Along with many people it seems, I've picked up roller skating during this time of social distancing and staying at home. A girl can never have to many hobbies, right? Like many other 80s babies I spent a ton of time at the rink as a kid and had some roller blades in the 90s. I even worked for a little while as a Sonic carhop and skated orders out to customers. During college I borrowed a friends rollerblades and bladed around campus. I always really loved skating so when the gyms were closed and I wanted an activity that would get me moving and outdoors I figured why not skate? It's so much more fun that just walking and I HATE running.
Well the next step was definitely to blend my two hobbies and since controlling a foot pedal in skates doesn't seem practical, skating in me made outfits was the obvious way to go. I knew I wanted a cute pair of retro shorts and a matching top.
I chose this black and white interlock fabric to make the set. The black has sold out, but green and white are available here. Interlock is a weird knit to me. It's medium weight like a ponte, but without the recovery. I felt like this style of retro gym shorts are typically made with interlock, but if I had to make it again I'd go with a ponte instead.
For the top I used the recently released Studio Calicot Liv tank. This is a great staple racerback tank! It used just under a yard of fabric, even for the largest size, making it a great scrap buster. I opted to add the white neck and armbands for the retro contrast. This is really a quick satisfying sew. So many options! I could see this extended into a dress.
It's really all about the shorts! I used Purl Soho City Shorts pattern because they have the exact retro shorts look I wanted. These shorts were designed to be sewn out of a woven, but because this knit doesn't have a great amount of stretch I was able to achieve a good fit by going a size down. Bias tape is called for for the trim along the hem of the shorts, but since I used a knit fabric simply cut 2" strips by the width of the fabric. To attach the trim I sew the strips to the hem using a 1/2" seam allowance then folded the strip over to enclose the raw edge and to the wrong side of the fabric and topstitched it in place
You GO and keep up both hobbies. You shine and really brightened my day. Skating is fun but I think this 72 year old will stick to walking not as fun but safer.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I figure I might as well enjoy all that I can for as long as I can!
DeleteWow, awesome! (How’s that for an 80’s throwback?) what a great idea to get back into an activity you love. Definitely try the ponte soon!
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