The Excel Tee Pattern

The Excel tee pattern is a new release from Greenstyle. It is a raglan top designed for a masculine frame. The pattern features a side gusset that goes from the sleeve hem to the shirt hem. This means there is not a seam in the underarm.

Why are gussets so great? They give more range of motion in an area as well as taking the pressure off a place where multiple seams otherwise would join. 

The neckline of the top is a crew neck with the option for short or long sleeves. The long sleeves has an optional thumbhole or watch opening.

This pattern is drafted for 5’10”. Since my husband is 5’11” with a long torso, I added one inch to the body. He is so happy to have a top that is long enough that he can raise his arms without showing off his stomach. He struggles with shirts being too short if he gets the size that matches his chest, or if he gets a shirt that is long enough, it is usually way too wide.

Shirt Fabric

This pattern is drafted for knit fabric with 50% horizontal stretch and at least 25% vertical stretch. I used an athletic brushed polyester that is 190 gsm for his main grey fabric. This one has been in my stash for some time. I believe I purchased it from Zenith and Quasar.

The black fabric I used for his gusset and sleeves is a brushed nylon, also from Zenith and Quasar.

Both fabrics are so incredibly soft and perfect for an athletic tee.

I also made him a trial version in a cotton spandex knit. That fabric works great for a non-athletic tee. Cotton will absorb moisture instead of wick so this one he wears around the house.

I love that you can use some scraps and try different color combinations on this top. I have tried two different fabrics and on this one two. I think using one fabric and topstitching all the seams would look great as well!

Who’s hungry for breakfast? The sexiest thing you can do in your Excel tee is cooking and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards! 

The Motion Shorts Pattern

The Motion Shorts pattern is another masculine fit pattern that has nice big pockets.

It has a gusset that goes from knee to knee, a back yolk, an optional zippered back pocket, and an optional lining.

The pattern includes 7, 9, and 11 inch inseams, and I made the 11 inch inseam for this pair.

The front waistband has elastic enclosed with a drawstring. I did buttonholes and stitched a casing for it onto the waistband.

Shorts Fabric

I used a stretch boardshort from The Fabric Fairy. He says these shorts will be perfect for vacation because he can wear them all day long and jump in the pool/ocean as he can without bringing a change of clothes. They will dry quick too.

I really like this fabric and the weight is perfect. It is not too light that it is see through and is not so thick that it is hot.

Sewing Notes

This outfit took me about 3 or 4 days on and off to finish. Neither project was complicated in itself. I took the time to finish and topstitch each seam on the shorts, and this made them take longer, but it also means they look very professional.

The top was much quicker since I did not topstitch any seams and only used my serger. I did have to change coverstitch thread to hem, but the top was a nice quick project to take on after finishing the shorts.

I also graded the top of the shorts up for the waistband, and I am glad I took the time to grade these top pieces. I can see the fit came out perfect on this pair. I chose his size for the main shorts based on his hip measurement and the size of the waistband based on his low waist measurement (where the waistband sits). 

He wants at least a few more pairs of these shorts for summer as well as a handful of these tees!

Resources

• Excel Tee pattern
• Motion Shorts pattern
• Athletic Brushed Poly 190. They are out of stock at Zenith and Quasar. Sometimes Greenstyle and Bow Button Fabrics has some. 
• Stretch Boardshort Fabric
• Drawstring

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.

I know her answer sounds super simple and obvious, but if you have been around fashion or the sewing world very long, you know that this is far from reality. It is so easy to get caught up in what is the coolest and most exciting trend or pattern, especially when you plan to blog and share your project with the world when you finish, but here is the reality of the season in life I am in: my clothes need to feel good to wear. I need to be able to move, bend, jump around, and breastfeed in them. I also live for comfort and seriously can feel touched out by clothes that don’t feel good at the end of the day. Am I weird?

