogged about KS 3988 pants.  If you are interested to know more please let me know and I will try and get a post prepared.  Ciao kittens...

Gym set - Jalie 2796 + Fehr trade XYT top

Well, the next logical step after a cruise (and eating so much good food) is to get back into gym.  However I have come back to heatwave conditions and I am not sure what happened but my old gym shorts don't fit all that well... fancy that?  So I needed a pair of shorts that fit and are quick to make.  I chose to make the compression shorts from Jalie 2796.  I have in the past not been the biggest fan of this type of short but they fit the bill and I must say they are very comfy to wear.  However shorts of this style are pretty dull to make so to get excited about it all I made another Fehrtrade XYT top to wear with them.

I have made this top a number of times so did not have to think too hard about it.  I made the X back this time and used a contrast fabric.

The top is made pretty much the same as my last tops, no built in bra, lengthened a little and cut one size larger at the hip level.

Now I am lumpy and bumpy but in the interests of full disclosure here are the photos of the set on me...

The pants are extremely comfy to wear.  My only comment would be is that they are quite high waisted but with the extra weight I am carrying at them moment, it is not such a bad thing.  I must admit I took a spare pair of shorts with me to the gym as the "compression" means the pants are quite stretched when wearing them and I was concerned about a potential blowout!  However nothing bad happened through my workout and it was a decent Crossfit workout so covered many bases.

The fabric used in the pants and top was Supplex - the black a heavier weight from Stretchtex and the colours both from Runners Fabrics (sadly no longer in existence).  Great quality fabric - I sweat a lot in this extreme weather and the fabric feels wet when you touch it after working out but is comfortable on the skin still (with no sweat marks too).  Worth the investment I think.

Now I am excited to make another pair of shorts so I have just ordered Jalie 3351 and look forward to making these up as a gym short.  This is a style of short I think I am more comfortable to wear.  Ciao kittens... time to get cutting and tracing!

Active wear - vest KS 3453

As part of updating my active wear wardrobe I made a vest.  It can get cool and the car park at the gym is particularly cold and breezy.  So a vest to keep the cool breeze off my shoulders and keep me warm once sweaty workouts were done is what I needed in my wardrobe.  

I ordered Kwik Sew 3453 and bought some fleece from Lincraft during a sale they had and viola...

It looked tricky with odd pieces but came together quite easily.

The only change I might make if I made it again is too lengthen so it sits over my hips more.

I have worn it on a few cool mornings to gym and find it very comfortable and snuggly warm.  I would love to make one out of a more technical fabric like Polartec but I am not sure I can justify it for my lifestyle... wish list...

Review is here... Ciao!  

Fehrtrade XYT tops

I have got some photos of my xyt tops.  I made a muslin initially shown in this post at the start of the year.  I never got to wear it to gym as it was way short on me but I did like the top otherwise. I ordered some supplex and when it arrived I made two more tops - the y-back and the t-back.

I like this pattern and the instructions are very good, particularly the elastic lengths and instructions for finishing the openings.  Note though that I used zig-zag and not twin needle to finish mine as I have never had much success twin-needle stitching over elastic.

The part of the pattern a lot of others rave about is the built in compression bra.  I could not get this bra to work for me.  I made the bra to size and found it was so tight when I tried it on I had to use scissors to get out of it.  It didn't help it was summer here and a slight haze of perspiration from wrestling with getting into the top, meant it wasn't coming off for anyone!

I made a second version with a large fba, increased the elastic length and sewed it into the original muslin I made.  The armholes skewed and pulled horribly and the compression was still too much for me.  I wear crop top style bras to gym and have not found them to compress as much as this bra does.  Maybe I am just not used to the style?  Also I believe as an old girl (with soft tissue) the compression is extreme and not at all flattering or comfortable.

Please don't let me put anyone off this - I do think the instructions are good and well thought out, but it is in the category "did not work for me".  It may work for you particularly if you are a small cup size and young! 

I decided I still liked the top style but gave up on the bra and bought some new ones from my fave gym wear shop Lululemon.

So onto pics...

The same fabric as the Kwik sew top from Runners Fabrics.  I love this fabric!  Stitching just hides in the space dye look too.  Both of these tops have been lengthened by 3 inches but no other changes made.

The y-back...

The Lululemon flow y crop is covered really well by this back.

The next version I made the t-back in a gorgeous kelly green.  This fabric is lovely but doesn't hide the stitches as well as the space dyed.  Maybe I didn't colour match the thread well enough - green is a tough colour to match.

Showing the back detail on Diana.

The top of the "t" didn't come out as well as I would have liked.  I made the triple strap to reflect the bra I wear it with (the Energy bra) and  I used this tutorial to sew tidy covered elastic straps for the three vertical straps.

So truly I like this pattern but the built in bra did not work for me.  I would still like to make more of these tops.  I might try altering the front neckline to change it up and I might look at lowering the back/ underarm line as I think it would sit in a more flattering way on me.

Review is here and I will be back with one more piece soon.... Ciao!

Active wear - Kwik Sew 3115

I have been participating in the active wear sewalong on Pattern Review.  I have made a couple of tops and one pair of pants.  I am finally getting some photos taken and will start reviewing what I have made so far.

