Hello,
 |
| A top and micro-shorts from Nuppuzine 5 |
This is a post about sewing and what have been my struggles with sewing activewear.
 |
| My beach-wear |
It all began about two years with the thought of making a
shirt and a pair of leggings for swimming, I get sunburn easily and I wanted to
protect my skin on the beach UV-protected rash guards are quite expensive here
in Finland. I found gorgeous swimming lycra from a Finnish company
called Nuppuprint and that was it. I bought some cheap lycra for mockups and I learned
the following:
Tip 1: Get to know your fabrics
Activewear fabrics vary a lot and I think it is worthwhile
to learn about different fabrics and their properties. I wanted to buy the
cheapest possible fabric for my mockups and I bought mine from an online store,
I got two totally different fabrics, even though they both were sold as the same
activewear Lycra. One was a very stretchy swimwear fabric and the other was much
thicker and wasn’t as stretchy. The latter made good leggings, but the first was
a disaster. Buy your fabric from the store or if the company sends out those
small samples, get those before buying the fabric. I also have sent emails to online
stores that are too far for me to visit to ask about different properties of
their activewear fabrics to help me get the best fabric.
I made my leggings and I was pretty happy with them.
I guess I still use them if needed. Then I moved to shirts and leggings for
running and I still am looking for the perfect pattern for running leggings
Tip 2: Get to know your machine and be patient with it
 |
| "Flatlock" made with serger |
Oh, how much I want to get a cover stitch machine just for making activewear, but that is not happening yet, so I have to make do with my serger and sewing machine. I even bought a new sewing machine just to have more options with stretchy fabric and I think Pfaff Ambition 620 works pretty well.
I also learned that I can make a decent-looking "flatlock" with my serger. I recommend searching different YouTube tutorials on how to use your machine, I learned a lot about how to use my serger (Bernina 800dl). It took practice to get it to look nice and hold the seam properly, but it works. I've run with clothes made with this and the seams hold together. It takes time to adjust the settings. Trying to find the right settings for the fabric, especially if I want to use my ”serger flatlock” takes time and a lot of trying, but it is worth it and once you find the right setting for a specific fabric I recommend taking a picture for the next time (helps a lot, trust me in this).
Also, the sewing machine might need adjustments in the thread
tension, and many sewing machines have different options for stitching that
imitate a cover stitch or a serger (I recommend trying those with scrap pieces)
Tip 3: What to do when the stitches look bad
- Taking apart awful stitching or trying to fix a flatlock
made by a serger is scary, but sometimes necessary. I use my sewing machine to
fix messy-looking stitches from a serger. Using sharp pins helps and then I
take time to pick the best-looking option from my sewing machine and then I
take my time to adjust the width and tension.
- To avoid ”stitch trouble” I use stretch needles and super
stretch needles, universal needles just don’t work with stretch fabric and I even try to remember to take a new needle every once in a while.
- Sometimes if my serger makes a suboptimal seam I sew with zig-zag on top of my "flatlock" just in case.
 |
| My two activewear sewing books (SYOA and Nuppuzine 5) |
I’ve found the book ”Sewing your own activewear” by Melissa Fehr quite helpful, it has basic information about how to sew activewear and what kind of fabric you might need, so I recommend at least reading the book if you can get it just for the basic "theory" and for the instructions on fit issues.
The book has basic pattern blocks for tops and bottoms, both close fit and loose. And instructions on how to turn them into the pattern you need (different types of activewear garments including a rash guard and cycling shorts). I'm not a big fan of using a pattern block to construct a pattern, it was just so time consuming.
I tried making a raglan shirt and I drew the leggings pattern, I’m not sure if I’ll sew the leggings in the end and this is where we get to my:
Fit issues
This is probably the most important problem I have when
sewing activewear. Figuring out the problem with the fit sometimes takes countless
hours and trial and error to get the fit at least almost right, and sometimes I
just need to move to a different pattern altogether.
Sewing pants/leggings/trousers is hard and getting something
that fits just right requires patience. I have trouble with the rise in
leggings patterns. Quite often the rise is way too high for me and I end up
with high-waisted leggings that touch the sport’s top I wear especially in the
back. With tops, I have problems getting the fit around my bust and shoulders
right. If I pick my size according to the size chart, I very often end up with
a garment that is too tight.
So what helps?
- With tops/shirts I very often size up and with leggings
I size down and start working with the pattern from there.
I store my used patterns and if I have a pattern close enough I compare my old pattern pieces to the one I’m making to get a general idea if the pattern is doable or will the fit be way off and I don’t even want to bother anymore.
- If I have already made the garment and it is too big: First, I consult a book/Google/YouTube to figure out what the real issue is. Is the rise too high or is the curve in my back that causes the problem or is it the shape of my thighs or is it the width of my shoulder etc? Second: I use pins, a needle, and thread to take out the excess fabric where needed, use a seam ripper and redo what I can. E.g. I’ve taken the waistband off from one pair of leggings three times to work the excess fabric because of the shape of my back and I even redid the crotch seam. It helped and now that pair is wearable.
 |
| Pins below the waistband to take away the excess fabric in the back |
Sometimes a garment is beyond saving I gift it away to someone that will use it or I repurpose the fabric in it.
 |
| My best attempt at sports leggings so far |
These are some thoughts I've had while sewing activewear for myself. When I was younger I tried to sew
lycra a couple of times and I hated it so bad that I didn't use it for over fifteen years, but when I gained more experience and I noticed that it is not too bad and sewing swimwear isn't that scary anymore.
I still have a lot learn, especially with learning to navigate fit issues and how to pick the right fabric for my project and I still want to find/learn how to get those "perfect" leggings. My successes/favorite makes have probably been my sports tops, I've used those a lot. I sized up and took the time to adjust my machine and the end result is much better than I thought and I didn't spend 40-60 euros, I only used scraps from my other activewear projects :)
- Minttusuklaa