Little does my friend know, but I repeat her statement to myself almost every time I receive fabric to sew up. I look to fill holes in my closet or make something that I have seen while out and about that caught my eye and fits the bill for my lifestyle. I also love to do my research on Pinterest! My ultimate goal, though, is to spend my time making clothes that I will actually wear!

Last week I received this amazingly soft and beautiful athletic brushed polyester marble print fabric from Zenith and Quasar, and I knew exactly what I wanted it to become. I am so excited to share with you the three projects I made from it! They are three projects that are going to be well-loved too!

The Mommy and Me Cozy Sweatshirts

I absolutely love a cozy sweatshirt to pull on over my clothes when I feel chilled in the cooler months. I think cozy is my favorite blogging word, and this just makes my cozy-loving heart happy. I feel like I need a dozen more of these in my life!

The pattern I used for my top is the Greenstyle Creations Open Back Pullover*. It is a hoodie pattern that has the option for a neckband as well as options for different open (or non-open) back styles. I love to use patterns that have advanced options and basics all in one pattern.

I did not make adjustments to the pattern and sewed my normal measured size. It was a quick sew and took maybe an hour from start to finish.

Next, I made a cozy sweater for my youngest daughter. It was just as quick, and I love getting to twin with her! For hers, I used the Ellie and Mac Going Home Sweater*.

I made her the tunic length so that it will fit all winter. She seems to grow up more than grow out, so the tunic length will allow her to wear it for longer. I made her measured size and love the amount of ease in the pattern.

The Athletic Tights with Laser Cut Tricot

I had some scraps left over after our sweaters. I seriously couldn’t get over the print in this fabric so I held off writing my blogpost until I could sew every last drop of it. I love how versatile athletic brushed polyester is. It is such a great weight to use for bottoms or tops, is soft, breathes, and just comfortable to wear. Even though it is brushed, it doesn’t pil and holds up really well to my wash/dry routine. I don’t baby my clothes, and I have garments that I made out of it over 2 years ago that are not faded and still look great.

While I was thinking about what to do with my last bits of scraps, I ran across this amazing pair of tights on Pinterest this weekend and had to recreate them.

I used the Greenstyle Inspire Tights pattern for my tights. Mine are a little different than the inspiration pair because mine are a pretty purple, and my color blocking is across my thigh instead of my knee.

I also used laser cut performance tricot from Greenstyle Creations for my inserts since it holds up better than a lot of meshes. I have used mesh on tights before, and my kids grabbed and pulled at it. This laser cut fabric is much sturdier and holds up very well to their abuse!

Pattern Adjustments

For my inserts, I added 1/4 to the top and bottom of the pattern piece to make them longer. I took away this same 1/4 inch from the top and bottom of the legs. For the back of my leg, I cut the pattern at the capri line on the calf and added seam allowance on both sides of the line I had cut out to make the insert.

I also added 1/4 inch to the top of both waistband pieces and tried my waistband on before attaching it to the tights. It wasn’t as firm as a hold as I wanted, so I used a 3/4 inch seam allowance on each side of my waistband. This makes it snugger and allows me to get away with not using elastic in the top of my waistband seam. If you want more detail on the size adjustments I make to the inspire tights, see this post here.

Opacity

This athletic brushed poly is pretty opaque when not stretched. I wore a black bra underneath my sweatshirt just so I could show you how opaque it is when worn with an item that has positive ease.

For garments with negative ease like these tights, you will see everything underneath it when stretched. So, now you are wondering (or maybe not?) about how you can’t see my panty line in these white tights! I am wearing the Greenstyle No Show Brief in Mist fabric. I blogged about them here.

For more TMI, I also had that time of the month show up right before I headed out for photos. Yikes! I wore a 5 inch cloth pad that I made in my no show briefs, and I really thought it would be just good enough for a few quick photos and maybe only from the front only. BUT, I was wrong. It was held perfectly in place by these panties!! I was shocked. Just to test it out, you know, for research, I ran all around during the photo shoot and it didn’t budge. I remember when the pattern initially released someone asking me about cloth pads, and I seriously doubted that it would hold well without leg elastic. My doubts are over. It worked great! Now, I can have my cake and eat it too. 🙂

Thanks for reading today. I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram, or you may receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. 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.