The first to get a successful photo is Kwik Sew 3115 View A top.

The fabric is a TDF supplex bought from Runners Fabrics.  It isn't cheap but you can get a couple of tops from 1 metre so not bad value.

The main changes I made were to lengthen the pattern by 4 inches and cross the straps at the back.  I did also cut the bra liner a little longer as a cheater fba.  (one size up in length).

To make it more like my RTW gym tops, I sewed the built in bra (shelf bra) from powernet but added pockets in supplex to hold removable bra cups.

I hope you can get a sense of how I did this from these photos.  

This is the top inside out.  The powernet is white as is the elastic.  I cut the supplex pockets from the bra front pattern piece, but trimmed it at the top and the sides.  I sewed it to the powernet with a zigzag stitch (across the top and  a few centimetres from the CF, then trimmed the middle part out.  Probably not absolutely necessary but I was copying my RTW top.

This is the back inside out.

And this shot shows the pocket is formed as the side edge is overlocked shorter than the front bra piece and left open on the side.

The only change I would make if I sewed another one, is to raise the front neckline a little as the top is very comfortable but I realised when wearing it to a yoga class that the top feels too low cut when adopting postures upside down like downward facing dog.  Not a huge issue as no one is really going to be looking at your cleavage as they are all busy being upside down too, but for comfort I would prefer it to be a little higher (about an inch).

Pretty happy with this pattern and I would recommend it.  The built-in bra is fine for activities like yoga or weight-lifting but probably not enough support for cardio or running.

My review is here.

Ciao kittens, back soon with some more successful active wear.

Bring on the New Year!

I have been a slack blogger!  Never mind I have had good reason.  My sewing room has been out of action since the New Year while it has been emptied, cleaned, painted and then re-organised, re-arranged and now I have a lovely, shiny, bright sewing studio!

The other wall I haven't shown is a wardrobe with mirror doors.  It is better organised than it was, but still needs a little TLC.

So what about 2013?  I am pretty happy with most things I made.  Some things have been moved on (the green hi-lo dress, but I do love the navy one).  I had one top that I loved, shrink on me - a wool jersey ottobre top.  I am used to merino jersey which is obviously a lot more hardy than wool jersey.  It was a shame as I really liked it.  Apart from that everything is still in the wardrobe and I pretty much love them all, some I wear more than others, but I couldn't pick a top 5.

I have also enjoyed sewing with the Tessuti patterns and have made a few Suzy pants and one Chloe pant which have not been blogged about.  These were worn before Christmas but I didn't manage any photos as it was such a hectic time.  Since then we have had a heat wave and I haven't been inclined to wear pants even for a photo!  I hope to still show you these as I do love the patterns, particulary the Suzy pant.

The first garment for 2014 is a muslin of the Fehrtrade XYT top to wear to the gym.   I am loving the top even though I did not have success with the built in bra.  I plan to get some supplex and make some 'real' versions of this top and will show you more then... This is the back of the trial to show you the lovely details...

Well I may not be doing a lot of clothes sewing for the next while as I had a shocker of a year last year and managed to stack some extra kilos on.  I am hoping these new tops will help me with my goal of picking up my exercise plan and getting back to 'normal'.  If I don't I will have to seriously start sewing to get more clothes that fit me!  

Ciao kittens!  I wish you all the best for your 2014 sewing and look forward to sharing more of my sewing and crafting with you this year!

Long sleeved gym top ... Jalie 2682

I needed a top to wear to gym for an outside boxing class held in the evening.  At the moment it is winter here so anywhere from 5C to 15C is the norm so I really wanted a long sleeved top to wear to this class.

I have looked at the tops in the shops, but honestly did not want to spend $70 for a gym shirt.

Then I realised I had some wicking fabric bought in 2009 from Wazoodle.  I had used some of this fabric to make a gym shirt for DH and I had played with it to try and make racer back shirts for gym but otherwise I had a pile of it sitting around.  Then in a brainwave I realised I had the pattern for Jalie 2682.  The pattern I had was traced off in a size V (bust 37") and I am now a size S (bust 34")... gym has paid off :)

As the fabric I had bought from Wazoodle wasn't really stretchy and only just made the stretch  requirement (but probably only one way) I decided making it a bit bigger was probably a safe choice.

This is what I ended up with:

I made the view with the zip front as it looked like the tops I was looking at in the shops.  However I wanted a zip pull and so being cheap inventive I used a piece of the same fabric in a fluoro green sewed in a tube then hand stitched into a loop onto the zipper pull.

If I see one in the shops I will change it over but this is working for me for the time-being.


The true test of a gym top is to wear it, so this is how it worked for me..

Worn over an ancient faded fluro yellow sleeveless top (in the vain hope I will get warm enough to take the long sleeved top off... nope!)


There isn't a lot of stretch in this fabric and I could do with a bit more room over the high bust/chest area and across the upper back...

However, even though I would make adjustments when/if I make this top again, it worked really well, was a good weight and I did not pop any seams.... all good! :)


Ciao gym kittens!...back soon with a lovely bow tie blouse and vest finished this month but not worn or photographed as yet....