A Greenstyle Stride UPDATE + A New Jillian Tank + More Fitcapsule Sewing

I am in full blown fit capsule wardrobe sewing mode. My Type A personality is thriving on all this planning and execution. When I did Step 1 (the cleaning out your closet and pulling out your workout clothes part), I was quite surprised that I already have a definite color scheme. I took a sigh of relief and was excited to see I had such a nice base. (You can read the details of my fit capsule planning in this post.) It became very apparent to me, though, that I have a few favorite pieces that get so much love; so, obviously, I needed to make more of them!

Today’s project that I am crossing off of my fit capsule sewing list is a Jillian tank and a pair of Stride tights. I also decided to dress like a crayon, so bear with me.

More Jillian Tanks Please

I absolutely love the Greenstyle Jillian pattern and still need several more of them in my closet. I have only made the Jillian as a tank once, and it reminded me exactly of a store bought tank that I own – with one exception – the back of my store bought tank is a thin racerback that is also attached to the bodice the same way the Jillian is. Since both tanks are exactly alike, I knew the Jillian would be very easy to modify to get the same look.

Sizing and Modifications

I made a XXS and removed 1 inch at the lengthen/shorten line. I am currently in between sizes and thanks to breastfeeding can measure to be a XS bust before breastfeeding and a XXS bust after feeding. I went with the smaller size since I know that a sports bra keeps me in the XXS size, and I did not want any looseness in my tank after nursing the baby.

To modify the tank, I removed 1 inch from the top of the straps on the front of the Jillian (the inner tank). Instead of using the straps in the pattern, I grabbed my Lille Racerback and copied the racerback top to get the neckline correct. Then, I thinned the racerback to where I wanted it.

Binding

To calculate the neckline binding, I made the width 1.25 and the length 85% (plus seam allowances) of the finished neckline. I did not calculate the armhole/back binding. Rather, I just cut one long strip 1.25 wide and started at the bottom of the racerback, went up towards the shoulder, down under the armpit, across the back, up the shoulder again, and finished at the bottom of the other side of the racerback. I made this entire outfit out of a yard, so by the time I got to binding, I had to piece my binding.

When applying the binding, I applied the right side of the binding to the right side of my shirt. I quartered it for my neckline, but since I just had one long strip for my armhole/back (around 60 inches long!), I had to wing it. When winging binding, you have to think about where it needs to be stretched and where it doesn’t. The bottom of the armhole and concave areas need a little bit of stretching, while areas like the back that is a straight line, you just need to keep it firm. You can tell it is stretched too much if you see puckers. You can tell that you did not stretch the binding enough if you have gaping. Every fabric has different recovery as well so you need to test on a scrap piece to see how you feel your fabric will lay.

Once serged on right sides together, I wrap my binding around the back and fold it under (like I am quilting) and then use a twin needle to topstitch it down from the right side. I still have not invested in a cover stitch and hope to one day have one! Until then, my twin needle and I are getting along rather well.

Why did I put the Jillian at the top of my list of tanks to sew? Because it is my favorite tank to RUN in. I use the shelf bra that is included in the pattern and wear the Greenstyle Power Sports Bra underneath that, and I get ZERO BOUNCE. Just in case you missed that.. ZERO BOUNCE!! Ya’ll I have breastfed 5 babies so when I run, they need all the “staying put” power they can get. I also don’t like a lot of movement in my chest when running. The one time I sacrificed this and wore a non-supportive bra/tank combo to run in, I got a breast infection/clogged duct. It was really painful! Lesson learned.

I also love the Jillian because it holds me in and does not swish all over the place when I am running. I also like to use fabrics that don’t have a lot of drape and are more on the firm side like cotton lycra, supplex, or any light to medium weight athletic fabrics. When I was matching fabric to pattern when planning for my fitness capsule, my flowy, light fabrics were put in a pile for the open back tank, solo, or Xpress tank. The lighterweight supplex, cotton lycras, and less flowy fabrics were put in the pile to be made into Jillian tanks. I seem to use both types of fabrics on the Lille though just depending on what type of tank I want it to be (the Lille also has a shelf bra so I like to use a firmer fabric on it too when I do a shelf bra or want to use it for running).

The Strides are UPDATED!!

The Greenstyle Stride Tights pattern was released in the summer of 2015, and since being release, cell phones have gotten bigger and bigger. An update was in order; so, Angelyn increased the width and depth of the pocket to accommodate the newer, bigger phones that many of us now have. The pocket is also placed higher and easier for my arms to access. If you have already made the pocket on the Super G tights, it is now the same size as that pocket.

The Stride tights have magic booty lifting properties. Seriously. I think the pattern lines make your backside look good. They are my “go-to” tights when I have a nice contrasting fabric that I want to use for colorblocking. I used the oval gusset included in the pattern and like the range of motion I get in these too!

Fabric

The fabric that I used for this set is all supplex from the Styled Magnolia. I really like their supplex because it is not that heavy. I live in Texas where the heat can be brutal during the summer, and it is the perfect weight to be comfortable in outside. I also think that it is still very opaque despite not being heavyweight. It has a firmer stretch than some of the other supplex fabrics I have tried, which I found really nice because it did a great job of keeping everything very smooth. I feel that sometimes I go for heavier weight fabrics in hopes that they won’t show every lump and bump, but I was able to use a fabric that was not as thick, and I still feel nice and supported.

This is the festival color of their solid supplex, and it is sold by the half yard. The floral print will be coming to their custom order supplex line soon, so join their Facebook group here or subscribe to my blog, and I will let you know when. I am wearing a power bra that I made out of their custom supplex under my Jillian tank, and I really can’t wait to share it with you!!

Resources

1. The Jillian tank pattern can be found HERE.
2. The Stride tights pattern can be found HERE. My last blogpost on them is HERE.
3. The Power Sports Bra pattern I am wearing underneath can be found HERE. I have blogged about it before HERE and will hopefully be blogging about this one soon.
4. All of my fabric came from the Styled Magnolia.

All of Greenstyle’s athletic patterns are marked down 25% as part of the Greenstyle Fit Capsule Challenge. Come join me in the challenge in the Greenstyle Facebook Group. Don’t forget to download your free fit capsule planning worksheet in my planning blogpost.

Disclosures: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link.