Sewing a Tennis Skort with the New Greenstyle Rally Skirt

Tennis skirts are all the rage these days, and I can see why! They are super cute, functional, can be styled so many ways, and can be worn for activewear or daily life. I am a tennis player, and my daughter recently has been playing a lot of tennis as well so we have both fully embraced the tennis skirt trend! Exciting news – Greenstyle just released the BEST tennis skirt pattern! She asked me at the beginning of the summer to sew her a white tennis skirt with shorts underneath because all the girls were wearing them at a tennis camp she attended. She does not often request something so specific from me, so I was beyond excited to get to sew up something just for her and also happy to sew myself a couple while I was at it because I LOVE wearing skirts for tennis and for running. I have 4 skirts and 2 tank tops that I made and want to show you in today’s post.

The Pattern

The Rally Skirt pattern is a knit circle skirt pattern that comes with optional undershorts or underbriefs. The pattern includes the option for a full circle or 3/4 circle. I did the 3/4 circle on my white skirt and all the other skirts I made are the full circle. The pattern also includes multiple lengths. I used the shortest length available for all the skirts I made. It is referred to as standard length in the pattern. I am 5’2″ for reference, and my daughter is just a few inches shorter than me (but quickly gaining height it seems every day!). The longest length available is 8 inches longer than my skirts. The undershorts included in the Rally Skirt pattern have a shorter length or a longer length. This is the shorter length and is ideal for standard length skirt. The pockets are designed to be big enough so you can fit at least 2 tennis balls in each pocket. If you are not a tennis player, you could store your phone, a water bottle, or keys. They are really big, and you are going to love them! The undershorts have less negative ease than a typical tights pattern and so I think would make a wonderful gym shorts pattern on their own without the skirt if you are working with less fabric. Sometimes when you use tights patterns for gym shorties, you are pulling them down all day or they are so tight at the hem that it is not such a good look. I really like how these feel under my shorts so I think these have a better look. The pattern also includes a brief option that make this a great option for a swim bottom. Cynthia Solis Hendrickson made an amazing swimsuit out of hers with the briefs, and I am so in love with how it turned out. You can read her blogpost on hers here.

Fabric

The pattern states that your knit fabric needs to have at least 50% stretch. There is a broad range of knit fabrics that can fall into this category, so it is super important to pick the right one to get the desired look you want so that you are tailoring your skirt towards your chosen activity or use. If you want the skirt for running or tennis or anything active, you want an athletic fabric with a firm hold and great recovery. When you stretch the fabric, you want it to snap back really quickly in your hands. The reason this is so important is because your waistband will stay firmly put on you while running about. I noticed that the skirt I made in ABP 190 (an athletic brushed polyester) has a really nice and snug waistband, while the skirt I made in an athletic knit from Joann has a waistband that feels looser. Same pattern and same body, just different recoveries in fabric. The only downside to the ABP or using any brushed fabric is that it stick to itself. A great fabric option from Greenstyle is the Align or Yoga fabric, and I also really would like to try one in the Olympus from The Fabric Fairy. Do you have a fabric you bought for leggings that is not quite squat proof enough and a little too thin? Make a Rally Skirt from it! Another great option for a skirt for athletic use is a mesh fabric for the skirt paired with a solid athletic knit for your undershorts. If you want a casual skirt to wear everyday, go for cotton lycra, ity, or a fabric that does not feel like it sticks to itself. If you want a swim skirt, use swim fabric! The fabric I used for my daughter’s black skirt with this subtle teal and yellow print was from the Dallas Fabric District circa 2018. It was in the athletic section and has those wicking properties, but it feels like an ITY with its slinky feeling and wonderful drape. I have had it in my stash for some time because it was just too light for leggings but did not seem to want to be a top. The lightweight feel of it really makes a great skirt! Try to get fabric that does not curl if possible! This means you won’t have to hem. I love the raw edge look, and it certainly makes life much easier. I didn’t much like the look of the one skirt I did hem (my daughter’s white skirt on the left). The hem seems to randomly flip up and be more uncooperative than the one’s I left raw. Do you see the difference in our hems on the same fabric? Which do you prefer?

The Top

I made my top a few months ago – it is the Greenstyle Cami Pattern I blogged about here. It is such a staple in my closet! For my daughter, I used the Elevate Crop top pattern, but I did not want it to be as cropped or to have the bottom band. So, I used the Cami pattern high hip length for everything underneath the armscye. Her teal tank is from the shaded spruce Bamboo Cotton Jersey from The Fabric Fairy. Her white tank is made from the same white athletic knit I got from Joann and used for her skirt. The Rally Skirt pattern is on sale for one week for release!! I can’t wait to make another one of these skirts!! 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

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