Swim pants & top

Pants

One of the things I was excited to have the prospect of making for myself when I started sewing was a pair of board shorts, which I have never found in my size in the cool surfwear shops. Well, I still haven't done that as I haven't found a source of microfibre in a print I like. For now, I am very pleased to have made these nylon-spandex swim shorts.

There is no elastic in the waistband, only the ties to ensure they don't come off. I avoided elastic to try to avoid muffin-top misfortunes.

I used medium-weight powernet for the lining for a bit of control. It's not exactly uncomfortable, but doesn't suit the relaxed feel I was seeking for the pants. I would choose a light-weight powernet in the future.
I chose to have the wrong side of the lining towards the body to avoid the seams showing through the shell. I'm not sure whether one way or the other is considered proper.

  I also had another lesson in how fabrics behave differently making these pants. As I was developing and fine-tuning the pattern, I made it up in both a very lightweight rayon jersey and a medium-weight cotton/lycra jersey. Both versions fit loosely, the style I wanted for the swim pants. The nylon/spandex ended up fitting a lot more closely than I was hoping for.

It was my first time sewing nylon-spandex and I was very pleasantly surprised. It behaved beautifully right until I got to hemming the pants. At that point, I had a little difficulty controlling it, so I did some unpicking and took some time to baste first. 

I'm really happy with how they turned out. I think the pattern is a keeper, with some refinements. The style line where the side panel meets the back is a bit crude and I would like to jazz up the tie details.

Top

The top was a bit of a throwaway effort. I needed to come up with a top quickly to match the pants. I would like to make one with separate cups in the future, but this was as much as my drafting skills could handle right now. That said, I was pleased to see my skills have evolved a little as I had tried and failed to figure out some bra concepts about a year ago. I modified this crop-top style bra pattern. As I made changes to the pattern where I thought I needed more room or different shaping, I was delighted to see classic bra pattern shapes emerge on the paper.

The top has a wide waistband with sport elastic to provide support and allow me to get the top over my head as it has no closure.

I added clear elastic to the front neckline and armscythes to prevent gaping. I think I didn't stretch it enough on the armscythes. They are not quite gaping, but the fabric sits less firmly against the skin than I would like. I also added some down to the waistband near the CF aiming for some extra shaping there, but that didn't seem to work.

I used the burrito method (my first time!) to attach the lining to the shell. I understitched the neckline, but realised it would not be possible to do the same for the armscythes (tell me if I'm wrong about that). Unfortunately, the lining does roll out a little.  

And boy shorts for her

 The white pairs were made first, mainly as prototypes for a swim short pattern I am developing. They are made from a two-piece pattern with centre seams front and back. For the blue pair, I added a panel in the crotch (am I right in thinking it's not really a gusset?) to avoid a centre seam running through the crotch.

The blue pair were eked out of scraps left over from my husband's boxer shorts. I wouldn't normally have chosen such a wide elastic, but I wanted these pants to match the boxer shorts. So much fun to have matching undies!

I attached the elastic with a wide zig-zag with the idea of adjusting it after I wear them a bit to check how tight I prefer it. I may also upgrade to the better elastic if I see it holds up well in my husband's boxer shorts (I expect so) and I restock.

Boxer shorts for him

I do love making my boxer shorts. This set has several changes. I refined my pattern to lengthen the inseams and smooth the inseam hem-line. I also finally had the chance to use proper elastic for mens' underwear, am so excited about that as I was not happy with the previous options. Finally, I used an overlocker for construction for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised that even the awkward area under the fly was not too difficult to sew.

Catch-up post

I didn't sew much in 2015! I did only one real creative project, and it's not shown here because it has returned to "unfinished" status as I decided it needed some changes. For the sake of completeness, here is what I did make! Photos my be poor quality because they were not taken for sharing purposes and/or I dislike the garment...

Silver long pants: 100% nylon knit

Grey shorts: 92% cotton, 8% lycra

The pants and shorts above were made in April 2015. I must have decided I'd prefer the elastic waists to sit lower.

But seemingly got distracted while making the adjustment as the waist on the next pair (May) ended up way too low (particularly at the back). Did some piecing to get it a little higher. I don't actually mind the result. However, the fabric pilled immediately upon wearing. Unfortunately, I have some more of it in another colour as well.

Grey long pants: rayon/poly/lycra ponte

Ponte pants piecing

Lace cardigan

A lightweight cardigan designed for lace. It also needed to be simple because I had to do the whole project in a hurry.

I didn't draft a pattern for this. I drew a sketch with measurements based on other clothes, sewed up a toile, and refined the design from there. I took a leap of faith, because the toile, made in a polyester knit that was significantly less flowing than the lace, looked awful. It didn't drape nicely at all. I hoped that the shape would appear when the cardigan was made up in the lace. Happily, the lace version turned out in line with my expectations.

I considered underlining, but decided to keep just the lace. I'm happy with that decision.

To keep it very lightweight and because I was in a hurry, I didn't add any interfacing or facing at the front. I think this was a mistake as the center front seems to need reinforcing. I received suggestions to add a ribbon or lace trim and intend to try one of those.

I haven't sewn lace before. It sewed up quite easily, but was very fiddly to lay out and stripe match.

Halterneck-ish top WIP

I love this top.

I'm still working on the pattern. I'm trying to develop a collar rather than strap over the shoulders, but that requires some work on getting the shaping right. I like this version too.

I'm not sure that tucks of the style I used on the back are the best for this type of fabric. They would probably look much better if I managed to stitch them straight, but I'm still not sure.

 I'm really happy with the top, even if has a few faults.

Tank top with gathered front panel

 
Tank top with princess seams, gathered center front panel.

Princess seams for design interest and shaping. I included a gathered front panel for design interest and to reduce the transparency of the quite sheer jersey. I don't think it turned all that well.

The fabric is a very lightweight rayon jersey.

Next time I will try it with a plain front and a firmer fabric.

Then neckline is not as drafted. I don't like the shape very much, but it was a successful save of the original neckline, which stretched and flopped. I tried a turned over edge for the first version and it seems to have been a poor choice. The finished version is a band.

I'm quite comfortable sewing jersey, but this very lightweight one was not very easy to sew. My sewing was less than accurate, but I found the top quite forgiving of my errors (trained eyes may beg to differ!).

In a future gathered version, I would like to modify so the drape starts from the shoulder seam and includes a bit of a cowl at the neckline. I wasn't willing to spend the time to develop that this time around.
 
I'm not excited about the top, but will probably end up wearing it until I fill out my wardrobe with tops I like better. It feels nice to wear and should work well enough as a casual top.