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.
My merino jersey Winter Base Layer top
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.
A Golden Velvet Moneta Dress
I started as new office job back in May (I’m a product manager in the music/tech space when I’m not designing sewing patterns or writing books!) and since this company is significantly bigger than all the previous offices I’ve worked for in the past, I’ve spent the last few months getting excited about the prospect of the first big office Christmas party of my life. And of course, with that comes What To Wear.
A Houndstooth-Quilted Top & Olive Trousers
It seems like no matter how many separates I make, I always seem to need more in my wardrobe. I feel like I do a pretty good job at sewing what I actually wear, but each morning when I go to get dressed for the office, I still end up reaching for the same few pairs of jeans and trousers, so I wanted to shake things up a bit and sew something outside my comfort zone that would still be useful and acceptable to wear to work.
Black ponte Brooklyn trousers
After the excitement levels of the last few posts, I’ve got a decidedly less exciting make to share with you today. But frankly, our wardrobes need a mix of workhorse items that you can pair with all the showier makes, and mine was in particular need of office-appropriate trousers that weren’t jeans but I could still cycle in easily (unlike, say, my Named Jamie jeans, which are far too tight in the leg and low-rise for cycling, ergh).
So when I got an email that Style Arc had marked a number of their Amazon-stocked patterns on deep discount, I took the bait and bought myself the Brooklyn Pant pattern. I figured a knit trouser would be easily to cycle in, versatile, yet not look too scruffy. And the pockets were a bonus!