Wardrobe staples or as I sometimes refer to them, work horses, are pieces made in your own version of neutral.  Neutral for me is rarely the same as someone else. I lean on denim, black and white mainly.  Though I use them most sparingly. I find those colors alone blah, ugh, meh... I find myself putting the project off entirely because it's all black, all white or all skin-tone. "Ugh, do I have to?"  is what first comes to mind when I go to work on them.  I don't mind wearing them occasionally. And they're typically pared with a bright cheery print. But boy oh boy are they a task for me to complete. So much so, that I started both of these 2 pieces this summer and just finally got back to correcting, fitting, and completing them this week.  It's really good to know what excites me and what bores me. Maybe it would be more advantageous to buy a neutral than to make it in this case? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Frankly, I'm so dang glad I pushed through and finished these. I needed to complete them rather than get rid of the UFO.

Let's start with skin-colored bike shorts to wear under skirts. I began by trying the Oh Lulu pattern. That's where I originally got stuck on this. Oh boy. In my infinite wisdom, I drafted to my actual measurements. But somehow, I got a lot off. I mean A LOT!  The Oh Lulu original pattern is the smaller outline that doesn't even reach to the crotch curve of the cut out edge. I cut the fabric to this size and was surprised by how huge the leg. I mean, I measured, re-measured and measured again!  Hmm... it went to the UFO pile for 5 months.

Then, it occured to me. I have a legging pattern that fits. Why the hell did I not overlay the Oh Lulu and my legging pattern?  Oh, yes, let's see

1. my legging pattern is the tiny one (blue) laying atop ... #2
   
2. the gigantor below (red).  
   
3. The crotch that is shallower and less curvy is that of the original Oh Lulu (green).

The Oh Lulu also is WAY shorter (depending on several inches of stretch lace) than my legging pattern. My inner thigh is round as is my outer thigh. To prevent chafing, I like a longer length.

Well, this does seem a bit more realistic doesn't it?  Shows me that the Oh Lulu is designed for a less stretchy  fabric than I've been working with too.

Here's the final Hybrid of Oh Lulu and my tried and true legging pattern over the top of the first legs I cut of the re-drafted Oh Lulu. Yikes! That's a TON of fabric. 

I've learned the hard way, though many broken seams, mostly the crotch curve, that

1. Topstitching creates the longest lasting activewear garment
2. Triple Stitch Zig Zag is the strongest and the most stretchy, even more so than a straight zig zag. "It's the Sh*t" as Kelly says. 

So on this pair of under skirt short leggings, I top stitched the cuffs and every other seam.  To shorten and simplify the construction in a more efficient, manufacturing like manner, I topstitched the cuffs before I sewed the leg seams and before I sewed the crotch curves. 

Here you can see how I'm top stitching the inner leg seam. Every single seam on this pair of short leggings is stitched with the Triple Stitch Zig Zag. Everyone. Even the inside seams. 

My last pair of short leggings were a might too small in the front crotch curve. I shaved a tiny bit too much off. As a test I added the Oh Lulu gusset into the crotch curve (longest points reaching toward the waist bands).  I've only ever tried one other gusset and had bad luck with it. Usually I have to reduce quite a bit of fabric in this area otherwise I have odd folds. I'm smaller than the standard block it seems. 

It was really fun sewing this in and figuring out how it would work best. I didn't read any instructions and mostly guessed. Even though I've made one before, I didn't recall how they did it. I also measured down from the tips on the gusset the width where the stitching would begin to overlap. I only stitched to that spot, Then, I allowed the points to naturally fall into the crotch curves. I had no weird folds, catches, or other issues. Yay! Good guess, Gwen!

They turned out quite well. I'd show you photos of them on my body, but WOW! This fabric is see through. I was shocked that a neutral skin tone was so very visible through this peachy milliskin. Yikes!  Good for under the clothing kind of stuff.