Resources

• The Marble Athletic Brushed Polyester is on Preorder at Zenith and Quasar Fabric.
• The sweatshirt pattern I made for myself is the Greenstyle Open Back Pullover. The sweatshirt pattern I made for my daughter is the Ellie and Mac Going Home Sweater.
• The athletic tights I made are the Greenstyle Inspire tights. I used this fabric on the inserts.

*Disclosures

I received this fabric for free to show how it looks sewn up. Also, 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 the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.

XO

I made my first crop top two months ago when I sent Angelyn Bennet an inspiration photo of a top I wanted to make to work out in. She loved it, and within a few days, she drafted it and sent it to me! Let me show you the first top I made.

I used a cotton lycra scrap to test the fit, and it was SPOT ON. I was over the moon excited about this top. I felt good in it!

Next, I made one to wear as a swimsuit top. I made swim bottoms to go with it and blogged about that one HERE.

Then, I noticed after a few months of owning my crop top, I just couldn’t wear it out of the house.

I have 5 kids and seem to get enough looks and questions from complete strangers anyways. (Are you going to have any more? Wow, you brought everyone to the store with you today? Oh my! I would be so overwhelmed if I had that many kids… So many random comments!!). I have realized that people mean well and just want to strike up a conversation usually. I do live in the South, and I am one friendly person as well. BUT I really try not to go out of my way to attract random comments that just discourage me. 

So I told Angelyn (the designer behind Greenstyle) that what this crop top really needed was a layering piece that you can wear over it when you are not working out. I am sure you can sense my excitement as I tell you: She drafted the most PERFECT overlay that I feel absolutely confident and LOVE wearing!!

The resulting pattern is called the Elevate, and it just released today!! The pattern includes both the crop and overlay so it is definitely a steal.

So, this overlay is basically a genius pattern. You can wear it backwards or forwards. You can band or tie it. It works for any season – just use a chunky sweater knit in the long sleeved view for the colder months or use a light weight rayon spandex in the short sleeved option for the summer. If for some reason you don’t like the cross over or open back, you can just sew two fronts and have a closed back! One tester even wore the tie version open as a cardigan!

I do have to admit, I LOVE the cross over back, but I really don’t know if I like the cross over or the tie back more. The tie back can be tied tighter to accentuate my waist more.

On the other hand, the banded overlay has more ease in my waist and is hiding all the tacos I ate before this photos shoot. BTW those tacos were YUMMY. If you are in the Dallas area, you have to go to Beto & Son at Trinity Groves and try the chicken tacos. Add some queso and Jamaica, and you will be very happy! Better yet, let me know you are going so I can come with you.

The pattern includes a pattern piece to use as a strap to keep your back cross over in place, but I really liked the overlay without the strap so that I could wear it backwards (and as a cardigan!)

The Pattern

The Elevate comes in sizes B to M, which covers busts between 30 and 62 inches. The crop pattern has the option for a racerback or U back and bands or binding. The crop works best in so many fabrics – cotton lycra, supplex, athletic knits, swim, brushed polyester, etc.

The overlay needs fabric with a soft drape so it will flow next to your body and not tent out. Look for fabrics like sweater knit, rib knit, rayon spandex, brushed polyester, etc.

Video Resources

Are you ready to sew the Elevate? If you are doing bands on the crop top, I have a video HERE that shows me doing bands on the free kids’ slope tank pattern. The method is the exact same. Just make sure you grab the included pattern piece that is for bands when you are cutting out your project.

If you want to sew binding to finish your neckline and armscyes, I have two different ways to show you. You can watch my video for single fold binding HERE, and you can watch my video for double fold binding HERE. Those videos were recorded using the Staple tank but the exact same instructions apply to this crop tank.

