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: 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...

Made By A Fabricista: A Simple Frock for Spring

Hello friends! I’m really into sewing and wearing tent dresses at the moment. A tent dress is basically a wide A-line style gown. For this month’s project, I’ve opted to try out The Assembly Line’s Square Neck Dress. This style is a little avant-garde in its enormity and shape, and boasts the squared neckline it’s named after, plus some cute hem side slits.  All that volume is fun to move around in, plus there’s loads of air circulation which is cooling. This dress’s main feature–its wide and high squared neckline–really piqued my interest recently, and I added it to my Make Nine plans for 2025. I find it so satisfying to check off those boxes as I sew!  This beautiful shirtweight linen is a color I simply adore; a muted medium blue. Stormy skies, worn-in denim, and ocean waves all come to mind, and that is exactly what I want to be all wrapped up in. While I think a wild or large print would be amazingly on display in this big canvas of a dress, I also thought that a subtle ...

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

 As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...