I will never get tired of
this song… Especially when I am doing absolutely nothing in my activewear. Although, I think it should also include a line about “doing some sewing in my activewear”, that would definitely move this song to the best ever status in my eyes. So I guess it is pretty obvious that I did some activewear sewing, of course, while wearing my activewear… I gave
Virginia Leggings and
Resolution Tank a good try this weekend. Two patterns! And I would have to say that unfortunately only one was a success for me. I’ll start with the one that didn’t work out.
I had high hopes for the Resolution Tank by
5 out of 4 Patterns. It seemed to be everything I was looking for in a tank. It is a loose fitting tank with many options, you can have panels, straight hem or curved hem, as well as 2 neckline depths! I think that’s pretty great. I also loved the way actual racerback looked. I cut the pattern out, checked it against my measurements and lengthened it. I did expect it to fit quite loose and that’s okay with me. What I should have noticed in the construction process was how small the neckline and armhole binding was… I know that binding should be smaller than the length of the opening, armhole or neckline, so I pushed forward. I also did check the stretch of my fabric to make sure my fabric has the appropriate stretch factor, and I did cut the binding according to the directions for the low neckline. Yet, when the tank was finished my armholes and neckline looked too gathered. I’ve tried to steam them, wet them and let it hang, but it just didn’t work and they are still looking almost ruched. I also prefer my tanks to be slightly more fitted, which would not be an issue at all, it is easy to take the tank it. Yet, this all left a sour taste in my mouth and I don’t know if I will attempt to fix the tank, but I will certainly not wear it the way it is right now. I am really wondering if it was something I did wrong… Here is the back view:
And here is the close up of the tank itself:
Just to compare, here is a tank that I made a while back using a pattern I drafted (ahem, ripped off lululemon tank I own). It is a very similar racerback look but it is more fitted and I find it hangs a little bit nicer on me and the neckline is flat.
As I’ve said, looseness is definitely a personal preference and something that can be easily adjusted. Same with length. I think for my future tanks I will use my self-drafted pattern but I will change my racerback to match that of Resolution Tank. Also to make it clear, I still think that Resolution Tank is a great pattern, but I would recommend double checking the binding length against the tank as you sew. Or measuring the length of the opening and taking only 80%-85% of the length as the length of your binding. I am still going to try making a sports bra pattern that comes with the tank so not all hope is lost for me.
Now onto what I think was a success. Virginia leggings!! The pattern is by
Megan Nielsen and it truly is a super fast and easy sew. I like a thicker waistband on my leggings, so I cut a maternity rise option and increased the length of my waistband to fit 2.5” elastic. I sewed the leggings using my serger and the whole process barely took any time. The best part is that the fit was very decent right away. I hemmed my leggings to cropped length as I intend to wear them to the gym and that is my preferred length for workout pants. In the end I realized that I could have taken out 0.5” out of my front crotch length and I also ended up deepening the front curve a little bit because I had some excess fabric there. I seems to be a very common adjustment for me. Every single pair of pants I try to make requires it. I will do a separate post explaining how I did it, as it will involve lots of pictures.
Just to confuse everyone in the picture above I am wearing a tank made out of my self-drafted pattern but same fabric as Resolution Tank.
The fabrics I used came from local fabric stores. I used an activewear blend I got from Peak Fabrics (a local store in Calgary) for the tank top. I don’t remember what is in the blend, but I know it has sweat whicking properties and it feels amazing. It is super soft and silky. The fabric for leggings came from Marshall Fabrics in Edmonton. I picked it up when we went there in early February and I am not sure what is in it. The fabrics in Marshall do not always have content displayed, but the fabric felt good and I decided to give it a try.
Of course the true test comes while wearing the leggings to workout… I had to give them a trial run, but I was too lazy to actually go to the gym. So instead I opted for an interval workout at home. I did some fake rope skipping, jumping, running (on the spot), sit ups, squats and lunges. I am happy to report they held up and overall were comfortable! I did not need to constantly pull them up or pull them out of places, if you know what I mean. Although the extra fabric in the front inseam bothered me, but it was purely aesthetical and only because I knew what to pay attention to. Next step is taking them to the gym and hoping that they do not split open while doing an actual weight workout!
Love,
Anya
P.S. I am not smiling in a single picture! It is either my workout game face or just tank related disappointment face...
