Sewing Workout Clothing with Jasmine

December 29, 2024

Hey sewing friends!

Have you ever wanted to make your own workout clothes? Well, it’s been quite a few YEARS since I’ve invested in quality work out clothing. But since last year, I have been slowly re-training myself to build in dedicated “active” time multiple times a week.  I am no stranger to exercise and fitness, BUT over the years I’ve developed some health issues that have drastically affected HOW I exercise. These days, I mostly do low impact mobility work-outs and have recently adjusted my regimen to include yoga twice a week.

For anyone not familiar with yoga, one thing that you can’t really compromise on is the attire you wear during a yoga session. There is a reason why you see most folks wearing close fitting clothes. Many yoga positions are inverted or require you to fold your body into intricate positions. So the clothes you wear, really need to stay put and move with you. Yoga pants, especially, need to be able to handle the ide range of movement required with yoga. Basically, Spandex or Elastane is NOT optional in clothing appropriate for yoga. Fabric that stretches AND fabric that will wick away moisture (aka sweat) is even better.

I decided on the Seafoam Green Color from the Performance Line. RCF’s Moisture Wicking Athletic Performance Knit Fabric is an 87/13 poly/spandex blend; 87% polyester and 13% spandex. It is also a thicker knit, at 300 gsm, making it much easier to work with in my opinion AND it’s “squat proof”.  As you can see below, the fabric does have a satin finish, so it’s not super shiny like dancewear but also not quite matte.

Now, let’s talk about some tips I have for sewing with athletic knits.

1. If you can, use wooly nylon OR stretch serger threads. 

These threads are thicker than the average serger thread (*Picture* left thread: wooly nylon; right thread: standard serger thread). More importantly, these threads allow the fabric to stretch further without snapping threads. The fuzzy texture of the thread fibers gives the seam line more strength and stretch. You can use them in the loopers only OR in both needles and the loopers; I chose to use them in both the loopers and needles.

2. Use Ballpoint or Stretch Needles; these needles are designed to slip in between the fibers instead of cutting like other needles.

3. Add clear elastic to your seams. This helps give a little extra support to the fabric’s recovery.

4. Lastly, hem openings while flat and use washable double-sided tape. Because athletic knit is similar to swim fabric, sometimes it can be a bit finicky and may want to slip and slide on itself. Using the double-sided washaway tape helps keep the fabric stable as you hem. Hemming in whole the fabric is  flat helps to minimize frustration when you sew the seams together in later steps.

That’s all I’ve got for this month’s blog. I’ve since worn this outfit twice LOL and I am really happy with how it turned out. I hope from this blog you’ll have a little more confidence to sew your own work-out clothes. 

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Until next time 😊,

Jas

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