Space dye Activewear: Mama and Me.

They say the body you want in June begins in January. With another round of knee surgery, I was immobile in January and February. A healthy healed body was a priority over any real or imagined summer beach body. With a good doctor, rest and physical therapy, I can begin to think about rebuilding strength in my body with workouts. When I work out, I am usually that person in the gym or park wearing mismatched t-shirts, a shorts bra and uninspired shorts. My logic has been, "they are going to get gross and sweaty, so why does it matter?".

                           

Little Miss is old enough to workout with me at the gym or alongside me at the park. She has awesome fitness clothes that I bought her when a local store went out of business. The times I have taken her to workout with me, she has looked great, me, not so much. She doesn't care what I wear and is not embarrassed by me; she is just happy we are there together. Seeing how cute she looks however, made me want to make more of an effort.

 

I took advantage of Nature's Fabrics sale last month and bought Midnight Blue Space dye and Ocean Space Dye Knit with the goal of making activewear for myself. When the fabric arrived, I loved it so much, I didn't want to make workout clothes anymore! I don't enjoy working out and didn't want to "waste" such yummy fabric on a dreaded activity. I hemmed and hawed for most of the month vacillating between day wear and workout gear. In the end, I decided I should go ahead with the original plan because the wonderful feel of the fabric could only improve the workout experience.

A sale at the fabric store lead me to a Simplicity sale and their new patterns.I went with Simplicity 8634 for the top 

and Simplicity 8212 for the leggings

The line art of the patterns made me think they would be a good candidate for color-blocking. It was a fun way to tie the two fabrics together. In a happy coincidence, my fabrics match my swing arm weights and ankle weights. They help me get more bang for my buck on my walks.

     

The patterns were easy to sew straight from the package. I only tweaked them slightly. I added two inches to the front an back of the shirt to give a bit more coverage. 

                          

 The crossover back is secured only at the neckline and shoulders. The overlap covers the back area over the bra, but I wanted more security. I stitched the overlap together along the edge ending where it begins to open. This with the high waist of the leggings, provides the necessary back coverage.

                           

I don't own a coverstitch machine so I sewed this on my domestic machine and serger. 

                 

I used a twin needle with contrasting thread for all the hemming and topstitch details.

  

After planning my outfit, saw I had enough fabric to make a set for my daughter. I considered identical outfits, but I opted for coordinating pieces to allow me to play with a little embellishment.

                      

I don't have a  pattern specific for athleisure patterns for girls in my stash. I found Simplicity 8184 with its tank top and leggings knew it would work.

                    

I colorblocked the leggings and added a stripe embellishment to the top. I cut 1-inch stripes of fabric, folded the edges under and secured them to the shirt front using the twin needle.

She too loves the soft hand of this fabric and wants me to make pajamas and everyday clothes with it. This knit has a lot of stretch. For a close to body fit, I suggest going down a pattern size when sewing with it. She loves that she can do handstands and flips without having to tuck her top in first. 

I am so glad I went ahead and made these outfits. It feels good to get moving again. As I was getting ready for my third knee surgery, Little Miss asked, "Will you ever be able to run with me again?". It was heartbreaking! I am still months away from running, but we can go out together and break a sweat!

  

Happy Sewing,

Bianca  
P.s. Thanks to those who voted for my quilt from the previous post! I won the Pattern Review Quilt Contest!

Reversible Sequin Bomber Jackets Two Ways: Mommy and Me.

Oh the thrill of an impulse purchase!
                 

Hers flipped rose gold, mine flipped black

I was recently at Joann Fabrics recently and fell in love with their reversible sequin fabric. We've seen it around on pillows and it small swatches of pockets on garments. Everyone of my family loves this fabric; it is so fun to play with.  I had a 50% off coupon and the rose gold/black variety really caught my eye.

                                  

My plan upon purchasing this fabric was to make a bomber jacket. The minute I saw McCalls 7686, I loved it for its' elevated take on the sporty garment. I knew I wanted to make it this Fall and finding this fabric cinched the deal for me.                                   

An impulsive decision is, by definition, one you have not thought about beforehand. I have sewn with sequin fabric before, but not this particular variety. Had I known what was involved before buying this, I may not have followed that impulse. After making my bomber, I  realized I had sufficient fabric to make a matching bomber for Little Miss. I made my jacket the right way with all the necessary prep work. I attempted to make the second with shortcuts. In this post I will explain what I did in both and  I advise you to do it the right way if you choose to make your own. Hopefully, you will be better prepared if a similar impulse hits you.

