January’s box contained a pattern I’ve had my eye on for awhile, the Elevate Crop Top and Overlay by Greenstyle Creations I’m not normally one to wear a crop top the gym but I love how it looks and wanted to try it. The overlay is the perfect companion to the crop and the shirt can be worn with the cross over in the front or back.
The fabric for the crop was a bright aqua nylon spandex. The bright aqua fabric provides a nice pop of color to my normal gym attire of black leggings. The fabric for the overlay was either a grey or navy rayon spandex.
As I mentioned in the sneak peak of the overlay, the fabric is thin and might be a little difficult to make without the use of a serger for construction. Your sewing machine might handle the fabric fine but I know mine likes to eat thinner knits! Because of the weight of the fabric, I used bands instead of binding and it turned out well. I had trouble with the back strap and ended up serging the bands right sides together, turning them out, and sewing it on by hand.
The crop top went together fast, with exception of the binding. I’m fairly new at using my coverstitch and used this project as a learning opportunity. I had to seam rip the binding off over 4 times but I finally got it right! There are still a few skipped stitches but I’m not sure if it’s may fault or the machine’s. The top would be a quick sew using bands or if you’re more experienced with bindings.
The mini project for the month was the Simple Stretch Belt. An extra 1/8 yard of the nylon spandex was included, along with a zipper, to make it. The belt stretches on and has one pocket big enough to hold keys or a candy bar 😉 while out for a run. The belt is constructed similar to an infinity scarf and can easily be sewn in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, my invisible zipper isn’t nearly as invisible as I’d like. I used a standard zipper foot and it just doesn’t allow me to get as close to the zipper as I’d like. I really need to get an invisible zipper foot!
The box also included a fat quarter from the Earthern Collection by Katarina Roccella, a fox patch based on that fabric collection, fabric clips, and “Handmade” labels.
I was very happy with the January box and I’m sure I’ll be sewing these patterns again.
