The Most Beautiful Bra in the World
15 May 2013, 16:24…is one that finally fits after days and days of muslins and tweaks!
You see, this is the third muslin of my latest attempt to sew a Bra That Actually Fits and I think I’m finally happy with this one.
I started off by tracing a well-fitting RTW bra and I sewed up a muslin of it according to the fabulous instructions in Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction. From that, I could see that the bottom of the bra cup was too long for my underwires, and, as I suspected, the straight legged dart was too pointy and I needed some room in front of it, so I made the front leg curved.
Apologies that the orientations are opposite between the two!)
Then I ripped out the basting stitching of my muslin, sewed up new cups according to the second cup pattern, and reused all the other pieces from the muslin that were absolutely fine, namely the wings, bridge, straps (gingham ribbon here!), and underwire channels:
The cup shape of the second muslin seemed good (though it’s hard to be subjective in the mirror and selfies), but I had a bit of excess fabric along the top edge of the cup that needed pinching out. I didn’t want to create a dart at the top edge as I eventually want to make this bra from lace, so Norma suggested I take it out from the sides (bridge & underarm), making sure those lengths didn’t change as I did so.
So this is my third and final(?) muslin for this bra, but frankly, I’ve been here before, thinking I finally have a well-fitting bra pattern and then I go and use up nice laces only to discover my girls look like duck bills. So this time I’m not going to jump right in to my Danglez aqua lace, but instead make it in some bits I’ve got lying around in my lingerie sewing stash to test it out with elastics and stuff first. Not really a wearable muslin, but more of a test drive…
By way of a PSA, posts might be thin here for the next week or so – you’ll probably remember that I’ll be running the Copenhagen marathon this weekend, but I’m also now immediately travelling over several oceans and hemispheres for work next week as well, and will likely be just as exhausted from the travelling as from running 26.2 miles! I’m hoping to get a few magazine posts scheduled to go live while I’m away to keep you all entertained, but if you don’t hear from my about how the marathon went, don’t assume the worst!
If you’d like to cheer me on, however, you can follow me on Twitter or Dailymile and reply to the “Runmeter will speak your replies to me” message on Sunday. My app will then speak your comments into my ear as I run, which is a) really freaking cool and b) incredibly motivating! The race starts at 9:30 CPH time (8:30 BST / 3:30am EDT) but frankly, I’ll really need the help about ~3 hours in, so around 12:30 CPH time / 11:20 BST / 6:30am EDT).
tags: drafting, lingerie, muslinComment [5]
Two pairs of marathon leggings
9 May 2013, 18:08Word got round my running crew that I was starting to do some custom drafted leggings for a few people and my friend Lee Ann immediately came up to me and said “I want you to make my leggings for London marathon.” Holy crap – what an honour! It’s her first marathon, and the biggie, and she trusts me to make them for her?! I couldn’t say no to that, so I measured her up right then and there, then drafted out her pattern using the Shin book, and made her a test pair using some cheap thin lycra. She came round the boat and tried them on and amazingly, the fit was perfect, with no alterations needed, woo!
With the fit out of the way, I could then start in on the design lines, which she said she wanted to have a stripe/ribbon that started on her right hip and wrapped around to her right calf, and in navy and red to match her charity vest.
So, as I do, my first step was to draw myself a little plan:
Sorry for the crap quality there, but essentially I drew out the four big pieces (front right, front left, back left, back right) and the rough stripe shape, and realised I’d need 12 pieces in total, and as it’s asymmetric, I’d need to cut everything in single layer.
Organisation was the key, keeping the three pieces for each quarter pinned together on my sewing room clothes line!
I assembled each quarter first (ie: I sewed the front right top to the front right mid, to the front right lower until I had a full leg, and moved on to the front left). The cutting was really the most difficult here, but I managed to just barely squeeze everything out of 1m each of Tissu’s navy blue and red supplex lycras. Assembling it was much easier, but I had to be careful that the seam lines matched up over the left side seam!
