This week we’re going to talk about the Hoodie design from my “Sew Your Own Activewear” book! It’s great to hear from so many of you in the UK who’ve been getting in touch to say how much you love the book, and it’s great to see you building up your To Sew lists from it already, too. As a designer it’s really interesting to me to see which designs immediately jump out at people, and the Hoodie has been appearing on quite a few lists – though I’m sure the chilly UK weather might have something to do with it, too!
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Hoodie
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Rashguard
When I was thinking about the sports I wanted to design for in the early stages of writing the book, I knew I wanted to somehow cover swimming, and I initially wanted to include a traditional swimsuit. But when it got down to the drafting instructions, it would’ve been tricky to construct using just the included blocks, or it’d mean I’d need to include a whole separate panty block just for the swimsuit so instead I took inspiration from my friend, Emily, who is an avid Cornish surfer as well as being a runner, climber, cyclist, and all-around advocate for natural movement (and indeed, the athlete model for this design in the book!).
My feather-print Winter Base Layer top
So I’ve already shown you two versions of the Winter Base Layer top but both are really similar, both in colourblocking and for using the exact same base fabric. But this design is so much more versatile than what you’ve seen so far, and I wanted my second version to be a little different! So I changed up the way I played with the colourblocking and used some different fabrics, and I love this version just as much as my merino one!
My merino jersey Winter Base Layer top
Yesterday I talked all about the version of the Winter Base Layer top that appears in my “Sew Your Own Activewear” book, and you can tell I really liked it because I ended up making myself one that’s almost identical!! As much as I love my athlete models (and you know I do!) it was tough gathering up such gorgeous activewear fabrics and then making all the book designs to the measurements of my models, not for me! So once I had a bit of breathing time and the weather cooled down a bit, I knew I’d need a few more versions of this top to add to my own running wardrobe.
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Winter Base Layer
The UK release date for “Sew Your Own Activewear” is less than a week away – it’s out on Friday you guys!! I’ll be shipping out all the signed pre-orders later this week (as soon as I receive the books myself!) regardless of where you live, so some of you may be getting it a few weeks before everyone else in your country, you lucky darlings, you!
I’m also throwing a bit of a launch party here in London on Friday night, so if you’re local and would like to attend, please leave a comment and I’ll send you the details – there’ll be complimentary punch plus the opportunity to buy signed copies on the night plus meet me and the athlete models from the book, too. And of course the dress code is activewear!!
So with it being launch week, I wanted to choose one of my favourite designs to focus on this week – the Winter Base Layer top!
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Yoga Bottoms
It’s a fresh new week and it’s now the turn to look at the other design featured on the cover of “Sew Your Own Activewear” – the Yoga Bottoms! When I was developing this design I really wanted an easy-to-sew pair of leggings with features specifically designed for yoga and other activities which need a wide range of movement.
My autumn leaves Crop Top
I didn’t have much time to sew samples from my book for myself while I was writing, illustrating, drafting, and sewing up samples for my athlete models, but somehow I managed to squeeze in a version of the Crop Top for myself early on in the process – maybe it was because I was sewing a gazillion versions of the blocks for fitting tests at the time and craved sewing a finished garment! In any case, it meant that I got to take some photos of it on the wonderful Alvanon forms when I was using their fit studio last winter.
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Crop Top
I briefly mentioned the Crop Top design last week when I showed you how to add bust support into the Vest Top, but this week is all about the Crop Top design from my “Sew Your Own Activewear” book! On first glance you might be mistaken for thinking it’s just a shortened version of the Vest Top, but it’s got a lot of unique features of its own.
The “Sew Your Own Activewear” Vest Top
What better place to start than the Vest Top, which is featured on the cover of the book? The description of this design is:
This close fitting, sleeveless top is ideal for the gym, climbing wall, tennis court, or any outdoor warm weather exercise. It features a flattering waistband, scoop neckline and front princess seams for enhanced fitting possibilities. On the back, a triangular shoulder yoke adds visual interest while leaving your shoulder blades unencumbered. Sew this up in thin, wicking, four-way stretch fabrics with either contrast or hidden elastic edges.
A doggy sweatshirt
And now for something completely different… I appear to have made a sweatshirt for a dog!
Stay with me here – my friend Pip and her partner adopted a rescue dog a few weeks ago. Rufus is a very playful one-year old American bulldog who absolutely loves his walks and getting nice and muddy. He has a very thin coat, however, so Pip was concerned that he might be getting a bit cold when the weather dipped into the single digits. So I offered to sew him up a quick coat from offcuts in my stash and we could see whether he’d tolerate wearing it before making him anything nicer.