Galaxy Fun and a Staple Tank

I finally got the chance to sew up some of the fabric I got for Christmas. Between Christmas presents, baby gifts and a few other projects I’m just now cutting into my galaxy print fabric that I got from The Fabric Snob. It is a double brushed polyester and very soft and comfortable! Unfortunately it is no longer available for sale as I’m writing this.

I started with Peg Legs by Patterns for Pirates with the Add On side pocket. I did make a silly goof when I was making my Pegs as I forgot to cut the bands for the pockets so I just hemmed the top of the pocket instead as I was being lazy. This unfortunately made my pockets a bit smaller so my phone sticks out the top of my pocket. Totally my fault and a result of me being lazy. For more info on this pattern you can check out my pattern review here.

I also added power mesh into the waistband to keep my pants from falling down as I wasn’t sure how well the double brushed polyester would work for a waistband. When I picked my size I picked it based off the size I had made previously fitting as opposed to my actual measurements. When I had made that size before the fabric that I used for the waistband wasn’t ideal so I had to pull up my pants every now and then. Power mesh doesn’t stretch as much as the other fabric though so my pants ended up being a smidge tight. Not too bad though, definitely still wearable.

Next I made myself a Staple Tank by Greenstyle Creations This was a new pattern for me. The thing I love about this pattern is that it has a low neckline and a low back, which makes it great for breastfeeding. I generally speaking don’t like pulling my shirt down at the neck to breastfeed because in most shirts the back of my shirt ends up pulling on the back of my neck and giving me a headache. The low back of the Staple Tank though eliminates this issue. The other reason I don’t like pulling the neck of my shirt down to breastfeed is it can sometimes stretch out the neckline of my shirt. To combat this problem I sewed clear elastic into the binding of the neckline. I find this shirt to be very comfortable to breastfeed in. I did have a bit of a fitting issue with this shirt. The next one I make I’m going to size down, but overall after I took in the sides I was very happy with the shirt and I plan to make lots more.

Lastly I made myself a pair of Stride shorts (by Greenstyle Creations). The length of shorts I wanted were not marked on the pattern so I put on the pair of Stride tights I had made previously and measured how far below the bottom of the pocket I wanted my shorts to end then added an inch for the hem (which turned out to be 6 inches below the bottom of the pocket). I went to the pattern and realized the lengthen/ shorten line was about the bottom of the pocket so I measured 6 inches below the lengthen/ shorten line on all of my pattern pieces and cut there.

The other fit adjustment that I made was I added 1/2 an inch to the thighs on the front and back pieces (but not the side panel). I am unfortunately in the biggest size for these pants so I couldn’t just size up to the next biggest size, but adding in that extra half inch did the trick.

I also added power mesh into the waistband of my Strides shorts. I wasn’t paying attention when I was cutting out the power mesh and cut out one inner waistband and one outer waistband instead of 2 inner waistbands. But I just made sure that one of the power mesh pieces was at the front and one was at the back and that solved that problem. I am so happy with the fit of these shorts now! I haven’t had to adjust them while wearing them at all! I have also blogged about this pattern before here. These shorts are probably my favourite thing that I have made for myself!

I think I have enough of this print left to make myself a Power Sports Bra out of the scraps but I haven’t checked to see yet. I’m going to see if I can squeeze out a pair of girls Stride shorts for my daughter too, but I don’t think I have enough left. In any case I want to use every last scrap! I love matching with my girls but I loved this print so much I wanted to keep it all for myself!