I do not have a video yet of me sewing the bottom band on the crop top, so let me know if you would like to see that, and I would be happy to sew up another crop top to film that portion. I only have one in the racerback view, and I already am feeling like I need another..

On the overlay, the binding can be done either single fold or double fold as well, and you can use the videos I just linked for that. The only difference is that you will only stretch very slightly on the straight part of the back. If you stretch that part too much, you will have a lot of bunching.

I found that on one overlay I made the bottom of the top bunched up a lot to meet the band. I topstitched the seam of the band up and steamed it really well, and it looked so much better. This overlay was made in a thin cotton jersey that doesn’t have spandex.

Fabric and Pattern Resources

You can find the Elevate Pattern HERE.

For my charcoal pair of tights and crop top, I used the Inspire tights pattern and made them in Supplex that I purchased from Zenith and Quasar.

The white with grey specked tie overlay that I am wearing over the charcoal supplex crop is a very lightweight sweater knit. I found it locally on the remnant tables at Wherehouse Dallas.

The chunky dark red overlay that I banded at the bottom is now my favorite reversible sweater. I used sweater knit from Sincerely Rylee that was in a sweater knit box I purchased last spring.

My white pants are the Greenstyle Super Gs that I made from white brushed nylon spandex tricot, and I used the laser cut tricot for the lower pocket. LOVE this pair of tights. This is my first pair of white pants. Let’s hope I can keep them clean.

The strappy bra I am wearing underneath my crop tops is the Greenstyle Power Sports Bra. I blogged about this particular one here.

The flamingos were a cotton lycra scrap my friend Aimee gave me. The black leggings I am wearing with the flamingo crop are the Stride tights in Zenith and Quasar black supplex.

Since I only had scraps to use on my Supplex crop and flamingo crop, I had to put a seam in the back of my bottom band. I did this by adding seam allowance to the middle of the pattern piece.

Thanks for stopping by today! I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram, or you may receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. 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

I received this pattern for free as part of the testing process so that I could give the designer feedback about the pattern. Also, 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 the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.

XO

For today’s post I am talking all about the two patterns that jumped in front of me and just had to be made and also talking to you about this fun oranges fabric I received from Zenith and Quasar!

The Made for Mermaids Felicity

When the Made for Mermaids Felicity pattern released, I saw a post from a fellow seamstress on Instagram showing off her beautiful Felicity made out of a lemon print fabric, and I just have not been able to shake how much I loved her dress. She was twinning with her toddler, and it was just adorable! So, of course when I saw these oranges, it reminded me of her Felicity, and I had to make one. I only had a yard, so I made a top!

The pattern went together beautifully and was a rather quick sew. I printed and taped it early one afternoon and finished sewing all of it during naptime! Whew! It was much quicker than I expected! I didn’t make any adjustments to the pattern, and I will definitely need to buy the girls one next so I can twin with my daughters.

Fabric for the Felicity Top

By now you are probably thinking, “what’s with the oranges?” Have you seen the hashtag #postingwithproduce? I swore I wouldn’t do that, but this oranges fabric from Zenith and Quasar begged me to… and, I have to admit, I had a lot of fun! Do you like my oranges? They are Cara Cara (my fave!), and they were eaten rather quickly after this photoshoot!

Ok, now to the serious stuff. The fabric base is an athletic brushed poly. I really like this base because it is super soft, breathes well, and has great recovery. It has a lot of uses in garments and holds up well over time. I have shirts I have made with it that are now at least 2 years old, and the colors are still just as vibrant, and the fabric looks nice still. I like to dry my clothes in the dryer (I know, it is tough on them, but I still do it!)

True Bias Lander Shorts

I have been eyeing the Lander Shorts Pattern for quite some time now, but I didn’t think I really needed the pattern until a few weeks ago. I had nothing to wear one day because a lot of my woven shorts from last year are too big on me, and when I thought about what shorts I wanted to try next, I knew it needed to be the Landers!

