Made By A Fabricista: Activate

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Back in February I went to hot yoga for the very first time. I remember finding it super challenging and I am pretty sure I looked completely crazy trying to execute the poses for the first time. Somehow I stuck with it and have absolutely fell in love with the practice.

Nowadays I go into my classes confident, I am able to keep up and get into poses more easily and have seen my strength build. This has been a catalyst for an overall change in my personal life. I am back to working out regularly, enjoying yoga and I have even joined a run club!

To keep up in my fitness journey I found myself needing more activewear clothing. Of course I found it to be way cooler to try and make myself new pieces. When I saw Fabric Mart started to offer Beyond Yoga knit fabrics I was really excited. The quality of fabrics is absolutely amazing, probably some of the best knits I’ve used.

I made two sets and two pairs of leggings that I could mix.

The first set was used with a mauve Jacquard knit. I loved the recovery stretch and hand of the fabric. It is also moisture wicking so you don’t feel soaked after a workout. I used two patterns from Etsy. The top had a crossback and the bottoms had a crossover waistband and I loved that detail.

While sewing, this fabric is a little thicker than some typical knits, so I had to completely readjust my serger to get the proper tension. I made sure to use needles for the serger. Even with all of my adjusting the tension was not completely to my liking however I made it work. To hem, I used my coverneedle machine and used a double needle to topstitch in some areas.

The next set was a dark blue animal print jacquard knit the same as the mauve set. I used the same pattern only making a full pair of leggings. This time I straight stitched first while slighting pulling to ease some of the tension and then serged the raw edges. I used my double needle to both hem and topstitch.

The next thing was a pair of leggings using an olive green spaced dyed brushed knit. For the pants I used Know Me #2051, this was a quick and easy sew. The waistband has ⅜” elastic running through the top edge, it also features pockets which I omitted this time around. For the other pair of leggings I used Simplicity #9620 using the same fabric in a purple colorway. For both leggings I used a double needle to hem, and my serger to sew the seams. Both leggings also matched well with the tops of the sets.

Overall this has me wanting to try and make more activewear pieces because I find more joy in making the things that I wear.

JASMINE | @sewmuchjazz

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!

You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: ACTIVEWEAR & BEYOND YOGA.

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