Tag: moto

Moto Sweatshirt with Indiesew

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What you might not know about me is that I’m an “Old Lady”…a very proud one, in fact.  As you can probably tell, it’s not by age or because I quilt (ha!), but because I love my husband AND his motorcycle.  I really enjoy riding with my guy and even though I haven’t gone very much after having kids, I still love that moto style.  So when I saw this collaboration between Indie Sew and Seamly for the Moto Sweatshirt, I knew I HAD to make this pattern!

The Moto Sweatshirt is such a great stylish and edgy jacket designed for knit fabrics.  After seeing Allie Olsen’s tester version, I knew I wanted the same double-knit from her shop.  There is so much more versatility with a double-faced fabric (you can use either side of the same fabric) and it is perfect for some color-blocking.  Since this is also a sweater knit, it makes the jacket SO comfy and warm for those cool summer rides.

It’s usually not a good idea to procrastinate with a project, but in my case, it turned out to be the best thing I did..er…didn’t do 🙂  I wasn’t aware there would be a sew-along of the Moto Sweatshirt when I picked this garment to make.  Needless to say, I was so pleased to see it announced and you know I read through every post before starting on my own project.

The first recommendation I took was to make a narrow shoulder adjustment.  I saw how the shoulder seams were low on many of the testers and other versions online.   I’m pretty narrow in the shoulders as a 5’3″ woman and knew this was for me.  However, the next time I make this sweatshirt, I would probably will take in another 1/4″ off the shoulders.  You can read about how to make the simple changes here.

If you have never used a double-faced sweater knit before, it’s thicker than most jersey knits.  That’s why I decided to use a quilt cotton for the pocket linings.  Not only does it provide a thinner fabric to sew through, the woven nature makes it MUCH more stable.  If you have not sewn a zipper welt pocket before, I would highly suggest using the quilt cotton to save the stress and potentially extra time with your seam ripper…

One of the biggest changes I made to the bodice patterns, although still very subtle, is the shoulder accent.  I blocked out each shoulder (front and back) with the dark navy side of the sweater knit.  This is a safety and design feature in many moto jackets in case you may fall off a bike.  I made my own pattern pieces by drawing the shoulder line, cutting out the pieces and then added the seam allowances back in.  I was pretty nervous doing this type of hack, but it worked…after many tests against the original pattern pieces. (It’s always good to check and to re-check!)

Since I made this sweatshirt for actual motorcycle riding, I wanted to make sure this was safe enough for the road.  The large folded collar is great for sun protection and for warmth, but I was afraid the zipper may have the potential to flip up depending on our speed and weather conditions.  That’s why I made sure to add in a cover for the zipper head.  When pulled all the way closed, the zipper’s pull is completely encased and isn’t dangling down.

With almost all sweatshirts I make now, I like to add in thumbholes.  They are so great if you are like me and always cold.  But from a functionality standpoint, these are also perfect features to help keep my sleeves down.  Sometimes the air flow can push things back and I certainly won’t let my husband go just to readjust sleeves!

And with that in mind, I made sure to narrow out the entire cuffs themselves.  Again, with air pushing against me as I ride, I wanted to make sure these were more snug on my wrists.  I took 1/2″ off both sides and angled in 1″ where the cuff folds for a cleaner look.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the sizing and fit (after adjustments) with this Moto Sweatshirt.  The instructions and graphics were pretty clear, but it’s always nice to have extra visuals.  The sew-along on the Indiesew Blog was very helpful with showing additional pictures of each step.  I’m very grateful it was available and it made this project go much faster than anticipated. Yay!!!

Project Summary:

  • Pattern:  Moto Sweatshirt – If you want to grab the pattern, click here.
  • Fabric:  Double-Faced Japanese Sweater Knit from Indiesew
  • Zippers:  Molded Plastic Jacket style from Wawak
  • Thread: Gutermann
  • Machines:  Juki MO-2000QVP Serger and Juki TL-2010Q

 

I hope you enjoyed this review and my hacks to the pattern.  Will you wear your Moto Sweatshirt while walking or while riding???

