Embrace Sports Bra – Greenstyle Creations
When I first started sewing, my main goal was to be able to make my own athletic wear. Yet for the longest time I had been putting it off for no reason other than that I just didn’t feel ready. After years of collecting athletic fabric, I finally felt like it was time to dive in. One great thing about pattern testing is that it pushes you to go outside of your comfort zone and make something you are so proud of! The Embrace Sports Bra did that for me, and now I am not scared to make more athletic wear!
The Pattern
It’s funny how some things just seem to happen for a reason. I have been increasing the number of workouts per week lately and find myself having not enough sports bras to keep up. The Embrace Sports Bra from Greenstyle creations test came at a perfect time when I was ready for a new sewing challenge, and had a clear need to add to my wardrobe.
This pattern comes with several options to really cater to your athletic wear aesthetic. There different options you can choose from are:
U back, Racer back, or a combination of the two | Keyhole or solid back | Solid or color blocked front.
FRONT OPTIONS
Color Blocked or Solid Front
Underbust dart, No dart, full bust adjustment.
BACK OPTIONS
Single Racerback
Single U back
Keyhole or no Keyhole
Layered back (combine U and Racer!)
The Embrace Bra I made is a size D for extra compression. I also went with the solid racer back with a color blocked front
The Fabric
The suggested fabric for the Embrace Sports Bra is any athletic performance knit fabric like Supplex, Poly-Spandex, Nylon Spandex etc. You really want to make sure your fabric has at least 50% 4-way stretch.
I went with an athletic knit fabric from, you guessed it, Blended thread fabrics again! I’ve actually hoarded this fabric for nearly a year now just waiting for the perfect project. This particular pattern was from a pre-order was called Titanium Border Print. This boarder print means that the fabric is not completely uniform (as you can see from the different throughout the pattern colors). Each area of the bra and leggings I made are from the same fabric if you can believe it.
This athletic knit is heavier at 300-320gsm 85% Poly 15% Spandex Athletic Knit with a four way stretch fabric. I found the stretch to be a little under 50% which for the bra was perfect for compression. I personally found the fabric stretch to be just under 50% making this bra quite snug (which I was actually going for).
The Sewing
Size and color blocking
Since this was really my first true sports bra pattern, I took my time with the muslin. Initially, I measured as a size E and made my first bra that size. It fit super comfortably, but I found it to be not as compressive as I am used to with my RTW sports bras.
I decided to size down to a D which was a calculated risk given I can’t order any more of this fabric right now. I spent too much time planning out my cuts to determine how I wanted the fabric to look based on the piece I chose. I ended up deciding I wanted a dramatic contrast between the main front and the top front and I think it turned out great. It u
Coverstitch
You’ll notice that I did some top stitching for both the band and where the two front pieces meet. It looks great, but what you don’t see is how many attempts it took me to finally get my machine to behave properly. I spent nearly 4 hours trying to get my Juki to behave and finally she worked and I learned a lot about cover stitch troubleshooting in the process.
Final Thoughts
I am in love with how this bra turned out. It has great compression and color blocking flair to really have it stand out.
If I were to do anything different, I would probably make the band a 1.5″ elastic instead of 2″ and place a few topstitches across the band due to some rolling that happens when putting on or taking off the bra.
I also plan on trying the other options available in this pattern starting with the dual racer and u back. The other testers that did this version I am swooning over their makes!
Get the look!
The Pattern: The Embrace Sports Bra from Greenstyle Creations
I also made a pair of Super G’s from Greenstyle as well because… matching.
The Fabric: Titanium boarder from Blended Thread Fabrics.
Which style do you like better? Let me know in the comments!
Outtake...
I think we can all relate...
So story behind this one. I use a remote to take my pictures and as you can see, needed to hike my pants up a bit as you do. Somehow I managed to press the shutter release mid hike and well... here is this treasure.