I chose this soft medium weight tencel twill fabric for my test pair. I only had a yard, so I really had no room to recut or make mistakes. Everything went together great UNTIL I got to the waistband. I had to stretch it a lot to get it to fit, which is really hard to do on an interfaced woven. The waistband is just a rectangle, and the part of my body where these shorts are meant to sit is NOT a rectangle. My lower back is one of the curviest areas on my body so needless to say, it just gaped out.

I reached out on stories to say “HELP!,” and I had so many wonderful seamstresses message me! I was so grateful for the sewing community and the support. The consensus seems to be that this happens on a lot of people on this pattern, and they drafted their own curved waistband. When they mentioned this, I instantly remembered sewing woven shorts last summer. I made the Taylor shorts and the Linden shorts, and remembered that they BOTH had curved waistbands and that I never had this issue with them.

Unfortunately, since I didn’t have enough of this white fabric left, I seam ripped the waistband off and tried to take out a dart in the back, but when I did this, they were super uncomfortable to sit in. So, I just went with how the pattern was originally drafted, and I know to draft a different waistband for next time.

Despite my frustrations with the waistband, I can’t tell you enough how happy I am with these shorts. I really don’t think anyone would ever know the issues I had unless they read this post, except for that I think the rise now sits lower on me than intended. They do feel great on and are easy to sit in. A lot of woven shorts can feel pretty restrictive when you are sitting down, and I hate that feeling of needing to undo the top button!!

Thanks for reading! I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram, or you may receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. 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.

Resources

• The oranges fabric is on preorder at Zenith and Quasar through August 17th.
• I used the Made for Mermaids Felicity for my top.
• I used the True Bias Landers pattern for my shorts.
• My buttons on my shorts are Dritz 11/16 Jeans buttons that I bought at Joann!

Disclosures

I received the oranges fabric for free so that I could provide feedback and sample photos of it. I also received the white shorts fabric for free. It was a scrap from my sweet friend Aimee Wilson!

There was some guy in a delivery van just watching me like…. “what are you doing lady!!”

The Back Story

When we were making our summer bucket list, I asked my daughter what she wanted to do this summer, and she said “Go down a water slide.” I felt like an awful mom in that moment when I realized she is 10 and still hasn’t experienced the joy of a water park. SOOO, needless to say, I put it on the calendar, and now we are planning to go to Hawaiian Falls in 2 weeks! She told me she did not want to wear her regular swimsuit, but she wanted something that she could play hard in and be active.

I immediately knew what I wanted to make her! I also immediately corrected myself about being a bad mom. I always have this feeling of needing to do more or be more for my kids, and I have to remind myself to be grateful for where I am and what I have been able to do (because it will never be everything, I am just one human and some days keeping everyone alive, fed, and dressed is enough!) I also pray God to just show me if there is something I am missing. Anyways, let’s talk about what I made and this fabric!

The Moxi Shorts

For mine and my daughter’s shorts, I used the Moxi shorts pattern by Greenstyle. The pattern is drafted for stretch woven (my fave being the stretch chiffon from Joann), but they also work in a swim knit, if you size down. She now measures a size 2 in the pattern so I made her a size 0 without any adjustments.

The pattern has an optional compression shorts or an optional brief. On her shorts, I made the optional brief and used swim lining for the brief. I didn’t make a brief for my shorts, but will show you what I am wearing underneath my shorts later in this post.

I used swim knit for the binding on both of our shorts. I have had the Moxi pattern for over two years and have made MORE than 12 pairs! But, I still have not made a swim pair because I have been intimidated by the binding part of the pattern when sewing swim. I do feel confident with my swim sewing abilities, but I really didn’t feel confident making bias tape out of swim knit! It is not going to iron flat, and it will slink all over the place. I searched the Greenstyle group and saw the recommendation to use FOE, and I just have to admit, I don’t like sewing with FOE.