Happy Sewing, Friends!

Cristy

 

The Seamly Moto Sweatshirt pattern and Double-faced Sweater Knit were both discounted by Indiesew for this blog post.  But as always, the make is my conception and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mending Diaries: Transforming Joggers into Moto Pants

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I’m a boy-mom…a two boy-mom, actually.  So when my youngest gets all of his brother’s hand-me-downs, they have already been “well loved.”  Half…okay…most of me is happy to save the money and landfill space to reuse these clothes.  But, the other part of me is sad that he always has to wear clothes with threadbare spots and plenty of grass (among other) stains.  I’ve been trying to think of different ways to mend and patch up his clothes so they look fresh instead of worn.  When I pulled out these pants for my little guy, I knew these would be great patched up as some moto pants.

Before the patching, I assessed the project.  These pants have the jogger style that is still very hip and the neutral fabric is a great ash gray thick fleece.  All of the other parts of the pants are in nice shape.  The elastic waist is still strong and there are no popped stitches.  All in all, these were worth the extra love.  I mended another pair of pants one time only to notice it was threadbare in other spots.  I wish I didn’t waste my time knowing the entire pair of pants were going to fall apart (they were thrifted years ago with several previous owners.)

The damage to this one knee is pretty substantial.  There is the obvious hole, but then the fabric is worn out even further beyond it.  There is even still has a faint ring of deep set dirt.  (My oldest must’ve fell hard in the mud a few years back!)  With such a large area to cover and the fact that these pants are knit, I had to be a bit innovative.  I didn’t want a glaring patch, but knew I needed it to cover this spot…..and that’s when the motocross lightbulb went on.

To get an idea of how the patches would look and create my patttern, I used washi tape to make the shape on the knee.  I made sure to add ample room above and below the hole, while balancing the patch size with the rest of the pants.  I changed my angles a bit, but settled on having the top of the patch angle outwards verses straight knee-caps.  It’s a bit more modern and stylish this way, IMO.

Next I grabbed scraps of Swedish Tracing Paper, a ruler, and a marker to trace my pattern.

As you can see, I traced within the tape and used my fingers to make sure I was within the existing side seams.

After I labeled and cut the pattern out, I cut two pieces of tricot knit interfacing (mirrored) for my patches.

With just a scrap piece of jersey knit, I fused the interfacing following the manufacturer’s instructions.  It’s a bit delicate, so I always use a pressing cloth.

With my ruler, I cut the patch pieces and also stacked them to make sure they matched, trimming as needed.


I laid the patch back in the washi tape marked spot to double check the size.  It’s ok if it’s slightly smaller or larger since the pant leg can be stretched to match.

The patch was pinned in place, but I would definitely use Wonder Tape next time.  (The pins shifted so much while I was sewing and stabbing me in such a confined area of space.)  I matched up the other leg by aligning the cuffs and then eye-balling it.  I know my kid won’t be too critical 😉

As you can see, I had to flip the pants inside out and scrunch the knee area up to the waistband to sew down the patch.  You can see how all the pins can be problematic.  Most of the pins completely moved out of place, so you can see an alternate method to secure the patch is probably better.  I used a straight stitch since that’s the machine I had set up but a nice zig-zag or blanket stitch could work for the applique.

Voila!  It’s like a new pair of pants.  The first time my son wore these, my husband even asked when he got these “new” motocross pants.  You know that great feeling when you can say, “Oh, I just made them!”   I love that you can’t even tell these are patched and just look like a design element.  Most of all, my little guy loves that he got a special pair of sewn pants AND that’s the best feeling of all!

There are a pair of designer yoga pants I may try to patch with this technique.  Would you try this on your next mend job?  Let me know if you try it out and how it works!

Project Details:

 

Go get than mend on!

Cristy