For some time I have been thinking about making myself a workout outfit. I already decided that I wanted a tank top with shorts, but I hadn’t yet found the right patterns. After I made my Christmas dress last year, it suddenly occurred to me to try to use the same pattern for my workout wear.
For the tank top, I started with the same pattern I used for my Christmas dress: the free knit bodice pattern from The Littlest Studio. I wanted a contrasting side panel, so I drew it in starting from the armscye dart that I previously added in. I also extended the bodice by about 2″ so it would go past my waist.
For the bottoms I made some short leggings from another pattern I had. I also made a short skirt using the matching circle skirt template. Since this is for exercising, I made this skirt only 5″ long. Then I sewed the leggings to the skirt and added a waistband.
I love the way the bottoms turned out. It was the simplest part, and the result was just how I intended. The circle skirt is so cute, and the template is ingenious! As for the top, I think it’s not the best. The shape of the side panel didn’t come out exactly as I’d hoped, and it doesn’t lie perfectly smoothly. Next time I’ll just use the pattern as is and not make any drastic changes. Still, it will serve its purpose as workout wear. I like it, but I don’t love it.
The contrast of the navy blue and the white panel and trim is nice. The overall fit is good, but I also notice a bit of stretching over the bust. That’s probably because the fabric I chose is not as soft stretchy as the Ponte Roma. I made this out of lycra for a light and cool exercise outfit.
Like I said before, I love the cute and twirly circle skirt. This outfit is just what I needed for working out. Now that I’ve finished it, hopefully I’ll be able to get into an exercise routine. Later on I plan to make another tank top to go with this, using a different pattern. This lovely tank top from Melly Sews looks like just the thing. 🙂 In the meantime, this will do very nicely for my workout.