This is a pattern for close-fitting capris or shorts in three lengths with contrast side panels. There’s an integrated pocket at each hip, perfect for gels, keys, or your phone plus an optional padding piece for cyclists wanting some extra comfort on their ride. An elasticated, high-rise waistband means they won’t shift around as you move, either!
$10.99USD (£6.84)
Duathlon Shorts Pattern
My galaxy-print birthday sheath dress
Happy birthday to meeeeee! I hinted about it last week, but I decided to celebrate the occasion this year by sewing up something special to wear, using a fabric that I’ve lusted over for months even before I broke down and ordered it. My feeling is that if you adore the fabric or pattern (or both!) then the resulting garment is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit.
For this dress I used the Derek Lam-inspired knit sheath from the January 2014 Manequim magazine combined with the most amazing galaxy print ponte jersey which is even nicer in real life, I swear! It’s a digital print on a smooth, white ponte jersey base, and it’s both stable and stretchy, making it the bestest fabric ever (and I have just over a metre leftover! woo!).
It’s been a while since I sewed a Manequim pattern and I’ve dropped in size over the past few months of marathon training to a 42 (Burda 40), so I decided to sew up a muslin of this first to test the fit. The resulting turquoise ponte muslin was very close fitting, and I wasn’t entirely certain at first whether it was too tight, or utterly perfect. So I lounged around in it for a day, decided it was comfortable enough, then cracked on with the final version without any pattern changes.
The final version is definitely tighter than the muslin, though, and I’m fairly certain it’s down to adding the lining layer, even though it’s stretchy! You can definitely see some horizontal pulls in the dress showing it’s a tad too tight, and it’s a struggle to get that waist seam on and off over my boobs, but one it’s on, it’s not uncomfortable, thankfully!
The pattern is really simple – a front bodice with both vertical and horizontal bust darts, back bodice with long vertical darts, raglan cap sleeves, and a skirt pattern with vertical waist darts (the same skirt pattern is used for both front and back). The pattern calls for a long invisible zipper, but as I could easily get the muslin dress on and off without it, I was going to leave it off the finished version, too…
…until I discovered the most perfect purple, metal teeth zipper in my stash! So then I decided I had to use it and make it an exposed zipper feature instead. It was a bit shorter than I’d have liked, but it reached exactly to the waist seam, which worked out nicely visually (though for ease of getting in and out of it, a longer zipper would’ve been much better!).
Burda magazine April 2014
I wasn’t overly keen on last month’s issue, but there’s a lot to love in this one! Even the designs I didn’t like definitely had their own merit – lots of details and designs with thought behind them, and nary a shapeless sack in sight! But let’s take a peek inside for my picks…
I didn’t like much from the Southern style feature (nothing wrong with it, just not for me!), but I love that Burda have snuck in another cycling pattern, hot on the heels of last month’s seat cover! I really love the look of panniers, and I think these are a great design, with or without the frills.
The only Southern style garment that really jumped out at me was this shirt with the front, “bib” yoke. I don’t tend to sew many woven shirts for myself, but I really like this pattern, and it’d definitely be good in the summer heat!
I’m convinced that someone at Burda HQ has either studied at Bunka, or else is just really into Japanese-style pattern cutting, because we’ve had at least one design a month that just has Bunka written all over it, and this dress is certainly it. I had a bit of a “Burda WTF” reaction at first, but the more I looked at it, the more I think it might actually be kinda cool. Or uncomfortable – I’m not so sure about that left sleeve with the flat sleevehead. But I’m kinda into the uneven tube concept, even though I’m unsure whether it’d work in real life.
Here we see the cover dress in more detail, and it’s utterly gorgeous. This is the best about Burda – a flattering, edgy, and well designed dress that’s made accessible to everyone. Those skirt petals are just inspired and the topstitching and seaming is just icing on the cake.
A sneaky peek of next week
Two big and exciting things are happening next week, and I wanted to give you a tiny peek at both of them so that you’re as excited as I am!