I was so chuffed to see them on LeeAnn when she ran past me during the race, and she said they were a dream to wear on the day, too! No tugging, no baggy ankles, no nothing, hurrah!
Don’t they look great on her?? And she’s totally caught the bug, too – already planning her second marathon!
And speaking of second marathons…. my second, Copenhagen marathon, is rapidly approaching (19 May), so I knew I had to get my act together in time to make the pair I planned in my Spring Sewing Ideas and have enough time to take them on a test run (I strictly follow the “nothing new on race day” ethos!).
So last weekend I pulled out some of my precious Suziplex, this time in Navy, and scraps of the pale grey (leftover from my Olympic leggings) to make a pair with thigh accents front and back.
Since I already altered my own Shin draft to have these same thigh markings for my wildest running leggings yet, I really didn’t need to do any pattern work. Except I did – just by raising that horizontal knee seam by 3cm because it felt too close to my kneecap on my wild pair. But that’s it! Otherwise these were a really quick sew!
I may do some freezer paper stencilling yet to jazz them up, since I made two more running armband pockets – one as a gift for a friend, and one for me to match my leggings, and I remembered how much fun it is!
The leggings are all finished but you won’t see me in them until after the race! I reckon I’ll use Sunday’s easy 8 miler to test all my marathon kit out at once, though, so if you’re along the river on Sunday morning, you might catch a glimpse…
tags: drafting, exercise, knit, ss13, trousersComment [6]
Mustard and Grey slouchy Ivy tee
7 May 2013, 13:10How great are Style Arc patterns?? One thing I love about them is that each month there’s a free pattern that comes with every order. In February, it was the Ivy tee. With its angled side seams, dropped shoulder, slightly forward shoulder seam, and banded sleeves, it’s so great for colourblocking that I just couldn’t resist! The good news is, like all of their freebies, it’s available to buy after the month is done, so you can go and get your own now, too.
I ordered a size 14 as per usual (I’m a Burda 42, for comparison), since StyleArc patterns are single-sized. This is my 3rd Style Arc pattern and I can totally understand how they’ve gained so many fans so quickly! Each one has come together beautifully, and is as comfortable and enjoyable to wear as it was to sew.
I did have a bit of trauma in the making of this, however. I did something I haven’t done in 9 years of sewing – I lost a pattern piece!! I checked everywhere, but I think the sleeve piece must’ve accidentally gone into the recycling when I threw out the paper scraps. This pattern has a dropped shoulder, otherwise I would’ve just used the knit sleeve off my Marita dress or Marie jacket patterns, so in desperation I emailed Chloe at StyleArc asking if she could possibly send me just the sleeve piece by pdf… and she did, so quickly, saying she knew I’d probably want to work on it at the weekend! How great is that?? Anyway, her scan plus some added measurements worked like a charm, and I have a completed Ivy tee!
I used two of Tissu’s viscose lycra jerseys here (again!!) – the Mustard colourway leftover from my Drape Drape tee, and 1m of Marl Charcoal I bought specifically to coordinate with the mustard.
I took the lazy way out and just copied the colourblocking shown in the pattern sketches! But why mess with something that looks great already??
The instructions here were fine – the pattern also includes two neckline guide pieces which confused me at first, but were helpful for aligning my fabric perfectly on the ironing board before fusing Vilene bias tape along the edges to ensure they wouldn’t stretch out. The only thing I’d change in future is the neckband – it’s a bit too wide for my taste, and stands away a bit even after topstitching the seam allowance inward, so I’d shorten the length and stretch the neckband to fit so it lays a bit flatter.
The other thing, which is just personal preference, is that the front and back pattern pieces were full pieces – ie: not half the pattern to be placed on the fold. I suppose that’s nice if you’ve got print placement issues, but for me, I just folded the pieces in half and cut them on the fold anyway.
The style is a departure for me, as I’m not used to such voluminous tops (though the Wiksten top I made is in a similar camp), but this is a great partner for my many leggings, and it meant I could bring my fishnet insertion leggings out of my running box and into my every day wear for a change!
