MakeNine2020: Strappy Athletic Wear

I've found sometimes I need a little challenge to kick me into meeting my sewing goals for the year. Greenstyle Creations hosts an athletic capsule challenge every February using their patterns. This was the challenge I needed to make the strappy sports bra workout set of my dreams. No seriously, it was. 

This isn't my first go with Greenstyle patterns. They are the athletic patterns I keep going back to because they fit for athletic use so well. Angelyn, the owner and pattern designer, is a HIIT teacher and knows what is needed for high impact athletic apparel. 

I've been busy on my Peloton bike several days a week. With this, I need athletic apparel that stays put with biking. I also just feel more invigorated when I have a new fun matching athletic set. To meet the requirements of the Greenstyle capsule challenge, I needed to make 3 pieces. I chose to make the Power Bra, Stride capris and Elevate overlay. 

Fabrics

The fabrics I used for this capsule include an athletic knit, yoga knit, supplex and distressed. I don't remember where the main fabric is from but I do know I bought it on clearance earlier this year. The black accents are all using black raven 280gsm yoga knit from Knitpop.  This is my favorite everyday athletic knit that I use for regular leggings and athletic use. 

For the lining of the Power Bra, I used purple supplex from Mily Mae Fabrics. Not only does it coordinate, it's the perfect support level for me. For the Elevate Overlay I used the purple haze distressed knit from Mily Mae also. 

Power Sports Bra

The Power Sports Bra changed my view on sports bras. Never have I had a sports bra that's fit so well and stayed put while working out. I've made several and love each one. Standard sports are only razorbacks and I don't find those fit me well. I have broad shoulders and find that the racerback style pulls on my shoulders and is uncomfortable. The Power Bra can be made as a racerback but also strappy or with a u-back. I mean, it's custom so I've even added length to the racerback to fit my shape. 

My goal for this set though started with a strappy inspiration. I followed the even strappier power bra hack on the Greenstyle blog for this amazing version. Of course though, a hack may not make complete sense for you and that's okay. I decided that I don't prefer vertical straps so I removed those from the plan. 

I chose to line this Power Bra with supplex. I know a lot of others find adding power net to their sports bra give added support. I find it's a bit too much support for me though. I just like the thickness and strength the supplex adds. This supplex from Mily Mae Fabrics I've used for athletic shorts and an all supplex power bra in the past. It's a great weight at 273gsm. 

In the hack, it was recommended to use glue or wonder tape to keep the multiple straps in place before attaching. I gave this a try with some washable wonder tape and wow did it make a difference! The final effect of this Power Bra quickly made it my favorite one yet. I did a climb ride today and can say that this was supportive for me!

Strides Capris

I've made one other pair of Strides in the past which I really like. I then tried the Super G's and just loved the gusset so much I forgot to try the Strides again. What drew me to the Strides in the first place is their cool curved side seam accent. I really like that all of the Greenstyle legging patterns come with so many different lengths. For this pair, I made my first pair of capri length. I find I get hot biking especially as the weather gets warmer so this length just made sense. 

The Strides can be made with or without pockets in the side panels. I'd highly recommend adding at least one pocket so you can stash your keys or phone in them. The benefit to adding the pocket is that it then uses two smaller pattern pieces rather than a larger, oddly curved piece. I added them to both sides on this pair for that reason. 

For fit, I've lost a bit of weight so think I would size down or take a bit larger seam allowance next time. The fabric weight can also play into the fit from pair to pair. The Strides have been updated since my first pair which was helpful. They now include thigh and calf measurements in the sizing info to help with fit. My only negative with this is that it's a range of sizing. I fall into 3 sizes for the calf but don't find all 3 fit me well. 

I did modify the Strides to use my favorite contour waistband rather than the one included with this pattern. That contour waistband is the peg legs add-on contour waistband. I didn't need to make any changes to the Strides to get this to fit, it just did. I did this mainly because I find Greenstyle waistbands to fall down without elastic but can wear the peg legs contour waistband without elastic all the time without it falling. 

Elevate Overlay

The Elevate is a pattern I just picked up in February as Greenstyle had a sale code during this capsule challenge. I've been eyeing it for months with many ideas on use in my head, it was hard to narrow them down. The Elevate is a two piece pattern. It features a crop top and an overlay. I plan on hacking the crop into a sports bra in the upcoming weeks. For now, I ended up making the tie back option of the overlay to round out this capsule. 

My intent was for long sleeves with cuffs but because I've never been great at measuring my fabric before cutting, I didn't have enough for the sleeves. I changed my plan and went with the tank option instead. I have to say, it's not my favorite. Since there isn't a separate tank or sleeveless cutline from the sleeved version, the armsyce is too high for my preference. I envisioned this having a low dropped armsyce and that wasn't the case. If I make this again I'll either add sleeves or lower the armsyce significantly. 

There are a few things I did differently than how the pattern was drafted. I chose to use bands with topstitching rather than binding. I didn't think the distressed knit I used would work well for binding. I made this change for the neckline and sleeveless armsyce. The other change is I opted to not hem the bottom of this. The distressed knit funnily enough doesn't unravel so I didn't think I needed this last step. Instead, I just threaded my serger tails back through the side seams. 

Based on my measurements, I graded from a D chest to F hip. The only fit guidance in the pattern was to size down if between sizes. I can confidently say for the tie back, I won't grade out on my next one. I had more than enough ease for a large double knot tie on the back. The tie back did fit better than I expected and is the perfect open, floppy back to accentuate my super cool power bra back. 

MakeNine2020

This workout set was the MakeNine that I was the most excited about making. I have SO MANY inspirations saved on Pinterest. I think this strappy set showed me that other strappy hacks are achievable. Although they take extra time, I love having something unique to wear.

Happy Sewing!
~Katie

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