Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Tennis Apparel Chic

  Hi everyone! I’m back again joining you today with another blog. As of lately, I have been participating in various physical activities to improve my health such as: running, Pilates, strength training, etc. I love wearing spunky/cute workout wear, because we still want to be fashionable at the gym right?! It dawned on me that I have never made any activewear, so I decided to give it a try. 

This year it feels like tennis outfits/skirt & pickleball outfits have been all the rage. I have recently seen them in all of the major stores. Not only are they adorable to wear, but they are multifunctional (at least in my eyes). You can of course play tennis/pickle ball in them, workout in them, or just have an everyday wear in them. 

For this outfit, I did not use a commercial pattern. For the skirt pattern, I had an old pleated skirt that I got the measurements from & created the pattern from that. When freelancing a pattern, it’s always important that you add seam allowance & you measure thoroughly so that you do not make mistakes. 

For the shirt, I created the pattern using an old shirt that I had. I traced around the shirt using a tracing wheel & some construction paper to mark around it. Once everything was outlined onto the paper, I graded the lines & made sure all the curves & measurements were properly done before cutting out. 

The hardest thing about making this garment was actually creating the pattern. I searched high & low for a sewing pattern that was already made to look similar. I couldn’t find one anywhere. The actual fabric from Fabric Mart was extremely easy to work with & it was the most beautiful pattern. For activewear I tend to wear more neutrals, but this was too gorgeous to pass up! The best thing about active wear/stretch material is that it is very giving; meaning, if you mess up there is an easier solution than if you messed up sewing with a woven material. 

I absolutely loved the final results. While this was my first time making activewear, I felt the outfit was very true to me. I can honestly say that I can see myself wearing this around a lot.  Initially when I was creating this outfit I went for a different silhouette & styled dress & I’m sure glad that it didn’t work out with the other garment, because I am thrilled with this one. 

MACY  @macycamile


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: ACTIVEWEAR.

Comments

  1. Your skirt is wonderful, I love the classic pleats.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You did a fabulous job drafting and creating this look. This would be cute in solids too, but the fabric is a stunner! It takes it over the top. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very stylish Macy. Amazing that you drafted the pattern yourself! Terrific fabric choice too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Three Bengaline Basics – A Jacket, Skirt and Vest

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews excited to share my latest Fabricista makes with you.  When Fabric Mart offered an array of stretch bengaline suiting fabrics , I choose three different fabrics to sew myself a few basics to be worn as the season transitions from winter to spring. The bengaline fabric I used is a woven rayon/nylon/lycra blend fabric with the stretch running vertically (lengthwise on the fabric) instead of horizontally (selvage to selvage).  It lends itself well to fitted and structured garments, such as jackets, pants, skirts and dresses. Because of the vertical stretch, I folded the fabric cross grain to cut out my fabric pieces so the greatest stretch would go around my body.   I used a stretch needle size 75/11 due to the lycra in the fabric. I also eliminated the interfacing as I discovered this fabric did not like fusible interfacing and I did not have any sew-in interfacing on hand.   Now let’s talk about the garments...

Made By A Fabricista: FROM FABRIC TO FASHION: - The Saguaro Set with Fabric Mart Fabric

The weather in Southwest Florida is finally starting to warm up.  With the warm air and bright sunshine, I have been thinking about refreshing my “at home” wardrobe with some fun easy pieces this year.     I have wanted to make The Saguaro Set for some time now.   When I saw the beautiful selection of rayon challis on the Fabric Mart website, I knew now was the perfect time to get it started.   THE FABRIC I researched a lot to see which fabric would work the best for this pattern.   I chose the Deep Amaranth Pink 100% Rayon Twill Challis for my project.    It is a beautiful color that to me looks more coral. The fabric is light to medium weight and has beautiful drape.  The care instructions said gentle wash or hand wash.   I prewashed the fabric in cold water on the delicate cycle.  However, after drying it on the delicate cycle, the fabric had an almost vintage distressed look.   I was a bit co...

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then.  I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?”  Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...