I really love that I can wear these equally for running and regular wear – they’re made with black supplex (wicking lycra) and strips of fishnet with lingerie elastic on either edge, so I just removed a portion of my self-drafted leggings pattern and serged these on, then zig-zag topstitched to keep it flat. I never did a proper photoshoot for these when I made them, but you saw me wearing these when I ran with Kathy in Baltimore last month!
tags: exercise, knit, style-arc, top, trousersComment [8]
Copying a favourite bra
2 May 2013, 12:37You may have noticed that one of the items on my Spring Sewing Ideas list was a “self-drafted/copied from RTW” bra. I’ve sewn countless bras before, but really only been happy with the fit and look of one (a foam cup muslin, of all things!). I really want to try and get away from moulded foam cups for a number of reasons (which Orange Lingerie discusses here), so my dream bra drawer would be entirely lacey, gorgeous, self-made, frameless, underwired bras, with one nude moulded foam cup bra for when I really need a seamless look.
The problem is, I’d been buying foam cup bras for so long that I didn’t really have any non-padded ones I could clone, and on a whim last year, I bought a few M&S bras and was amazed to find that two (identical, apart from colour) all-lace, single-darted, frameless, underwire bras, fit me perfectly and gave me a great shape.
So in the back of my mind I’ve been wanting to clone these, since my last bra using the Elan pattern ended up fitting well (at first I thought I’d cracked it finally!!), but the cup shape looked B-A-D. Boobs like duck-bills, oh god no!
Anyway, so I started the process of cloning the white version of the M&S bra last night, by using my method of tracing patterns – placing the bra down on top of paper and running my serrated tracing wheel around it. This worked well for the band, but I wasn’t convinced I got an accurate trace for the cup, so I looked up an old Threads article, “Clone Your Favorite Bra” (Issue 99, Feb/March 2002 if you’ve got the archive DVDs), which suggested stabbing lots of pins around the bra edge until you got to a point where it would no longer lie flat. Then you unpin the first pins you put down, and re-shift everything using the latter pins (in my case, along the dart) as an anchor so it lies flat and you get all the edges pinned.
Then, in my case, because the dart stayed in place and everything shifted around it, I had to cut through the dart and open it back up. Because the top edge of mine was the lace edge, I knew this had to be straight, so it made it easy to re-adjust.
In the end, I ended up with really similar bra cups from the two different methods – the dart is exactly the same on both, with only slight differences at the sides.
Though looking at these now, I realise I drew 1/4” seam allowances the whole way round, instead of varying them based on elastic widths and such, so I need to go back and re-read that section of Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction before I make my muslin.
I’m going to try both cup patterns and see how they fit, but the only thing I’m concerned about is the shape of that dart, which I imagine should be curved rather than straight, but that’s something I can adjust after the first muslin.
Funny – you may notice in that last photo that the bridge (the little triangle between the cups) is brown rather than white. That’s because that’s the only piece from the last bra that matched up PERFECTLY to my RTW bra. And that’s because I’d used the Bridge Test in an early draft of Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction and altered it significantly. I said it before, and I’ll say it again – that tip is worth the price of the e-book alone!
Oh, and I have sad lingerie supplier news – eLingeria is now going out of business, too!! First Danglez, now this! With a heavy heart I went through their remaining laces and elastics and chose my final supplies, sniffle. But if you are on the lookout for wide, stretchy laces to make more Lacey Thongs, they’ve got tons of it at great prices right now…
Fingers crossed that Sewing Chest may buy up any excess stock and carry on the lingerie haberdashery torch for a long, long time (omg please don’t close, too!!).
tags: drafting, lingerieComment [3]
Spring 2013 Sewing Ideas
30 April 2013, 13:52Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my asymmetric Drape Drape teeshirt! A girl could get used to that level of flattery…
It also marks the start of my sewing short sleeves, which means it must finally be Spring, and hence, time to start thinking about marrying up the patterns and fabrics I’d like to sew for the next few months. I really do these only for my own benefit, and so they’re not a “SWAP” in the sense that everything must coordinate against each other (lord knows I have enough clothes that I don’t have problems putting combinations together!).
