Workout Gear - Jalie 3245 & more Fehr Trade VNA and Duathlons

I'm pretty much wearing all handmade activewear these days and have made quite a few pieces in the last few months.  I still need more so I will just do a roundup every now and then.  I have to say making  workout gear is actually so much easier and cheaper than buying it (at least here in Hong Kong), not always the case when you make your own clothes.  That isn't necessarily my motivation, but it is a nice bonus!

I've made a few pairs of Fehr Trade Duathlon capris, some with minor variations on the pattern.  Also a few more VNA tops, all lengthened by around 2 inches following the instructions in the pattern to a length I prefer on me.  I've started making them as sets, I don't always wear them this way, but it does make packing the gym bag much easier if I do.  Here are a couple of example sets:

Black & Lilac Set
The VNA top is black with a tiny print of lilac stars and I used plain lilac for the neck and arm bindings.

I modified the duathlon capris to 3/4 length (somewhere between capri and legging length) and redrew the contrast strip and lower legs so that the contrast wraps around.  The lilac contrast is a lighter weight than the main legging fabric so before finishing the waistband and hem I overlaid a piece of powermesh on the inside which is held in place by zig zag topstitching on the outside.

Coral & Mesh Set
This was a fun print to use on the VNA top mixed with a plain black lower bodice.  The duathlon leggings, again 3/4 length, have a piece of powermesh inserted on the lower contrast band.  I moved the contrast band seam down so that the transparent mesh part is only below the knee.

Finally, inspired by Two On Two Off's million versions of Jalie 3245, I purchased the PDF pattern and made View C, the sleeveless tank in a very bright coral fabric.  I made size V based on my measurements which fell somewhere between a U & V and am really happy with this first version.

I will be making the sleeved versions for everyday wear too, although I will probably raise the neckline a little.  The instructions are great and it is very easy to put together.  The binding treatment is interesting, it is wrapped to the outside of the top, turned under and zig zagged in place.  Even with my slightly wobbly topstitching it makes for a nice finish.  The only thing I did differently was to shorten the hem allowance from 2cm to 1cm - the hem is quite curved and I found it difficult to turn in that much without getting pleats.  It looks really wobbly in the dressform photos above, but that's just the way it is draping, it came out alright in real life!

I'm wearing it here with a plain pair of navy leggings that I also made from the Duathlon pattern, but I eliminated the side contrast band and just added the width back to the side seams.  I know there are many plain leggings patterns out there that I could have used instead, but I know that these fit me so it was easier to just modify my existing pattern.

BurdaStyle 07/2014 - 114 Top & Fehr Trade Duathlon Capris /VNA Top

Not the snappiest of titles, but I like to go for descriptive!

Immediately after writing my last post stating that I was back and had lots to post, events conspired against me.  Firstly my camera had to go in for repair which took a week and the repair centre also happened to be located right in an area where huge numbers of pro democracy protesters had gathered causing several major roads in HK to be closed.  They are still closed, but the number of protesters is dramatically lower and it is possible to get around, just takes an age.  Then would you believe soon after I had picked up the camera, Google decided to disable my account due to suspicious activity.  I never found out what happened, but today I was able to reset my password so finally finally I can get going.

First I'm going to knock out 4 garments in one post, they are 2 workout sets, although they don't have to be worn as sets necessarily.

This is the Fehr Trade VNA top and Duathlon capris, both of which I have made before and reviewed in more detail here.  The fabric is a panel print so I wanted to utilise both parts - the crazy coloured bit and the black and cream section.  It's a slightly thinner fabric than I like to wear at the gym (TMI, but I sweat a lot and the wet t shirt look is not good on me!) so I underlined the whole thing with some powernet.  I thought it might be too hot, but I've worn it a couple of times and it works well.  Maria bought the same fabric when she visited recently so it will be interesting to see what she does with it.  I still have some left so I can copy her anyway!

I lengthened the VNA top following the instructions included in the pattern.  The shaping and point at the back means that you can't just add onto the hem so I appreciated that the method was included.

For the second set I started with another pair of Duathlon capris, I ended up taking in the pair above enough at the side seams that I decided to cut a size small for these.   

The top is BurdaStyle 07/2014 114 and although not specifically a gym top the magazine showed it in a sporty section and I liked the colourblocking so decided to give it a try.  

I made my usual Burda size 38 and it went together really easily.  The drafting is excellent and even the instructions are pretty good so you get a nice finish on the v neckline.  But.....