Using a Swim Knit for Binding

On my daughter’s pair of Moxi shorts, I cut a one inch wide strip of fabric (along the cross grain, just like you would cut any knit band or binding so that the greatest stretch runs with the length of the strip). I used the cut chart in the pattern for the total length on this strip. Then, I sewed it right sides together along the length of the shorts. Next, I folded it to the back. Finally, I topstitched it down from the right side with a twin needle.

On my pair of Moxi shorts, I did the same thing, but I cut my strip 1.25 inches wide. The extra .25 inches gave me a little more wiggle room to apply it, but I did end up having extra on mine to trim off.

This method is the same way you apply a single fold binding (like finishing the neck or armholes on a tank). The only difference is that I don’t stretch the binding like I would on a knit tank.  I do give the binding a very small amount of stretch, though, when going over the side seam so that it lays down correctly and doesn’t gape.

This finishing looks a little different than the regular Moxi shorts because the binding finishes at 1/4 inch instead of the 3/8 inch in the pattern because I applied the strip with my serger, which has a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Even though the binding finishes slightly smaller, it was so worth it because it went on FAST and looks so CLEAN! Even though it was swim, it did not shift or move, and I did not cry a single tear or need to get out my seam ripper! I finished these shorts in about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours!

If you prefer the look of the wider 3/8 inch binding, then cut your strip a little wider and use a 3/8 inch seam allowance when you apply it to the right side.

For my Moxi swim shorts, I was a little undecided on size to make. I am between sizes, so when I make the Moxi’s in stretch woven, I use the smaller size. So, I wasn’t sure whether to go down an additional size, and I didn’t want my shorts to be too small, especially in the crotch. So, I used my normal size, and then I ended up needing to take the legs in a little. Everything else felt perfect, but my legs gaped more than they would in a stretch woven. Here is how I took my legs in – I just overlapped the lower back piece a little more than normal when sewing it to the upper back piece.

This is the same adjustment you would make for a small butt, for any extra that you have in the lower bottom of your shorts, or if your leg openings are too wide. You can also see what my binding looks like on the inside because I did not change my bobbin thread!

Our Tops

For my daughter’s top, I made her another Reagan Rash Guard from Made for Mermaids. She loves the one I already made her (and blogged about here) and asked for one that was a little shorter. She didn’t want the crop length so I just cut it exactly between the crop and full length. I used the crop band and elastic lengths in the chart since the pattern is a straight cut. The elastic helps the top to stay down, which is key for going on water slides.

For my top, I used part of a pattern that is in the works at Greenstyle Creations. I am super excited about this one and can’t wait to see it go into testing. I have already made one in cotton lycra and loved it, and I can’t get over how perfect it is in YSS. It will work for the pool in the summer and for the gym all year long.

I am wearing a Power Sports Bra under my top. I think the strappy version is just my favorite.

Swim Bottoms

Underneath my Moxi Shorts, I am wearing the high waist option on the North Shore Swimsuit bikini bottoms. These were my favorite bottoms when I did the Sew Along in late May so I was excited to have enough scraps left over to make another pair. (You can find the full sew along with video support for sewing these HERE).

I love the feel of the YSS fabric by Zenith and Quasar. It is a bit more stable feeling than regular swim so if you are a beginner, I would recommend this as a swim fabric to start with. I love that it works for more than just swim, so I am not limited to sewing with in in just one season. It is also a bit more soft and not as slippery feeling compared to most swim, which makes it a breeze to sew with.

I LOVE this suit. It makes my heart so happy. I feel like I can really run around in it and not have to worry about wardrobe malfunctions. I also am excited that everything I made works for the gym, for the pool, and for everything in between. I also keep thinking that if I ever signed up for a triathlon, this is what I would wear, but first, I would need to learn to swim more proficiently so that’s not happening anytime soon. Haha! When I swim, it is more like hanging out and watching my kids and keeping them alive.