To make it the right way:

• Cut out your pattern pieces and fabric using a rotary cutter with a sharp blade 
• Chalk trace the wrong side with the 5/8th inch seam allowance along the entire edge of your pieces 
• Using thick and durable button and craft thread, trace along the chalk line making sure your stitches are visible on the right side of the fabric

                     

• Remove all of your sequins from the seam allowance. I tried many sewing and crafting tools that were at my disposal including razors, thread snips, and Xacto blades. After slow progress and cuts to my fingers, I went to the beauty cabinet. Using a $0.33 eyebrow trimmer from the dollar store yielded the best results. It is a razor wrapped in wire so I was able to cut the individual threads without damaging the mesh beneath. This was a very slow and tedious process. Watching reruns of Sherlock helped the time go by easier.

                                

The sequins on this fabric are strong and are sewn on individually. Sewing over them with your needle is not a good option. I repeat, sewing over them with your needle is not a good option. 

• Once all the sequins were removed from the seam allowances, remove the basting threads and begin sewing. I used my zipper foot to be certain I was getting as close to the sequins as possible without sewing over them. I used the 3.5 stitch length.

                         

I found it better to work with wonder clips rather than pinning as they held the slippery fabric together great.

                         

My bomber jacket is fully lined. I really appreciate that the lining is attached at the sleeve ends and the elastic casing at the waistband. I am not a fan of the other lining attachment methods. Because of the sequin fabric, I could not machine sew it in place as directed in the pattern. I could have removed the sequins along the right side stitching line. I chose instead to attach the lining to the body of the jacket by hand-sewing it in place. 

As I was sewing this super sparkly fabric, I thought the sequin body and sleeve would be overwhelming and I considered using contrast.  Now that it is all made up, I like it a lot in all sequins. 

There is a bit of contrast on the collar and at the sleeve cuffs.

After making my bomber and seeing her excitement about mine, I decided to surprise Little Miss with a jacket for her birthday. This was another impulsive decision made a few short days in advance. :)

We bought Simplicity 8429 with a plan for a denim bomber with emoji patches. It was perfect to make a contrast version for her.

                          

I did not have two days to dedicate to removing the sequins from the seam allowances on her jacket. I have a heavy-duty Singer, multiple Brother machines, and a Sailrite for sewing heavy canvas and leather. With my limited time, I was fairly confident in my ability to sew over the sequins without having to remove them first. Wrong! I attempted many times on my various machines all with the same result; broken needles and sequins flying in my face. I gave up the ghost when the only thing that saved me from losing an eye to a projectile, were my glasses. 

                      

Fortunately, she is little and I was able to work quickly to remove the sequins as I should have done in the beginning. With the contrast sleeves and waste cuff, there were fewer seams to shave. Admittedly, I was less precise with no chalk outlining or thread tracing. I simply eyeballed from the right side of the fabric. After making mine, I think my muscle memory had been set.

I think the contrast of the black cotton knit works great against the sequins here.

Her bomber is not lined but the sequin in the seams  are not comfortable. I encased them in fusible fleece and she's fine with that. If she were older,  not growing so much and likely to get more use out of it, I would certainly line it. We live in Texas so the shelf life on this particular one has its limits.  Additionally, I'm pretty certain when she outgrows hers, she will be reaching for mine. I sure did come up with a lot of justifications to bring this project to a close! :)

Hers flipped to black, mine flipped to rose gold

So to recap, when sewing with reversible sequins, 

• Make a garment with limited seams
• Chalk and thread trace seams to remove the sequins from the seam allowances. 
• To get close to your seams use a zipper foot to sew garment together.

Sequins mixed

I love the way both of these turned out. She loves our matching outfits and I will savor that always. Some day, I may get an "Um, no Mama" eye roll with the mere suggestion. Until then, I will keep sewing for Mommy and Me. The Little Man has put in requests for Mommy and He, so I will ride this train to the end of the line.

As I mentioned, I was watching Sherlock when I was making these. A villain in a confrontation with him called Sherlock a psychopath. Before Sherlock ended the conflict with a bullet, he corrected the bad guy by saying, "I am not a psychopath, I am a high-functioning sociopath." There were moments of madness in sewing these bomber jackets and  that thought resonated with me. 

  

I designed these t-shirts to communicate to the world who I am, a "High-Functioning Sewciopath". I am one who can be antisocial in my sewing behaviors prioritizing it over other similar activities. When seeing a successful result, I have little remorse over the time and money invested, knowing I will do it again and again. I debuted the shirt at The International Quit Festival in Houston last week. It was a delight to see the smiles of people who appreciated the sentiment and defined it in their own terms.

It was so cool to see other "Sewciopaths" as I walked the festival floor. I received knowing smiles, nods of agreement and bursts of appreciative laughter. I sold many of them to people who bought them for themselves and their sew crazy and sewaholic friends. If you would like to buy one, I have listed them in my Etsy store. Use code SPATH20  to save 20% in the store through Saturday.

Happy Sewing,
Bianca