When your garden matches your underwear...

Hello all! This is my third lingerie set of lock down and it coincides with the wonderful display of roses in our garden.

The sewing table always gets into a complete crazy mess when I make lingerie: lots of sorting, choosing and measuring of notions and elastics. It is great to use a bit of this and that.

The fabric kit comes from website called the sewing chest. The kits are reasonably priced and there is always a bit left over from each kit to use for experiments for the next set. I have been a happy customer for a long time.

I made a couple of pairs of knickers too using the non-stretch fabric for the fronts and an unwanted white T-shirt for the backs. I used up some green fold over elastic from a previous kit for the legs. Then I found a nice piece of red waist elastic too for a mix and match style.

The pattern is Madalynne Simplicity 8229. Which I have used four times before therefore I can whizz up a bra in about 90 minutes once cut. I am all sorted for undies now although the urge to sew more sets is being gently quashed.

A new jumpsuit pattern has landed on my door mat today so luckily I have other distractions along with returning to teach tomorrow. Eeek!

Hope you are all well. Jo xxx

Result!

"Same again Barman!" I am drunk happy with this bra pattern: Simplicity 8229. I decided to make another one straight away after my last successful set so that I could remember all of the details.

The patterned tricot fabric has very minimal to no stretch therefore I cut it 2mm wider on all parts of the cup. The cups are also lined.

The satin navy part has a good amount of stretch which is why I chose it for the frame. It is very comfortable to wear with a good fit. When making the knicker pattern this time, I tried a bit of a pattern hack and used the non stretch in the centre but added the stretchier fabric to the sides to give them more ease. They are also a lower rise bikini style this time which wears well too - I knew that little bit of ric rac I was saving would come in handy one day!

The picot elastic is some that I bought in a big bargain bag at Abakhan. There are many colours in copious amounts but this one happened to be the perfect colour match.

  

Finished with a few bows, it was a sewing success all round. I also made another couple of pairs of plain navy knickers in jersey with the same elastic to join the set.

My next challenge is the Boylston bra pattern which has foam cups. I will definitely need to make a practise toile for this one because  I think that by looking at the photos, the straps will be too far apart for my shoulders.... so much fun stuff to learn.

Thanks for looking at my knickers! Jo xx

Madalynne Bra set

There are not any sewing deadlines at the moment either in terms of gifting or in my blogging world which means I can allow some time to revise my bra making skills. I blogged last year how I had left it too long between making them and some of the skills I had learnt started to drift into the mists of time. 

I had a new pattern to try: the Simplicity Madalynne 8229. It is always a good idea to make a toile of a new bra pattern. They are all sized differently and each pattern has its own foibles. 

I have a set of straps that are salvaged from an old bra which I use to make toiles. I get to the cup and band stage and then just safety pin on the straps so that I can try it on. It was sods law but my toile was fine in every way, typical! At least I knew I could cut my good fabric with confidence. I even used up odd bits of wire casing.

I had a crazy few nights where I got all of my lingerie sewing stuff out and just had a great time messing about.

I can't tell you how pleased I am with this set. Each set gets better and better (over the 3 years I have been trying) however this one is the most luxurious but totally wearable for everyday.

I get my lingerie supplies from an online company called The sewing chest. It is not a snazzy website at all but everything I have ever had arrive in the post has always been excellent and very fast - don't judge a book by its cover is the message.

The bra is lined and this time I found it very useful to overlock the edges of some parts of the bra to give it a professional finish while hopefully giving it a longer life

The knicker pattern is an evolution of patterns which have been tried and tested over time - I can't attribute it to anyone in particular because really it has become my own pattern.

After getting all my stuff out, I have cut another set in a navy fabric because I think need to embed it all in my mind while the pattern is still fresh.

Super pleased with this set. 
As my friend said to me today "Wow! what skills" 

Love Jo xxx

Bratastic

I fancied a bit of a sew a few weeks ago and I couldn't really muster enough motivation to have a cutting out session or indeed tidy away the kitchen table so that I could spread out some fabric so I rummaged around in my lingerie stash box and found a bra all ready cut out.

I surprise myself sometimes, there was a little freezer bag stuffed with all of this and a little note saying 'All ready to sew' 27/2/19. I do not actually recall doing this but it was indeed true!

