Sewing in the gymnastic leotard world

Here is my foray into a world I would never think I would join, but I thought doing this would immensely help my sewing skills and bring them up to the next level. A friend of mine approached me into making leotards for 2 girls who she loves dearly. So we picked the fabric. Hindsight the orange glued sequin fabric was not what we expected with the thickness of the fabric. Luckily it was only going in 1 part.

We selected this Jalie pattern for the leotard.

To make a long story short, the metallic fabric is a bit of a challenge to sew with for the binding since it was so thick. Also, the sequin fabric for the orange part was also a bit challenging to line up as well.  The tricot stitch truly saved me with these leotards b/c things were pulled and not acting correctly. the elastic was too small then suggested- the metallic fabric was stretching with my feed dogs and did weird things, see below. Tissue paper helped but was frustrating to pull out of the stitches. So I tricot stitched a lot of things. The fabric hung better (which it did not in the beginning). I used almost an entire spool of thread on 2 leotards. For real! I have never done that before.

Then when I sent them on their way and the girls tried them on- they fit perfectly! My jaw dropped when I saw the picture! They really do look like gymnastic leotards. And the girls love them- even better. :)

Even though these were painful to sew and it was difficult, these leotards really built up my sewing skills.  I am beyond thrilled that these leotards turned out so well. Now I am little less intimidated in hard sewing!

Cheers,
Lauren

Sports bra/tank fusion, Papercut pattern- Penuma Tank

I am super excited about this pattern. For real! It is my first sports bra/tank top fusion. This is my first go with Papercut Patterns, which is from New Zealand. Yes these patterns shipped from NZ!

When I saw this tank, I knew I had to make it- the Pneuma Tank.

I just fell for the back.

What I did not realize when I was beginning to cut this pattern was that fact this called for bra strapping. This would NOT work for me as if you see below, there is NO WAY I would ever find this color or a color to match. I did contact the company for suggestions but I have yet to get a response.  So I made my own and just winged it. Hindsight, I should have cut just a bit longer. I made a tube, cut equally in 4 parts and sewed. The pattern is not hard, except the straps part I had to wing.

While writing this post I realize that my straps are way higher than the ones in the photos and this is why I felt as if the tank part is not long enough. Ding! Light bulb just went off. But I do like the coverage. I will probably make another one but make longer straps. Don't you just love this pattern? The sports bra is this magenta color and the print has that magenta color in it, so it is the perfect combination

From the back perspective, I think it sits right. Just not the front. Hmm.

Ready for some yoga. That is about all I will be able to use this top for- yoga and light exercise. It doesn't have support but it is not designed to have it either. I love building up my exercise arsenal. I am learning step by step!

And shame on me for not getting together my coverstitcher still. I know...

Cheers,
Lauren

Harem pants #2 She wears sea shells

Yeah, so this week is a repeat pattern week. Another pair of harem pants. Bonus! I actually made these pants first and then made my orange tribal ones. I call the fabric print either sea shells or bird feather tail, depending on which way you hold the fabric it can go either way.

Used my harem pant pattern. but tried the option for the pockets. Not going to lie, this is one of the most confusing parts of this pattern. There are just too many options and I just get sooo confused. My pockets didn't really work based on my assessment of the pattern. I have no idea what I did wrong but I improvised and made it work. And my waistband was too big.

These pants will be used more for pjs. They are so comfy. Again, it is a super light weight cotton. I do like the option of having pockets. I just got to figure something out. The fit is spot on.

Cheers,
Lauren

Orange tribal harem pants

I found this fabric on clearance at Hancock fabrics, it was such a great price. It was also this sort of light cotton (maybe a hint of rayon- don't really know exactly). These are not my usual colors of choice to wear but for some reason I splurged on this fabric.



I released I could not wear this fabric near my face, it just won't work. Then it dawned on me that pants would be perfect. Harem pants even better. Pretty easy sew considering there are no pockets I breezed right through them. Here is my only picture of the process. Just me lining up the fabric with the pattern piece for cutting.

I love my pants!! I do! I wore them to work and I got many compliments on them. The fit is good and slim. Will definitely make more!
Cheers,
Lauren

Cherry Blossom Dress

I finally finished (and remembered to take photos) and I am happy to finally

I used this pattern from McCalls, I cut a size 12- my normal size. And I chose sleeves. I had this gorgeous blue and red blossom tree fabric. I knew that I instantly wanted to use this fabric to make the dress.

I used a light blue for the lining. It was really an easy sew. The hardest things about this dress with finishing was getting those wrinkles out of the fabric. And then well just getting a darn picture. I have been such a slacker. But at least it is done now!

The fit is SPOT ON! I did not have to do any alterations. I did hem it to the length I want, but I do that on all of my dresses and skirts (hence why I sew for myself). But seriously I could not have been happier with the fit. I would totally do this pattern again. As you can also see btw, there is a lot of fabric in the skirt with all of the box pleats.

Cheers,
Lauren