I have a few girdle patterns and books that I'd like to try. Now that I've made 2 pair of bike shorts, I think I have a better feel for fit and can invest in the firm, firm stretch of girdle like fabric. I found a really great source!  That's on my 6-month sewing goals list. So, stay tuned for that in the future! 

I really enjoyed the Jalie Hoodie Sew Along that Kelly hosted in October. As you can tell by my adored Skoras (minimal shoe with zero drop heel) shown below with my feather message from spirit, I love me some pink. Turns out, without planning, that the hoodie I made for the sew along matches my Skoras! Yay!

Continuing from my previous post on the hoodie, my next step was to check the bodice fit on my paper tape double. Pretty damn good. Sure there are some wrinkles, but look at how smoothly it fits along the back curve? Yowza!  At first I was thinking that the length would be too long.

But then, I finished the sleeves and put the hoodie on. Oh wow! Even the sleeves were the right length. Yay! Totally unexpected because I'd read many blog posts and pattern reviews where others said they would shorten the sleeves next time. NOT ME! They're like amazingly perfect. Not over graded. Ladies, you know what I mean. Especially if you're busty, a garment has huge arm holes and really long sleeves with the shoulder seam practically at your bicep. Those ladies at Jalie really know their stuff. Why? Because I'm wearing size CC in my upper body and EE in my lower body, yet the sleeves don't hang to my thighs. 

For my size, a 26" zipper is required. I thought I might attempt a 24", but then decided I wanted to have the zipper run full length rather than monkey with gaps. So glad I did. I love how this white zipper looks with the pink.  Ooo I can haz hoodie.

Notice in the zipped up, back view, images on the far left how the neck wrinkles a little? I'm trying to decide if I'd like to shorten the back neck or shorten the hood.

​Also, see the wrinkles at my low back? That may be worked out by taking in the waist a little at the princess seams. 

The microfleece with the jacket style were PERFECT for flying. Thin, yet warm. A great layer to add with my Under Armor coldgear vest and my compression socks.  You see, typically I'm freezing on a flight. This time, I was just right. That's unheard of without my gortex to block the air blowing about.  

Practicing my SWITCH technique by Katy Bowman while on a long flight by hanging lightly where I could. Boy did this stretch feel good!  

I recently went to Kansas City, MO for a business trip and got caught in the Royals world series win and subsequent celebration. And I mean right in the middle of it!

Through it all, this hoodie stood by me. I wore it with my new dance top in Funkifabrics Titan & Flexcite to a Salsa dance class in Kansas, I wore it on the plane, I wore it in the hotel, I wore it all over!  I love how this pink really pulls together so many base pieces in my wardrobe!

I don't cut notches into my fabric after learning from Bravo Bella about the loss of integrity in the fabric stability when cutting into your seams. So, I notch out. And, I left them. They're kinda cute.

I used Kelly's instructions on interfacing the zipper insertion areas and it worked like a champ. 

I sewed most seams with a zig zag, even top stitching at a 0.5 width to allow for stretch, yet appear like a straight stitch. All seams are overcast per the Jalie instructions. That just makes for a clean seam that isn't fussy when worn. Some seams haven't been fully top stitched as I plan to do some fitting in the armscye, raglan area. 

RAWR! I am Gwenzilla! I lub you KCMO. I will take your tasty wee buildings home with me in my new welt pockets!

I finished my hoodie just in time to post it to the Sew Along group. And guess what?!  I won the prizes! Me! WOWOW!

I won this lovely prize package, valued over $75, all compliments of the super awesome sponsors!!!!!!!!

• 1 Sew Chic pdf pattern - http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/
• 1 Thread Theory pdf pattern - http://www.threadtheory.ca
• 1 Megan Nielsen pdf pattern -http://megannielsen.com/collections/sewing-patterns
• $30 gift certificate to Nature's Fabrics - http://www.naturesfabrics.com/
  
• A custom Kelly Hogaboom "shrinky don't" - http://kelly.hogaboom.org/

That's just the cherry on the top of my tasty buildings, isn't it?!  Best part is I've never worked with any of the patterns or companies before. It will be fun to try their products and share with you.