This is more just a set of ideas towards which I’d like to work, so when I get to the end of a project, I can quickly refer to this image and go “oh yeah, I want to sew that next!”
For the first time I’m also including running/exercise gear in my plans, since I’m wearing lycra as a significant portion of my weekly wardrobe, and I want to contain all of my sewing ideas together. So you’ll find all the running stuff on the bottom row, and the rest of life’s wear on the upper two rows!
Top row:
- Style Arc Ivy tee in mustard & charcoal viscose jersey (I’m currently sewing this now!)
- Burda March 2013 #107 cardigan, in brown merino wool jersey (LOL English summer AM I RITE?)
- One dart lace bra (copied from RTW/self-drafted from Shin) using an aqua lace I bought from Danglez.
- Burda Jan 2012 #122 trousers in leftover hot pink cotton sateen (so it’s a merging of my pink party dress and my grey trousers!)
Middle row:
- KnipMode non-stretch jeans – I’ve got the perfect heavyweight denim but need to decide which of the two patterns to use
- Manequim Dec 2012 #525 geometric cut-out vest in the lovely “I can’t believe it’s not silk!” from Claire
- Simplicity #1873 Cynthia Rowley jacket in leftover plum satin from my Matthew Williamson dress
- MyImage SS2011 seamed skirt in a yet-to-be-decided fabric (possibly denim?)
Bottom row (running gear):
- KwikSew 3672 top, in whatever supplex or lycra I’ve got lying around at the time
- Butterick 5283 in some leftover red supplex
- A draped top to wear over sports bras in some fantastic silver lurex jersey I bought in Paris, but I’m not decided on which pattern yet
- Another seamed, self-drafted pair of leggings in some Navy Suziplex that I can wear to run Copenhagen marathon in, err, less than 3 weeks. eep.
When I glance over this, a few things stand out to me – No dresses. This wasn’t a conscious choice, but I’ve got plenty of spring/summer dresses I wear enough of already! More Big 4 than usual. Again, not a conscious choice, but I’ve got three envelope patterns in my plan, which is a lot for me. It’ll be interesting to see which patterns get left behind at the end (as there are always one or two I don’t end up making). Have a look at my previous Fall/Winter 2012 shortlist and see what I mean! That entire row and the leather jacket I just didn’t get to (I blame the shingles though!).
So what’s everyone else thinking for Spring? Or am I the only one who draws out her ideas?
tags: butterick, bwof, exercise, knipmode, knit, kwik-sew, manequim, myimage, simplicity, ss13, style-arc, top, trousersComment [6]
Asymmetric Drape Drape tee
26 April 2013, 13:11Happy Friday! To celebrate, I’ve got the last of my made-on-Easter-weekend, photographed-in-Baltimore makes to show you!
This one’s from the second Drape Drape book, which I received as a Christmas present this past year. Even though I’ve had the first two books for a while (and just received the third this weekend!) this is the first thing I’ve made from the series.
I think part of my hesitation comes from the very Japanese sizing – this is drafted for ridiculously tiny Japanese ladies – in their sizing I am an XXXL!. For this pattern there were only two sizes, though: S-M and L-XL. I made the larger and just crossed my fingers that my Burda size 42 body would fit in okay at the hips (the only even remotely fitted area).
Unlike the Pattern Magic books, these patterns are traced from sheets at the back of the book rather than drafted from a block, so it’s not as easy to just adjust the design around your own measurements.
But anyway, I needn’t have worried, because the L-XL size fits me beautifully, hooray!
In case you’re wondering, the Drape Drape patterns do include seam allowances but seamlines are also indicated, so if you would rather trace along the seam lines and add your own allowances later, it’s an option. I always like it when patterns do this, but obviously it’s something you can only do if you offer a few sizes, otherwise it really clutters up the pattern sheets!
This top is cleverly made from only one piece of fabric, but its pattern piece is ENORMOUS! So big that it had to be pieced together after tracing and it was a PITA to cut the fabric, too, taking up my entire living room floor space!