First – it’s my birthday on Tuesday, and I’m sewing myself something special, like I do every year. This year it’s going to be in the form of that Derek Lam-inspired knit sheath from the January 2014 Manequim magazine combined with the most amazing galaxy print ponte jersey which is pretty much the only selfish Me Fabric I’ve bought in six months.
Oh, and I happened to find this perfect zipper in my stash, so it’s going to be exposed in the back!
The second exciting thing is that my next pattern is ready for a launch next week!!
Please welcome the Duathlon shorts into your life! They come in three lengths: Booty Shorts, Biker Shorts, or Capris, and feature contrast side panels with integrated pockets (perfect for your phone, gels, or keys). There’s also optional crotch padding to make cycling more comfortable, and they’re perfect for cycle commuters who prefer to wear skirts but still want some padding (and modesty!), but also for runners, dancers, lifters, and yoga-heads, too.
Manequim magazine February 2014
Wow, everyone in Brazil must’ve been partying their bums off at carnival because my February issue was really late – I’d normally be expecting to see March any day now! But I’m just glad it arrived at all, because it’s a really good one, and features one must sew for me in particular!
First up are the Plus offerings for this issue. They may not seem like much, but all three look to be very wearable and versatile, and those bermuda shorts are offered in multiple sizes, too.
The designer style section this month is Victoria Beckham, and, all Spice Girl and WAG celebrity-BS aside, I actually really love a lot of her designs and find they intersect with my own personal style an awful lot. Here we get patterns for a really nicely shaped sheath dress, narrow trousers, and – the one that made me bolt upright when I turned the page – a draped, crossover blouse.
OH. MY. GOD. I adore… freaking adore… this blouse! That I can’t quite immediately work out the construction of that drape from the pattern pieces makes me want to make it even more. And, umm, it’s also in my new size, too. LOVE!
Announcing the Spring Race Challenge!
Everybody could use a bit more motivation to exercise, right? In my opinion, spring time is the absolute best time to start exercising if you haven’t been doing as much as you’d like, and what better way to motivate yourself than with some pretty new exercise gear that fits you perfectly?
The Spring Race Challenge is simple – sew up some exercise gear, and sign up to a race.
Sewing:
It doesn’t matter whether the sewing is self-drafted, from one of my patterns, or from another pattern company. The important bit is that you’ve sewn it yourself!
Racing:
It doesn’t matter what sport you’re into – running, cycling, swimming, karate, gymnastic, cross fit, whatever! You do not have to be speedy. This isn’t about beating your competition, or getting a new PB, or signing up to some lofty challenge – this is all about picking a goal and motivating yourself to work towards it. If running is your thing, I highly recommend checking out your local Parkrun – they’re free, timed 5km runs every Saturday around the world.
How to take part!
Step 1: Place the Spring Race Challenge badge somewhere on your blog (if you have one – if not, tell a friend or tweet it with #SweatAndSew or post it to Facebook!).
Londoners – Come sew with me! Teeshirts, Leggings and Panties!
I’m teaching a bunch more classes in the next month and wanted to let you all know in case any of you Londoners fancied coming and learning about the joys of stretch fabrics from me!
All of the classes are aimed at beginners – you should know the basics of a sewing machine, but don’t necessarily have ever worked with stretch fabrics before. You’ll get to know the fun of an overlocker, the joys of a twin needle, and come away with a newfound greed for all things jerseys.
They all take place at the ThriftyStitcher studio in Stoke Newington, right by Clissold Park (an easy walk from Canonbury Overground or there are tons of buses), and include unlimited tea, coffee, and biccies to fuel your sewing.
Sew a Classic Breton Tee
Sunday 30 March, 14:30-18:00
Does your life need a little ooh la la? Is there a certain je ne sais quoi missing from your wardrobe? Learn to sew the classic Breton tee with us! You should already be comfortable using a sewing machine, and this class will cover stretch fabric basics as well as an introduction to the overlocker (serger).
