Now that I’m back on my yoga 3x a week mission, plus the fact that I’ve just started spin classes, I find that my stinky laundry generation rate is beginning to get a little silly. In addition, since I sometimes skip the shower queues and head home, I try and bring an extra top to change in to and be a gracious commuter hence more laundry. (Hm, I’d probably get more space in the train if I did get on in sweaty gym kit..)
Now I do appreciate that proper sports kit is probably made out of special sweat wicking nano tech green plasmoid fabric, and it does make a difference when you’re already overheated. However, yoga stuff just seems to be extra fashionably expensive. US$60 for a top without any built in support? Although perhaps it’s still too low a price to pay for some dignity (although the saga was 2013 so perhaps QC has improved?). I don’t need magic fabric when I’m just getting on a train, but I was aiming for the “post-gym semi-fashionably dishevelled” look, rather than the “rolled out of bed and pulled on scrappy clothes for the market” look. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted – something crossed back, drapey, loose and soft to cope with the post-workout heat. Nevertheless, I consulted google images to see if there was something else more interesting that I thought I could make in a short time. I did find something I liked, but In the end, I stuck with my original idea for ease of execution. I also found some interesting sportswear patterns – I still haven’t tried sewing with patterns yet as the packages always seem so intimidating? I bought 3 sets in a pattern sale though so I’m committed to the cause now! But I digress.. Poking through my wardrobe revealed a slouchy pink Asos t shirt that was past its prime- perfect candidate for an up cycle. The top already had a wide neckline which gave me space to cross the straps across the back , thereby narrowing the neckline. Does that make sense? This was quite a simple project which involved 5 steps.
- Remove sleeves
- Mark the drop at the back of the top
- Slice the back of the top down to the mark
- Take the sides in
- Cross the straps at the back and attach to the body of the top
I did all this by hand as my sewing machine wasn’t set-up post-surgery yet. It’s not perfect as I didn’t hem the straps, but no biggie and it’s already survived 2 washes It’s nice to do one of these no pressure projects – if it fails it was just an old t-shirt anyway and it would gets consigned to the rag bag for wiping surfaces etc.
Conclusion- a soft sleeveless top that’s great to throw over your crop top after your preferred form of exercise. I’ll include an after photo in the next post – the Husband is away and I can’t photograph my back 