I have an awkward relationship with cardigans. I love the comfort of them…but I can feel my posture change in them. A cardigan makes me want to nap, and I don’t always want to feel like I need to nap when I want a sweater-layer.
Enter the ballet wrap. It has all the great elements of a cardigan or shrug – a shrugigan if you will, but without the couch-gravity of a full on sweater.
I cut a straight medium Seamwork Elmira. I know I generally fall in between medium and large Seamwork patterns, and I also know I need to add height… but I broke my own flat-measure, pre-adjust rules to test the fit as-is.
The thing is, while making a straight size, or even if I made my adjustments, for this project I want something special and a little bit harder to fine-tune.
As-is, it works fine as a shrug over a dress…or in this case, over a bra, tank, turtleneck, and dress.
I didn’t use a particularly stretchy knit… this is a high-quality knit scrap from a friend with little stretch. As you can see, with something for the knit to grab on to, it’s tight, but has full coverage.
However, what I want is a spring running cover-up.
This is my basic running uniform. Nothing special. This is a sport bra, tank, compression capris, and a good old running hat.
The shape is pretty good…I like how tight it is…The ties are a bit too thick and maybe not long enough…
Without fabric to hold on to, it starts to hike up a bit too much for running…
So, this is why we do what we do, and how we do it, right? For a close fitting, activewear garment, I need to make each of the adjustments by feeling the garment on and moving in it. If it was just a cardigan, it would have been easier, but this requires a bit more care. Nothing worse than pulling and tugging and chaffing while running.
I’ve made the Coppélia by Papercut, but I made the sweater version, and it wasn’t quite what I wanted. I think I’ll work on the Elmira some more, and then make a proper wrap Coppélia, and compare the two. While I’ve made and do love the Papercut Patterns Aomori, it’s a bit too loose for running or biking.
Do you think this qualifies for Meg’s Twists and Ties challenge? Have you ever turned a garment into an activewear garment?
PS I cut and sewed this up in about an hour. I modified the pattern by leaving out the front lining and knit-bias bound the entire garment’s raw edges. This also helps with any possible front “bagging out” you may have along the wrap area. 😉