You’ll make a striped, long or 3/4 sleeved teeshirt using a pattern, which will give you the skills you need to sew your own teeshirts (long or short sleeved) at home.
Exercise eye candy
It’s been a while since I showed you some of the amazing finished versions of my first two patterns I’ve spotted from around the internet (over a month, in fact!), so I thought I’d show off some of the amazing diversity of workout gear others have achieved.
My own printed PB Jams and mocha T-Back Workout Top
I’ll start off with two versions of my own that you’ve seen peeks of in the pattern photos, but not properly had a look at. This is probably my favourite pair of PB Jam Leggings I’ve made so far – I used some printed lycra from Minerva (sold out now!) teamed up with some neon red wicking lycra from my stash and I swear I get compliments every single time I wear them!
The top is a very early version of the T-Back XYT Workout Top, and one I wasn’t entirely happy with – you can see a lot of pulling around the neckline that I eliminated in later revisions of the pattern, but I wanted to show this one anyway so you could see the contrast coverstitch binding edges and my use of braided trim at the vertical T piece. I’d used the same neon red wicking lycra for the accents so these two coordinate rather nicely when work together – you could easily do the same by using your leggings swirl fabric in your upper back piece on the workout top.
Here you can see the classic (non-invisible) pocket in the centre back, and that it really does keep your phone and gels close enough to not bounce or bulge!
And lastly, I just really like this shot my dad took of me in these leggings while I was running around a frosty park in Virginia last November.
Beaute’ J’Adore’s Reebok-inspired PB Jams
I love this idea – Nikki had the opportunity to design her own pair of Reebok trainers, so of course she took it one step further and made her own leggings to match!
How amazing is it that this is the first activewear she’s sewn, too?! (Seriously, go back and look at her DIY makes – I’d steal her entire wardrobe if I could!)
Silver Jamie Jeans
I hadn’t realised quite how much I wanted to sew the Jamie jeans pattern from the new Finnish company, Named, until it disappeared off their site for a few days and I kinda freaked out that I might’ve missed the opportunity to make it! Happily, it was only down so they could revamp the pattern and improve the instructions, and I bought it soon after.
Despite my first version/muslin being a total FAIL due to lengthwise-stretch only fabric, I still managed to crack on and sew up a second version without totally losing my nerve, and I now am the proud owner of silvery rockstar jeans. Maybe I need to start a band now, hmmm…
I bought this pattern after Named’s refresh, so I can tell you that the instructions are now illustrated (though with some mistakes – I noticed they forget to say to close the pocket bags!), and you get all the sizes when you buy them, though they’re still split into different pdfs (two sizes per file). There are 1cm seam allowances included, but the stitching lines are also marked, which is helpful.
Thank you to Claire for snapping these photos after our lunch date!
Since all of my trousers are stupidly baggy from my marathon training, I did my best not to go too big and I made these in a size 40, and they’re really close fitting! Don’t get me wrong, I love the fit, but you need some serious stretch in your fabric to make these work.
A Rainbow in Bath
You may have already read Winnie’s post about our weekend (‘cos she’s well faster than me at writing!), but it’s just too big not to post, however late, because…
….I finally got to meet Winnie (aka Scruffy Badger)! Look, we’re on the same couch and everything!
When I was looking at half marathons to run before London Marathon, Winnie stepped up to campaign for Bath, and won me over with her offer of a comfortable bed, carb-loaded dinner, and pre-race breakfast. And all I had to do was show her a few coverstitch tricks. Bargain!
To top it off, she gifted me some of her adorable shoe bows, too, with signature Winnie elephants!
Winnie runs the Bath Half every year, so this was her 5th(!) time running it, but a first for me so I was grateful for a local to get me to the start line on time. And I finally got to race in the PB Jam Leggings I made from the rainbow space-dyed supplex, too.