I had even learnt from my last mistake of sewing a tricky piece the wrong way round which involved the hideous task of unpicking three stitch zig zag. This time, I had it all labelled lace edge, bridge edge and arm edge. 

I have been learning to make underwear for a long time now and I keep notes in a sewing notebook so that I can refer to sewing machine settings and elastic lengths between breaks. I have never used non stretch lace before so it was a new skill for me this time round. The lace was a piece I found in my grandmas old sewing box and I didn't want to throw it away, it was so small, however it was perfectly beautiful for this project.

The bra came together really easily and was such a pleasure to sew.

I made a kind of matching pair of knickers but my machine did not like this slinky fabric as much as the firmer tricot that was used for the bra but I persevered and they are comfy.

I was enjoying myself so much that the following week I delved a little deeper into the box and found another one all cut out but from a different pattern. 

This one was not so much of a breeze. The gauzy stretch fabric shifted about a lot against the slippy lining fabric. The centre bridge is a bit of a s***t sandwich but it is perfectly wearable.

I think I am done with this Kwik Sew pattern now. I have made a few which got me started but I much prefer the shape of the Malborough pattern in the first bra. 

To keep costs down, I always plunder parts from old bras that are leaving the drawer. A worn out navy M&S one was leaving to make way for my new spotty one but I have squirreled away the best bits for another time.

All of my underwear fabric and notions are from The Sewing Chest

Hope you have enjoyed my little sewing journey. Jo xxxx

Use it or Lose it

I had a rare whole day to myself the other day just a haircut booked and a trip to the dog groomers so I decided I wanted to make another bra. Two of mine had actually worn out - holes, grubby, fraying edges, stretched out elastic etc. These casualties were two M&S ones. Maybe by working on building our house I have given them a good stretch painting ceilings!

I have made about five bras since I learnt way back in February 2016 so I felt confident about rummaging through my stash and whipping up a bra. I had got really good at it(see this beauty). I had more stuff than I thought in my stash boxes however, some of this is not really big enough to do anything with but with lingerie sometimes you only need small bits for some parts. I had quite a range of notions, elastic, wire casing etc. Some of it had been given to me from an ex market trader in haberdashery.

Treating myself to this glorious afternoon of sewing,I decided to open a whole new kit I bought about three years ago. Alarmingly, as I started to make it, I realised I couldn't remember all the things I had learnt. It was a bit like learning French at school and then not remembering any of it when you actually go on holiday as an adult. It was all gone.

It meant that making this bra felt like the first time all over again. I couldn't remember the best stitch lengths or which needle to put in my machine. I tried a few but mostly had seam lines like this until I used a super stretch needle. There was a lot of unpicking.

 I couldn't remember how to apply elastic or even which way round some pieces went! Think Leah on the sewing Bee with her swimsuit.

After a lot of swear words and shouting at my machine, I resigned myself to using this pink bra as my new learning bra which was fine as it turned out because there was not any pink shoulder strap elastic in the kit which seemed strange. I went for a pink/black combo which made for a slightly racy version but in the end the fit on the bust was excellent. The sewing quality is not great because I kept switching the gauge and it needs a tweek under the arms which I have transferred onto the paper pattern pieces for next time. I did however, use lace so it felt like I was was moving forward. The pattern is the Marlborough version from orange Lingerie.

I made two pairs of knickers to go with it and have decided to cut out another bra in black and continue my revision. I have found out with this project that if you don't use a skill, you soon lose it.

Tenacious as ever. Jo xxx

Knickers, Quick, Tick!

Tick! I have been able to tick off one of my new years resolutions for 2017 this week. Quickly and successfully, I have made three pairs of knickers. The personalised pattern I had been working on during 2017 is all confirmed. Cut. Sew. Ta dah! Three pairs in 90 minutes.

I have found some firm favourites during this sewing marathon. I like a high leg, fold over elastic for the leg arcs and jersey fabric. I have used up nearly all of the odd bits of elastic, lace and suitable fabric I had for experimenting with. This fabric was a small piece of jersey donated along with the wool haul I had last week.

I can start 2018 buying just the right supplies to keep me in underwear indefinitely. 

I enjoyed having a bit of variety to play with: the ric rac and two different widths of stretch lace elastic to explore knicker depth and fold over or picot elastic for the legs. They are super comfy and pretty to wear.

The phrase I usually use sounds a little creepy with this content: but thanks for looking!

Jo xxx