Work out gear McCalls 7482

The start of the New Year and getting healthy is on a lot of people’s mind.  It’s on my mind and although I’ve made active wear before, you can see the post here, I wanted to try it again.  I’m pretty comfortable when exercising cotton t-shirt and compression leggings.  I really like to get outside, the fresh air is always nice.  When it gets cold, I like a jacket to throw on over my work out clothes, something that I don’t mind sweating in.

About the fabric, I’ve used the black compression knit before here and the scuba knit is a remnant from this dress.  I’m sewing from my stash this month and this is what I had, actually, I had some performance knit that looks like it should go on an ice skating outfit and I didn’t think I wanted to use that.  Why did I buy that fabric anyway?  oh, yes, when I was working on swimsuits, it’s all my Joann’s had, smh.

I wanted to go play golf in this outfit and hubby told me that I needed a collared shirt and shorts/pants.   I posted to my Facebook groups and my sew sisters who golf (who knew so many women golfed and sewed!) told me my outfit was fine.  My jacket has a bit of  a collar so there you go stuffy golf rules!

 On to the review:

Pattern Description:

 
Fitted jackets have asymmetrical separating zipper. B: Hood,
contrast left front and sleeve, cuff with thumb opening and sleeve
pocket. Leggings in two lengths have contrast band and sides.

SEWING LEVEL: Advanced beginner/ confident beginner ( sewing with active wear knits, hemming knits, zipper insertion)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

 
Yes, aside from the changes I made, see below.
Were the instructions easy to follow?

 
Yes, they were straight forward, recommend beginners practice hemming knits.  The hem was a little different because there’s a space after the bottom of the zipper, but the instructions and illustrations are good.  I don’t believe the instructions tell you to interface the front where you’ll insert the sipper and the stress points on the pocket.  For the zipper, the pattern tells you to get a 24″ zipper, I feel that’s for the smaller sizes, if you make the larger sizes, I would get a 26″ zipper,  I got away with using a 28″ zipper because I lengthened the pattern but I still had to adjust the zipper.  The pattern does give instructions on how to shorten a zipper so I would opt for the longer zipper and adjust it.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

 
I like the asymmetrical zipper, the color block option and the different collar/hood options.  I was surprised this pattern didn’t have inseam pockets on the jacket.  View B has a sleeve pocket, but inseam pockets would have been nice for keys, ID, etc.
Fabric Used:
I used black compression performance knit and animal print scuba knit
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

 
I made view B with View A’s collar.  I didn’t have a lot of fabric so I didn’t make the hood.  I like the sleeve pocket and the color blocking so I mashed up View A and B taking the best of both.  I graded the pattern up to a size 24 at bust, waist and hip.  I did a forward shoulder adjustment and I did a bicep adjustment, I also lengthened the jacket one inch.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, If I needed another workout jacket I would make this in a solid and add pockets.  Also, I would recommend this to others.  A word of caution, I had a lightweight tricot interfacing in black, however, the zipper came out wavy because I forgot to stabilize the seams before I inserted the zipper.  I would recommend a practicing on your knit to see if you will need a heavier knit interfacing.  If you use a heavy compression fabric like I did, stabilize the area before inserting the zipper and interface the seams.  Practice to see which weight of interfacing you will need.  Even if the directions do not tell you to, always stabilize the area when sewing a zipper and or a pocket.

Have you sewn your own active wear?  Do you always stabilize before inserting a zipper?