Saturday, August 24, 2019

I'm still here!

I feel bad that my blog is just sitting over here slowly rotting away. I'm still sewing a ton and just got done with a fabulous (if I do say so myself!) travel wardrobe. Of course, I'm done traveling for the summer and am back at work. Maybe the next time I travel in the summer? Ha! Hope some of you are still with me! I'm @two_on_two_off on IG.





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Brand new #jaliecora shorts for my #golddiscoveryrun that’s coming up. This is a 16.8 miler with only two water stations so I need to carry my own water and fuel. This is my favorite all time running pattern. I love these fabrics too. This is the @discoverytrekkingoutfitters Stretch Yoga fabric. I love this stuff! Wicking, stretchy, and dead comfortable!!! ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’™ . . . When I do activewear bottoms that need stretch, I use a tiny zig zag and double sew all the seams. That way there is no way that my ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ ๐Ÿฅ‘ shows. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ˜‚ I find that sewing machine stitches last longer than a serger and give you better stretch. . . . I also added these two extra front pockets from the #jalieloulouxe running skirt. . . . #jalielife #jaliepatterns @jaliepatterns #discoverytrekkingfabric #dtostretchyoga #irun #ilovepockets #isewactivewear
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Okay, a bunch more #jalie3245 . ✂️๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿป‍♀️ I made the orange one last week and realized that I needed more basic tanks. So I made Mojito and Margarita Pink (who else is loving these color names? ๐Ÿน ๐Ÿธ) tanks too. Fabric is the Discovery Stretch Yoga from @discoverytrekkingoutfitters and I love it so hard!!!! The FOE is from @sewsassyfabrics and I love those bright colors. ❤️๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ . . . . . And in other news, my fancy machine went it for it’s annual servicing and I have a not-fancy machine in its place. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿง When I posted my FOE tutorial, people commented with, “But I can’t move my zig-zag over like that!!!” I had that same problem so I had to figure out another way. ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿง I used a D foot (blind hem foot) and did it backwards. I made a short video of the process and can post it if people are interested. Let me know if you are . . . . #jalielife #jaliepatterns @jalie_patterns #irunhillsforfun #irun #isewactivewear #isewmyownclothes #dtostretchyoga #sewingtutorial #sewing #sewersgonnasew
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Sunday, May 12, 2019

Discovery Trekking Fabrics - Review of Four Fabrics

Okay, okay, are you as excited as I am about the Discovery Trekking Fabric?? I have four different types and it's SO HARD to buy activewear fabric online, I figured this might be helpful for you!
Here's their main fabric website. I reviewing four of the fabrics from the Activewear category.



Light Scuba - Print Midweight Scuba Stretch Yoga Stretch Solar
Content
and Weight
78% Poly 22% Elastane, 62" wide,
6.14 oz/sq yd
80% Nylon 20% Elastane 53" wide
9.49 oz/sq yd
SOLIDS - 88% Nylon, 12% spandex, 64" wide
HEATHER - 48% Nylon, 45% Poly, 7% Spandex
9.92 oz/sq yard.
85% Poly,15% Spandex, 60" wide,
8.61 oz/sq yard.
Stretch 80% selvage to selvage
50% along selvage
50% selvage to selvage
80% along selvage (most stretch goes ALONG selvage)
60% selvage to selvage
70% along selvage
70% selvage to selvage
70% along selvage
Possible Uses Lightweight bottoms, thin top. Leggings, running skirts, thin jacket, thicker running top. This almost as thick as a ponte. Leggings, running skirts, thin jacket, thicker running top, athleisure wear like a sporty dress, this sweatshirt.  Leggings, running skirts, thin jacket, running top, athleisure wear like a sporty dress, thin sweatshirt.
Tips for Sewing Works well with 70 stretch needle. Cool iron (I used Poly - Level 3) Edges tend to curl.
Misc. Cold to the touch, thin but not at all see through, a bit of a sheen to it but not shiny, starts to lose print and turn white when stretched along the selvage. Does not curl along the edges. A bit of a shine to the fabric. Seems stiff before you wash it.
Very slippery. Edges do not curl. Imagine a thick Nylon swimsuit fabric. Because of the direction of most stretch, you may want to put pattern pieces perpendicular to pattern lay-out.
Warm to the touch. Squishy, matte fabric. More of a cotton-y feel to the fabric. Edges will curl  badly if you stretch fabric aggressively. Cool to the touch, totally matte finish, cottony feel. No show-through even when stretched. 