The books only contain the briefest of sewing instructions (really more like an order of construction) but crucially have some diagrams so it makes them a bit easier to follow, than, say, Burda magazine, even though they’re terser. For this top, it was really just: finish the right side sleeve opening, sew the shoulder seams, sew the left side seam, hem the left sleeve, finish the neckline, hem the bottom, done!
Thank you so much to all of you who commented to say the neckline was ridiculously low! Because of this, I raised the neckline 10cm (4 inches) and it’s perfect for me now! (Remember if you do this that your neckline binding doesn’t need to be as long!)
(The white part is my change – the back neckline in brown is shown behind it for comparison)
I really love the design – it’s easy to wear with leggings or jeans and it feels really stylish for what’s essentially just a drapey teeshirt. I’m a total sucker for anything asymmetric and this has got some fantastic draping under the right arm when you wear it, and the right arm opening is really just a finished slit (the left side is a short kimono sleeve).
I’d totally make more of these now that I’ve traced it out – the pain is in cutting the fabric (and getting Nishi not to sit all over it!) but making it is really, really, quick, and Tissu’s viscose lycra jersey is so cheap I can really make these very economically. Here I’ve used their “Mustard” colourway, but I have plenty enough leftover from the 2m I bought to use again, too (which is great because I love the colour!). So look out for this in a week or two, as it’ll probably be incorporated into my Ivy tee!
Funny, I wasn’t really expecting to like it as much as I do, but it’s a great little stylish teeshirt pattern!
tags: drape-drape, knit, topComment [22]
Burda magazine May 2013
25 April 2013, 15:34Here’s my “one liner” review of this issue – if you’re looking for Spring sewing inspiration, you probably won’t find it here!
I’ve felt the last few Burda issues were a bit lacklustre and this one is even worse. There are a few nice patterns, but most require alterations in order to make them wearable for most people, or are things we’ve seen before. I’ll leave it to Paunnet to tear apart all the horrible rectangle “patterns” in this issue!
First up we’ve got a retro-style bikini with a cute tie in the front and shirred elastic at the back, and elasticated briefs. I found it a bit strange that this is drafted for wovens, when it’d be much more comfortable in a traditional swimsuit lycra. I also saw an idea online that it’d be really cute lengthened into a dress or top! (PDF Pattern here)
There’s a bunch going on in this page – first a cardigan (rather a lot like Jalie’s new one, but for wovens), trousers that look way too much like pyjamas for my liking, and a quite nice dress (which also has a short sleeved option) if you leave off the cutesy patch pockets. (Cardigan PDF Pattern here)
This twist-top is probably my favourite in this issue, but it looks like it either requires a camisole underneath, or some extensive alterations. And I swear there’s a pattern exactly like this in one of the Pattern Magic books, so it’s hardly original.
Oh god, I’m getting light-headed, having dangerous flashbacks to that awful, awful April cover top from last year with similar floating sleeves and little to no shape in the body… Someone pass me a paper bag!
Happily, Burda have brought back the vintage reproduction pattern after a few issues away (these and the designer patterns seem to be very sporadic – it’s not like they have a lack of back catalogue to choose from?) with this rather sweet 1960s sheath dress. It’s got good lines and some interesting shaping in front, but it doesn’t particularly excite me, I must say. (PDF Pattern here)
Ok, credit where credit’s due – this maxidress is simply stunning, with that deep, contrast V neckline in front and back. It almost makes me wish I wore maxidresses, and had some exotic island getaway to wear it to!
And finally, in the Plus section, I really liked this long sleeved tee with gathered side seams! It’s made with a regular knit underneath and a thin, transparent jersey over top and it’d be really forgiving to lumps and bumps – bonus points that the ruched overlayer continues onto the back, too. (PDF Pattern here)
So these were my picks – were there any others that you liked that I overlooked? I’m in the midst of gathering together my Spring sewing ideas and issues like this are actually making it easier for me to whittle down my pattern choices!