I think you can immediately see the problem I had with this pattern!  Now I really don't care if a bit of my sports bra shows when I am working out, but this was ridiculous!  I often have this issue when others don't so I think I have a short upper chest, but it's something to watch out for if you make this pattern.  I was really happy with the rest of the top though so I just stitched on a kind of modestly panel at the neckline.  

Here is the inside view of the modesty panel, you can see I did a rather slapdash job, but I cut a scrap of fabric, hemmed the top edge, pinned it in place before topstitching the whole neckline and then trimmed away the excess.

I wasn't going to post photos of me wearing this stuff, but I always find it invaluable on other blogs and reviews so here you go.  Bear in mind I decided to do this on Friday evening 15 minutes before I'm supposed to be leaving the house so this was a real rush job, probably the best way in retrospect, don't think about it, just do it!

Fehr Trade VNA Workout Top & Duathlon Shorts

I have been meaning to make my own workout clothes for a few years now so when Melissa at Fehr Trade started producing activewear patterns I took it as a sign to finally get round to doing it rather than just thinking about it.  It's still taken a while, but I am finally off the starting blocks!

This was also my first foray into the world of pdf patterns and although I was a bit daunted by the prospect of printing and taping it was really very painless and I love the instant gratification of hitting the order button and having the pattern immediately rather than waiting 2 weeks for it to arrive in Hong Kong.  I suppose it helps that the pattern pieces for clothes like this are quite small, I might feel differently about a huge ballgown.  My tip is to only cut the right hand border off each page, tape the first row together overlapping the edges, then trim off the whole bottom edge, repeat for each row then tape the rows together. Maybe everyone already does this, but I had it in my head before printing that I would need to trim off all the borders off all the pages (=boring!).

For my first attempt, I just worked with some fabrics I had in my stash to get a feel for the sizing.  My measurements put me as a medium so that is what I made with no adjustments.  Argh this is scary, major kudos to those of you who regularly post workout and swimwear photos!

VNA Top

Inspired by a Vionnet design this top has 3 main pieces plus bindings and is a great way to use up small pieces of fabrics and create lots of different and fun combinations. I've just used 2 colours here, the purple was a bit flimsy so I underlined that piece with some of the black fabric.

I am really happy with how this turned out, the drafting is spot on and the instructions are very clear and give a great result thanks to clever techniques in applying the binding strips. Even on this first version my bindings look quite professional and I know they will get better.   The only problem on this version is that I stitched the side seams so that the underarm bindings are a continuation of the side seams whereas they are supposed to cross over, mine would not meet perfectly and frankly I was too impatient to try it on so I went with my method.  This is due to slightly sloppy sewing on my part and not the pattern, it doesn't make the top any less wearable, but the original way is more in keeping with the design - I'll get it right next time.  And there will be many next times!

Duathlon Shorts

This shorts pattern comes in 3 lengths with optional padding for the cyclists out there.  (I recently tried spinning classes, man it is such a relief when the instructor tells you to stand up on your pedals!).  These were even more of a sizing experiment, my fabric is a bit shinier than I would usually choose to wear on my bottom half.

I made a straight medium in the Capri length and am thrilled with the fit, the legs could be a bit tighter round the knees, but that can easily be adjusted. The pocket design in the side contrast is devilishly simple and clever and provides opportunity for adding 1 or 2 contrast colours.  Again the instructions are really clear and provide a great looking finish. I want to get some less spandexy shiny fabric to make these up again.

Happily this experiment also coincided with Maria the Velosewer's visit to Hong Kong, Maria makes a lot of workout clothing, you can see her stuff on her blog, so I was hoping to pick up some tips whilst we toured the garment district together.  And I did, especially with finding and choosing fabrics (e.g. I would never have thought to use a panel print, but it's perfect, the 2 different fabrics match perfectly) so now I have a whole stack to play with which cost less than 1 RTW outfit.  My magpie tendencies came out again and I went even crazier with prints than usual which is going to be quite a change from my usual head to toe black gym outfits that I am bored to bits of although I may still be waist to toe black for a bit - baby steps people!

It's been said so many times after meet ups like these that it is almost a cliche, but it is always so good meeting up with people who love to sew and even though you only know each other through the internet there is an instant connection and it feels like you have known each other for years.  We picked a sweltering day to meet and shop so it was quite the workout, appropriately enough, especially with the added "handweights" I accumulated!

Thank you Maria, I had a brilliant afternoon and hope you will be back!