What Happened to My LEG?

Do you see the big gash on my lower leg? I wished I could tell you some exciting story about how that happened. My husband said I should write that I was attacked by a shark, but in reality, it was a laundry basket. My son tore part of a laundry basket, and when I walked by, the torn edge cut me. OUCH!

Being a stay at home mom to 5 kids has it’s rough days, and today was one of those, but here I am still smiling, and I took my kids to the beach club and got them raspas when it was all over with. So, I feel like I am winning, even though my leg still really hurts!!

Thanks for reading! I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram, or you may receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. 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.

Resources

• The Zenith and Quasar YSS I used on my suit is called Hummingbird Hideout. The YSS I used on my daughter’s suit is called Geo Splatter. I found the black in my stash. It is a swim fabric from Made Whimsy (or possibly somewhere else?)
• The shorts pattern I used for both of us is the Moxi Shorts. The high waisted swim bottoms I am wearing is part of the North Shore Swimsuit pattern. The rash guard my daughter is wearing is the Reagan Rash Guard.
• You can find the sew along for the north shore here.

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 the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own. I also received this YSS fabric for free (after paying shipping). 

Last month I joined in on the Fit Capsule Challenge in the Greenstyle Group, and this challenge has been so fun. You can read my planning post here that I wrote when I started this challenge. There is still a week left, so join in if you haven’t already.

For today’s post, I have some exciting new capsule additions to show you! I also will talk about octopuses, my current fitness life, and how you can make the power bra into a non-racerback bra.

Let’s start with my most recent capsule items. I made the Greenstyle Tie Back tank using a tencel jersey fabric I got from LDG Textiles. This tank is so soft and comfortable to wear and is a great basic that goes with EVERYTHING. A charcoal tank has been on my list to sew for quite some time, and I am glad the capsule challenge encouraged me to finally make it!

For my tights, I made another pair of Strides, and of course, with my scraps I made another Power Sports Bra. I seem to make another Greenstyle Power Bra with each new pair of tights that I make. I have been living in these bras. This was my first time to make the U shaped back included in the pattern. I adjusted the U Back after my initial trial proved that it was too wide on my back. I removed a little less than 1/4 inch from the center fold and added it to the side to make the U more narrow. Now, it lands exactly where intended.

I also made the nursing version included in the pattern. I absolutely love having a nursing bra that I can work out in and lounge in. I have to remove 1 and 5/8 inch from each strap to get the straps where they offer the right support. Adjusting the straps is so easy in the nursing version.

Octopuses

Ok, so let’s talk about this FABRIC!! This octopus tentacle fabric is on Preorder at Zenith and Quasar.  It comes in several colorways, and this one is my favorite. The colors on this one are more of a camo brown/grey/green and are soooo yummy and neutral.

My boys LOVE science. Almost every day they will come up to me with our current science book, asking me to do science with them (we are homeschooling). It just so happens that we are studying mollusks at the moment and have spent the past few days studying cepholopods, specifically, OCTOPUSES!! (yes, it is octopuses as a plural because octopus is not a Latin-based word so the plural is not octopi). I was so excited when I received this tentacle fabric from Lilly because it makes me feel a little like Mrs. Frizzle.

Our current way to do science is that I will read a section out of the book, and then, we watch some youtube videos together that show some action behind all of my words. My boys loved watching how octopuses camouflage on the videos, that they can spray ink, and that they can squish their body into the tiniest of crevices.

You can preorder this print here. The preorder ends March 9th and the fabric will arrive mid-April. The base I used for this set is printed on YSS, which is a nylon spandex base that is perfect for activewear or swim. It is also offered on performance boardshort (which is a stretch woven) and on athletic brushed poly. The boys love my pants so much that I will be ordering more of this fabric on athletic brushed poly to make them some tanks this summer.

