Hobbies Collide part 2

The fabric featured in this post was kindly gifted to me by Minerva as part of their Brand Ambassadors program. All other supplies and materials were purchased by me. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I had some fabric left over from my half zip project and I really wanted to make something to wear together when I play. I thought about making a dress, but I wasn’t sure the stretch level, 40% across the width, would be supportive enough for my chest and a matching short underneath when playing. Generally I like a built in bra and shorts in a tennis dress so there are less straps and cleaner lines.

I’ve previously made the Helen's Closet Arden pants in a past project. I really liked them, and while they are drafted as a woven jogger pattern, Helen has a blog post about making them in knit fabric as well. I thought I would give it a try and it would be great to have more options with pockets when I’m playing tennis. As a bonus I would have another matching set, and I don’t need to tell my sewing friends how I feel about those!

Honestly I wasn’t sure I was going to like these pants at all. I figured I would try and see how it went, but my expectations were kind of low. I just didn’t know if the fabric and pattern were the right fit. When I tried these on once I finished them I was immediately obsessed. I just love the shape of the fabric in this pants design. It’s super comfortable and creates this cool almost parachute pant look when sewn in a knit. I think it’s so fun. I decided since I already had the pattern printed I wasn’t going to size down at all. For reference I’m currently measuring 29 inch waist and 40 inch hip and I sewed the size 12. If you want a more fitted silhouette then you could size down, but I like the look I achieved. The pockets on these pants are also nice and deep so there is plenty of room to store tennis balls for me, or anything else you may want to stash in your pockets.

I did have to draft different cuffs since the ones that are for this pattern you put elastic in to make them tight on your leg. I was going to use the Minerva core range tubular knit for my cuffs, which is perfectly stretchy on its own. The cuffs I drafted for my pants were 7.25 inches by 9.75 inches. The tubular knit is great for cuffs and details and feels really comfortable. You can also get it in 144 different colors which means you have so many options to match your fabric or do a fun color blocking moment. It can be hard to source ribbing to match a project so this is a great resource for your sewing plans. 

The scuba knit has a great drape to it and is also super comfortable. I have been wearing these pants constantly since sewing them. The fabric is just a unique look and gives a little more polish than a standard jersey or sweatshirt knit you might make for joggers. This project was really fun and I’m excited to try my hand at more tennis gear!