Sewing the Greenstyle Cami Pattern

Hello everyone! How is your spring sewing going so far? I haven’t found myself in my sewing room as often as usual so I was happy to see the latest release from Greenstyle was something that was quick to sew up! In addition to chatting with you about a new pattern release, I also have a sneak peak at an upcoming pattern to show you!

The Cami Pattern

The Greenstyle Cami comes in sizes B-M, which includes full busts measuring 30 to 61 inches. It includes crop, high hip, and full length options as well as 2 different strap widths.

I did the skinny straps on both camis that I made. I did high hip length on my white cami and crop length on my purple cami. I chose the length based on the leggings rise height I made to go with them.

The pattern includes a shelf bra option with a built in liner for cups. I used supplex fabric as my shelf bra and Greenstyle mist fabric as my liner to hold the cups. The cups are not sewn in but are removable because the liner has openings on each side so you can remove or adjust.

For my shelf bra on this white tank, I used a fabric as close to my skin tone as I could find in my stash so it was not so obvious underneath the white. You still can see the shelf bra underneath slightly (mainly the underbust elastic, but it is much better than trying to wear a full bra underneath a fitted white cami!

I consider the shelf bra low to medium impact. I can do jumping jacks in mine, but my sewing cup size is a B cup (2 inch difference in over and full bust) and I used a fabric with really nice recovery. Fabric choice and bust size will change how you feel about the impact of the shelf bra.

The pattern is drafted for knit fabric with at least 50% 4 – way stretch. The look, fit, and purpose of your cami will change based on the fabric you choose. I used athletic knit for both of mine and they have a more secure fit to them and work well for activewear. If you want a cami to wear for layering underneath tops or sleeping, you may want to choose rayon or bamboo spandex, rib knit, or a cotton spandex.

The only caution I would give on fabric choice is that thinner or lighter fabric will show every little bump underneath when stretched over your body so you may not be as happy with your cami if you use a lighter fabric and plan to wear it without an overlayer.

The pattern includes three options for strap placement – straight over the shoulders, a v placement where they meet in the middle of your back, or crisscrossed.

I chose straight over the shoulders for my white one and then the v straps for my purple. I love this V at the back! I think it helps to give the impression of a more hourglass shape.

Do you see the pattern sneak peak? These are the upcoming Lift leggings, and just as the name suggests, they give SERIOUS lift! Watch out for these to release by the end of the month!

My Cami Sewing Notes

I consider this an intermediate (to possibly advanced!) pattern. I rarely say this about the patterns I sew because (for the most part), I feel like sewing is like following a recipe. Even if you are a new sewists, if you know the basics, you can follow projects step by step, take your time and seriously impress yourself. I do not rate the difficulty level of this pattern based on the amount of time it takes to sew. In fact, it is a rather quick project! My rating more has to do with the binding aspect.

With sewing a cami, you really need to be confident with doing binding. I did a single fold binding on my tanks, which means that I sewed the binding right sides together to the cami, then after sewing, I wrapped it around to the back. I did not fold the raw edge underneath to hide it but topstitched it with one layer on the back and trimmed off the excess. Your seam allowance needs to be whatever you want your binding to finish at. I also sewed clear elastic for stability in all the strap parts as instructed in the pattrn, and I am so happy with how secure they feel.

I used my serger to sew the binding on. If you want your binding to finish wider than the width of your finished serger seam, you will want to use a stretch stitch on your regular sewing machine when you sew your binding right sides together with your cami.

I used my coverstitch to top stitch the binding after wrapping it to the front. I show how to do single fold binding on a tank top with a twin needle on a sewing machine in this video here (note: use duck bill scissors to trim. I didn’t have a pair yet when I did this video!). The same method applies to the coverstitch. On my coverstitch, I used a 2 needle narrow setting, but I think a 3 needle would also look great as well. A 2 needle wide may be harder to manage, though, especially if you are doing the skinny binding.

Super Gs

I made another pair of Super G tights also! I used some new fabric I just got from Greenstyle and am in love with this print!

The Super Gs are one of my go to athletic tights pattern. I have made these so many times and love the fit. They have a super long gusset that goes calf to calf and my FAVORITE pockets of all the leggings I have tried. You can see some of my other pairs and how I compare them to the other Greenstyle tights in this video. 

I reverse coverstitched most of the seams in a pretty blue (I didn’t bother doing the last inner leg seam after I closed the leg!). When I reverse coverstitch, I use all three needles and sew with the underside of the fabric facing up, making sure that the left needle covers just over the edge of the seam line and the right needle holds down the seam allowance.

Aren’t they so pretty! I love wearing pinks, purples, and blues, and these fit right in in my closet. The fabric base is called Arete (pronounced Are Tay). In my head I want to say (Uh reet). Anyways, it has a firm recovery and hold. You can hear it snap right back when you stretch it away from your body. It is comfortable to wear all day and still has its awesome snap back at the end of the day. It has a smooth feel but is not so thin that you see everything underneath.

I made the highest rise in the pattern, and this one hits at my belly button. I feel like the Strides and Cavallo have higher rise options than this one if you want super high. The upcoming Lift leggings also have a super high waist that hits more at my natural waist.

Resources

• Greenstyle Cami Pattern
• Greenstyle Super G Pattern
• Watercolor Arete Fabric 
• Purple Fabric was from The Fabric Fairy and is a brushed supplex. I have had it in my stash for 3 or 4 years! This colorway is no longer available, but they have several other beyond supplex solids here. 
• White fabric was purchased locally many years ago as well!

I hope I have inspired you in today’s post!  I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Disclosures

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate your support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.