FITNESS

With all this talk of sewing for my Fit Capsule, I have to talk a little about fitness. I have lost a few pounds over the last year and have been asked a lot recently about what I do to stay fit. I have worked out consistently for the past 16 years, but I still have to go through the journey of getting back to normal after each baby. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a photo of me on this exact day last year when the Super G Tights released (you can see that blopost here), and on the right is a photo of me today.

I had a baby 2 months before the photo on the left and still just felt squishy all over. So, I started back going to the gym. I quickly became frustrated with trying to get into a workout routine, though, because it just felt like I was loading way too much into my day.

I realized I needed a more realistic goal so I decided to make my body move every day and to eat well. This means that my workouts are very different from day to day. Some days I do work out videos like Fitness Blender on Youtube, some days I run outside, and other days I do squats holding my one year old. I try to go to the gym when I can, but I just can’t feasibly be religious about it in this season. I also do PE time with my kids in the afternoon in our living room. Have you ever seen a 4 year old do mountain climbers? I laugh every time while he beats me.

Most days, though, my work out is just my entire day. I learned this from Katie Bowman of Nutritious Movement, who has written several books on the topic and is wonderful to follow on social media, to try to include movement through out my day rather than just in a short period of time at the gym. She really changed a lot of my perspective in regards to staying healthy, and I try to apply some of her tips to my life (lots of walking and squats).

Also, I breastfeed, which takes a lot of energy in itself. As far as food goes, I eat A LOT. I notice if I don’t eat, I get hungry, and when I am hungry, I am not nice and I don’t make good decisions. I also eat chocolate and drink lots of tea (herb tea with honey and milk). Life is not good if you don’t allow yourself treats. I could talk a lot about what I eat, but maybe I will leave that for another post. Let’s move onto the next outfit I made!!

I am wearing the same capsule tencel tank for this outfit that I wore in the previous outfit, but now I paired it with a new Power Bra + Strides combo. I took these photos on a warm sunny day a week ago. It felt so good to be out that day with the kids. Fast forward to today (the photos above), and it is rainy and barely 40 degrees!!

Non Racerback Power Sports Bra

This Power Sports Bra was my first U back before I knew I needed the U to be narrower so I did not make the adjustment on this bra that I talked about above. I made this one per the pattern in my measured size (28D) but instead of crossing the straps, I just put them straight over my shoulders like a regular bra. I had to shorten them a bit more so that they gave the right support since they did not need the length of going across my back anymore. This one has the same support and is very comfortable to wear.

I made this a nursing bra as well. I used cups from Amazon in the first bra, but did not on this bra. You can tell that I don’t have as much definition in this bra without the cups.

I am noticing on my Power Bras that it is much quicker and easier to use 1.5 inch plush elastic for the band. I did this on my tentacle bra, but not on this one.

When I use the plush elastic, I cut mine a little longer too because the recommendations in the pattern are a little too constricting to get over my shoulders. I am able to go a few inches up and still get a very nice fit with this plush elastic. They sell it at Joanns, and I just buy some when I have a 50 or 60% off coupon or it is on sale. When I use it, I attach it to the bottom of the bra, right sides together, and then topstitch the seam allowance up towards the bra. I usually just use a zig zag stitch to topstich, but you can use a coverstitch to do this if you have one.

I am so happy with how this outfit turned out. The scales are a swim fabric that I got in a local destash and the lilac is supplex from my friend Aimee Wilson. You can check out her blog here.

Resources

1. The pattern for my tank is the Greenstyle Tie Back Tank.
2. The charcoal fabric for my tank is from LDG Textiles.
3. The pattern I used for both of my tights is the Greenstyle Stride tights. I have blogged about them here and here.
4. The tentacle fabric for my bra and Stride tights is on preorder at Zenith and Quasar. The preorder ends March 9th.
5. The Power Sports Bra pattern can be found here. I also have blogged about it here.

Do you see where the camera caught a bug flying by my butt? Haha!