I also made a little video review on YouTube about the four different types of fabric.







Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Things I've Been Sewing!

I'm still here!! Really!! I'm just posting to Instagram because it is so much easier. Although I AM working on a big ol' blog post for a review of the Discovery Trekking material. I have a bunch of it and a bunch of different kinds to review. I'm in love with it for sure!!!

Here are some of my recent posts from Instagram (there are TONS more!!). If you are an IGer, you can follow me @two_on_two_off



Sunday, March 24, 2019

Remember, I'm still around!

Hi guys! I guess I'm mostly posting on Instagram now. I AM STILL SEWING though!!! I have posted quite a bit on IG over the past few months. Come and follow me on IG @two_on_two_off is my username. Here are some of the goodies I've been working on:



Saturday, November 24, 2018

DIY Fat Tire Bike Pogies (Hand Warmer Mitts)




Edited to add: I put pattern pieces down below. :) 

Get cold hands when you are biking? I certainly do when I'm biking in the winter. I decided to try my hand (see what I did there??!) at making my own bike mittens, aka pogies or poagies.
Photo: www.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com


Well, I don't post on my blog very often anymore since I made the leap to Instagram. But, since this was more of a tutorial, I decided to put it on my blog with more complete directions. Do you know that these bike hand warmers cost around a hundred dollars and you can make them yourself easily?

These Fairbanks-made ones are $135.00! With fabric, I have about $20 into my version and only a few hours. I also cut up a floor mat which I already owned but you could easily find that at Goodwill or Value Village.

These pictures are from Instsgram so they come with all the writing and all the labels that came from Instagram. I had a sample pair from a friend and I had looked at a bunch of samples online. I traced these pogies onto paper and started making some prototypes.






This is the first prototype. I ended up making it a big more narrow and making the "arm" shorter. 





Then I thought the mitt needed to be more angled so I sliced and overlapped. 




After this, I created prototype #2. The second version was almost perfect except I needed to make the opening just a little bit bigger so it would slide over the brake bar, the shifters, and the handle bar. 




That was an easy adjustment so then I cut it out of my Cordura fabric. This is a thick, stiff fabric that will hold its shape. I used a blue cordura for the side piece. I ended up with three pattern pieces. The first is the oven mitt piece, the second is the long rectangle for the side piece that wraps around, and the third piece is the cuff that is made from a stretchy knit. I didn't take a picture of the next step, but basically I cut out the same pieces in a Malden Mills Polar Fleece and put it inside the shell wrong sides together. Then I attached the cuff to both of these layers. 





Here is the inside of the pogie. I cut the lining 1.5" shorter than the shell and then just finished the edge of the lining, folded it down, and topstitched from the outside. 




This last part is optional but makes for extra cozy mitts. I used a foam mat and cut into the shape taken up by the bar and brake lines. You don't have to do this, but then cold air comes in from the bottom and goes right into your warm hands. I just cut ovals and then held them up and cut until I got the right shape. 



 You shove those "plugs" into the cuffs and it blocks the air. The knit cuffs keep them in place.



Done, done, and done. I added some reflective tape to the front of mine because it's always dark and I bike a lot early in the morning. 




Let me know if there is any interest and I can add pictures of my actual pattern pieces. It's pretty darn easy and CHEAP! My son wants a pair now too. I couldn't find anything like my Cordura at JoAnn's so I bought some leather-ish vinyl in the Home Dec department and I'm thinking it will work well for this pattern. I think I'll start on those tomorrow. Happy trails. Literally! 

Here are the plans and the pieces that I used to make my pogies. You are basically just making a curved tube, adding a cuff to one end, and hemming the other end. Let me know if it's not clear what I did. 


Note: All green boxes below are in 1" intervals so that gives you the scale. This is the main piece. I cut this in two layers. The first is a thick Cordura and the second time in a fleece for the lining. On the lining piece, I cut off the 1.5" hem at the top. There is also a rectangle piece for each of those fabrics too (look on the directions above).



This is the stretchy cuff. I had made it too narrow the first time so I added a bit of width to it.