Also, since I keep getting emails and tweets about it – I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Great British Sewing Bee over the past few weeks! Thank you very much for all your comments suggesting I should apply – I actually did, but was let go after the third round, but told I definitely should apply again for the second season. So we’ll see whether the producers think I’m “British” enough to compete this year, eh??
tags: bwof, magazineComment [17]
My wildest running leggings yet
24 April 2013, 16:00I try to show you all my finished garments in the order I make them, but I just can’t wait to show you my wildest running leggings yet! I only finished the hems on Monday night and stuffed them into my running bag to wear to Run dem Crew last night, and WOW, they got a glowing reception!
I made these with Funki Fabrics’ digitally printed lycra in “Tribal white on black”, plus fluorescent yellow lycra from Minerva Fabrics, inserted above the knee (and is WAY brighter than it appears in these photos!).
I liked the design lines of this McCalls leggings pattern, so I adapted my self-drafted leggings pattern to have similar sections above the knee, with angled thigh seams to be a bit more flattering (or, as flattering as you can get in neon yellow, ha!).
I had a friend take these photos after our run last night (a very fast 10km run with the Cheetah group around Victoria Park! Geeky stats here if you’re interested)
And then I had some photoshoot hijinks with our resident celebrity, and I just thought the photo was too hilarious to keep to myself!
Suffice it to say, I got rather a lot of interest in sewing more custom-drafted leggings for friends last night, so I’ve really got to sort out my pricing structure so a) I’m not too busy doing these all the time but b) not too expensive that no one wants to play with me!
In terms of other sewing inspiration, I got some great gift goodies in the post this week!
From Lakaribane (via Montreal and Pennsylvania…) I got three Vogues I picked out ages ago and forgot all about!
- Vogue 1316, a designer Rebecca Taylor colourblocked sheath dress for wovens or stable knits
- Vogue 1302, a designer Kay Unger sheath dress with gathered bodice panels
- Vogue 2859, a vintage 1935 reproduction pattern for a swanky gown, blouse, and coat
…and, as luck would have it, I see that Vogue are having a sale right now so all the above are on sale for $3.88 each (shame about their extortionate UK shipping!!).
Also, I had a belated meetup with my friend Pip, where she gave me some birthday gifts, which included:
- Merckwaerdigh PBH30 a pattern for a frameless bra and variety of bodysuits (I freaking love bodysuits but ALL the rtw ones are too short in the torso!)
- Drape Drape 3, which, IMHO, has a bunch more wearable designs in it than the previous two books in the series
With the warming weather, I’m starting to turn my thoughts towards Spring sewing ideas (including running in this, too), so I’ll have more to report on soon, plus the latest Burda and my final photoshoot from Baltimore (a top from the second Drape Drape book, coincidentally enough!)
But sadly, one thing I won’t be showing you is the latest Manequim magazine, because some idiot at Abril posted me an entirely different magazine in my envelope!! I’ve not heard anything back yet from their customer service, so it’ll probably be the standard “oh, we’ll extend your subscription by one issue…” At least it’s not the Oscar dress special!!
tags: drafting, exercise, knit, trousersComment [7]
A Royal Blue Chic Top for my Mom
22 April 2013, 17:21Remember the lavender “chic sweatshirt” I made my mom a few months ago? Well, she wears it so much that she asked if I’d make her a lighter weight version for Spring and Fall. Since I’d already done the pattern tracing and grading, I figured sewing up another would be a fairly quick job.
As you recall, the pattern is from the fabulous the September 2012 Burda magazine (or you can purchase the download pattern here) but the pattern only goes up to 44, and she decided she needed a size 46, so I had to grade it up for the lavender version. This time around I just needed to cut out the fabric and sew a few seams!
Since my mom saw a flyer that one of the fabric stores near her had pointe jerseys on sale, she opted to select this blue colourway in person, pre-wash it, and post it over to me. Then I made it a few weeks ago while I was ill (hey, it was a quick make!) and brought it along to Baltimore with me in my suitcase!
