Everyone loves a good pattern hack. Taking a pattern you love and making it work in another way for you is so satisfying.

In the past three months, I have gotten back into running. It has been great to handle my work/kids/running a household stress by taking it out on the pavement. But as the weather turns colder here in Middle Tennessee, I find myself struggling to run before work. So to motivate me, and to keep me warm, I used the bodice from Petite Stitchery & Co’s new Rory Dress to create a running top for cold mornings.

The turtleneck bodice worked well in this athletic knit from JoAnn for my idea for my base layer.  It is thick enough to add warmth, but then enough to layer under a sweatshirt or coat during the winter.

I extended the bodice by 10 inches and sloped outwards towards the bottom to accommodate my large hips. I wish I had a fancy explanation for the measurement other than I measured a different top pattern that was lying on my cutting table.

Since I have a long torso, my cold gear I bought at the store rides up on my stomach when I run. To combat this, I decided to band the bottom instead of hem. It ended up more of a tunic length, but the length works really well for me. Again, I just calculated the band length based off of the width at the bottom.

The sleeves. Well, that was an accident. I had made the elbow length sleeves when I tested the Rory Dress (affiliate link). I printed what I thought was the bottom piece to add to the elbow length. It turns out I missed out on a few inches somewhere. I had planned on using cuffs anyways instead of hemming the sleeves, so I had to make the cuffs really long to compensate for my lost inches. Surprisingly, I love how they turned out! The cuff length reminds me of the long cuff on the Patterns for Pirates Cocoon Cardigan (affiliate link).

The cuff is tight enough to stay put, but the fabric is stretchy enough that I can turn up the cuff to see my Fitbit when I run.

By the way, I have been using the Fitbit Charge 2 for several months now.  The tracking of steps and exercise minutes has done wonders for my activity level!

Back to the sewing….  The Rory bodice is tight fitting which will help everything stay put on my runs.

The running tights I am wearing are Patterns for Pirates Peg Legs with the contoured waistband from their add on pack (both free!!!). The fabric is athletic brushed poly from Zenith & Quasar.  I love the feel of the fabric and the great compression.

If you have not tried the contoured waistband for the Pegs, then you are really missing out.  Simply put.  These. Don’t. Budge.  I run anywhere to 2-4 miles at a time and do not have to adjust them once.

And I do not hem the bottom of my pegs because I have large calves and cannot get the necessary stretch I want with my double needle.  I am dropping hints daily about wanting a coverstitch for Christmas.  Maybe if I annoy my family enough they will all go in and get one for me!!  Fingers crossed!

I have made pegs enough to finally perfect the fit for me, including grading in for my waist and waistband, grading out for my calves, and increasing the back rise for my generous backside.

Now I need to make full length pegs for my winter running wardrobe, and I will be all set!

We talk a lot about sewing to fit our bodies, and workout gear should not be left out! A great fitting workout garment can make your workout easier by not having to pull, tug or adjust mid run.  And two more pictures just for fun!  Yet another example of how thankful I am to have a fenced in backyard for my blog pictures!!!

Until next time…sewing and sipping,

Stacey