I bought the new FibreMood “Sports” special issue and there’s quite a bit in it that I want to make, but I thought I’d start off with something simple that I don’t have to buy special fabric for. “Denver” isn’t really a sports bra – there’s zero support there – not even a lining! – just one layer of lycra. It’s called “cropped top” in the magazine and I’d agree with that.
I need an extremely basic sports bra for low impact stretching, walking, and e-biking, so my favourite supportive Jalie Coco pattern seemed like overkill here. I figured Denver would be something quick that’s better than just wearing a cotton Axis tank, and I could use up a bit more of my Lycra scraps drawer in the process.
My first instinct was to grab a piece of leftover green banana leaf print lycra, but it turned out there wasn’t quite enough. So my second choice was scraps of vampire lips fabric (Funkifabrics “Bite Me” with ColourMe changes, on Olympus base), leftover from these leggings I made in January 2023. I had to cut the hem band slightly narrower than drafted, and the back band on the lengthwise grain, but otherwise it fit in, and with no scraps leftover! A win!
Having read through the instructions for Denver, I knew I would be changing it a bit. FibreMood have you cut a single layer of the Front and Back, finish the edges with purchased double-fold lycra bias tape(?!), then fold the hem band in half and thread elastic inside as a casing. 😬 I have multiple issues with this, least of all the single layer, the elastic-in-a-casing that’s prone to twisting and moving around, and as a personal preference, I hate applying lycra bias tape or using my coverstitch binder unless I really have to.
So I opted to cut two of the Fronts and Backs (a lining layer from plain white Active Eco Lycra that was a freebie edge on a printed fabric), join them together at the shoulders, and then again at neckline using clear elastic in my overlocker’s elasticator foot. Then I joined one armhole edge with the elasticator foot, rolled the other one up inside, and did the second one burrito-style. Then I joined the lining and exterior at the side seams. This is basically the construction of the Jalie Coco sports bra, minus the extra seaming.
I then tried it on and I’m glad I did, because it was way too long in the body! I shortened the bottom by 7cm to make the band hit more at my underbust rather than my natural waist, which felt weird. The neck felts a little high to me, too, so next time I’ll lower the scoop in front by 6cm. But that’s just my personal preference!
The suggested elastic length for size XL was 91cm, but I felt 80cm felt more appropriate. I then used the Jalie Coco underbust-band technique to enclose and topstitch the elastic, so I had to narrow the hem band to be the formula “(3x elastic width) + 1cm seam allowance“. So my band should be 7cm wide for my preferred 2cm elastic (or 13cm wide if you prefer the wider 4cm elastic).
This lined version with extra enclosed elastic would be suitable for low-impact exercising, but if you want something more supportive for high-impact sports like running, I highly recommend looking at my Coco blog posts for the adjustments I made there to make them more supportive (especially the two layers of mesh).
Now that I’ve got my changes out of the way, I.m keen to attack my lycra scraps bin and make a bunch more of these…