I really like this vibrant blue on her – I think the colour is a really smart choice as it’ll work equally well in Spring and Fall, too.
Here are some side and back views, with that lovely V neck in the back:
The other great feature of this pattern is the darted sleeve, which you can see here:
This makes the fourth time I’ve made this pattern now (a turquoise one for me, then a grey wool one for me, the lavender one for my mom, and now this!), so I’m kinda done now!
I took these photos of my mom in my cousin’s back garden in Baltimore, but my Dad snuck in on our photoshoot and “snapped the snapper”!!
If you like this, please let us know, as my mom reads every comment that comes in on “her” posts!
tags: bwof, plus, topComment [19]
Gold Medal Running Leggings
18 April 2013, 14:05I’ve had the idea of these “Gold Medal Leggings” in my head for months now.
I’d originally envisioned myself swooping through the Paris half wearing them, making Chanel-ed sunglasses tilt down as I sped past in a blur! “Oh my! Who eez zat magnificent femme with ze gold leggings??”
Or something like that. But then I got ridiculously sick with the shingles in January and still couldn’t run it come March, so these got their debut in the East London half on Sunday instead. Not quite as glamorous, but they did cause quite a stir.
I used my leggings draft from the Kristina Shin book again, teamed with Suzie Spandex “Spirographix” lycra in yellow. This makes these sister leggings to my Liberace pair (which were in the comparatively sedate “charcoal” colourway!), which I wear ALL the time. I had Arielle buy this fabric, plus some Suziplex for me when she was in Montreal and they were hand-carried in a series of suitcases across multiple borders, so I’m very glad to make good use of it!
It also appeared that Suzie Spandex cut a very generous length because it was more like 1.4m than the 1m I ordered, woop (so there’s plenty left for accents on Jalie running skirts or tops). Believe it or not, I sewed these up on my jet lag day after our red-eye flight back from the States when I was trying to stay awake until local bedtime!
The leggings certainly got the reception I was after – I’m not exaggerating when I say that my leggings got more cheers on the route than I did, I swear!
I really needed the crowd support, too, because it was a tough, two-lap industrial course with a lot of switchbacks and narrow paths. My friend Chris and I run together most Saturdays and decided we’d try for sub-1:45, sticking together for the entire route (or at least within sight of each other, because we know each other well enough to not have to be on top of each other!).
Did you notice in this last photo the matching running arm band pocket I made to hold my gels? A few of you have made these but had some questions on my tutorial, and I agree, so I think I need to clean it up a bit! I might just re-draft it as a pdf pattern to simplify matters…
We didn’t quite get the time we were after, but we both learned a lot in the run-up to our marathons next month (he’s running his first full in Edinburgh the week after I run Copenhagen full marathon). My official time was 1:50:40 – not a PB, but I was the 80th woman out of 700+, so I don’t think that’s too shabby!
Here’s a group shot of everyone from Run dem Crew who ran it, not counting everyone who cheered or those off running other races on the same day! The course looped back on itself quite a few times, which meant we could high-five and cheer each other on as we ran, which really helped.
I was really pleased with how the leggings performed – this is definitely the longest distance I’d attempt in non-wicking fabric. I was a little concerned when the sun came out on the second lap, but the fabric didn’t bother me at all, and they didn’t shift around for the whole run, so they’ll certainly be fine for shorter distances.
I’ve had a few people ask if I’m running the London marathon on Sunday – I’m not, but I’m cheering on about 40 of my crew running. I’m actually planning to run it next year, since I ran a qualifying “Good for Age” time in Amsterdam, which means I get a guaranteed spot without having to raise thousands of pounds for charity. BUT, even though I’m not running it on Sunday, a pair of leggings I made are! It’s my first custom-drafted, custom-designed running leggings, which I’ll try to get photos of afterwards!
tags: drafting, exercise, knitComment [4]














































































