As I develop my own handmade, hand-sewn wardrobe, I discovered I had a tension: I love making clothing for myself, but many of the patterns and designs I was seeing weren’t things I wear every single day. Lots of dresses or blouses, but far fewer tee shirts and jeans. I developed the Design & Sew Your Perfect Tee Shirt video series specifically to meet that need: I want to sew my own clothing, but not if it means making more of what I don’t need.
My question became: is it possible to sew for myself AND avoid the pitfalls of fast fashion that I dislike so much, like over-production and over-consumption?
Because I love to tackle problems as systematically as I can, that led me to analyze my own wardrobe, and determine what I wear the most and what I WANT to wear. The Capsule Wardrobe video series was super helpful to me, and gave me insight into my own preferences and desires. It also helped me see more clearly that I have one very specific category of garments that I don’t often witness folks sew for themselves: ACTIVEWEAR.
What is ACTIVEWEAR?
“Activewear” is a loose term that covers all garments designed for exercise, lounging, and outdoor pursuits. This can include (but is not limited to):
- leggings
- sports bras
- sweatshirts & hoodies
- rain gear
- hiking pants
- ripstop nylon garments
- insulated garments
- gloves
- hats
- “technical” fabrics for moisture wicking or heat retention
- storage bags for gear
This broad category covers a LOT of the garments that I wear every, single day: my yoga pants, workout clothes, hiking gear, even outerwear for cold weather. So this isn’t a sewing category just for “outdoorsy” folks, it really is for anyone who likes comfort and function in their clothing–it even includes “loungewear,” which is like yoga clothes that you wear on the sofa!
I challenged myself to sew all the garments I would need for a week-long hike in the mountains. This was an effort to determine what skills I might need, and what supplies could be sourced, to sew for this category of clothing, things I wear every day: clothes for the gym, clothes for outdoor activities, and clothes for relaxing.
This video series guides you through selecting patterns, locating fabrics, sourcing specialty tools & machine presser feet, and finally step-by-step construction of SIX projects:
- leggings (for anything from yoga to hiking to watching TV)
- merino wool tee shirt (the ultimate fabric for all activity or travel)
- convertible hiking pants (with tips for working with zippers)
- rain gear (with tips for sewing technical fabrics)
- compression bags (made of ultra-lightweight ripstop nylon)
- hiking gaiters (with tips for adding findings & hook-and-loop tape to projects)
Along the way, we’ll discuss resources for ALL the supplies and I’ll share action footage of using each of these items in real-world conditions.
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Watch the overview and join us for five weeks to sew your own activewear!
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