Pink and Black Matching set

This week I’ve been looking back on the past year. Or more specifically- what was going off this time last year. I’d just told my ex he was full of bullshit, I’d got my boss sacked for sending pervy messages, won a monkey poster, been make of the week in Love Sewing mag, got 90/90 in my job interview and scored myself the permanent position, plus finally found out that medical photographer's name! It took some doing, but everything was coming up aces, and to celebrate Aimee and I took a trek out to Abakhan in search of fabrics.

It was that trip when I chucked in my basket some ‘quick-win’ mesh fabric with the intention of making myself something sexy. It’s only gone and taken me 52 weeks before I felt it was time to accomplish quick win!

I felt revved up after this years’ lingerie special on the Sewing Bee and kept thinking back to that black mesh that was a total steal from downstairs in Abakhan. I knew I’d accumulated a hefty stash of stretchy lace and at some point the stars would align and the two would come together to make something I felt really good in.

Plagued by bad dreams through the night and still trying to pretend I don’t have a broken heart, I woke up on 30/07/2016 and thought today is the day!!

I started on the bralet. Based on the Babycakes Bra from the awesome Secrets Of Sewing Lingerie book, instead of cutting two separate cups I joined them and shaped a kind of V-neck. I stitched the darts in (always amazes me how bra-y it suddenly becomes!), then top-stitched in PINK to match some stretchy lace I had in my stash.

Next up I attached a thinner black stretch lace around the top of the cups/wings/back. Elastic on the inside bottom, pink lace on the outside bottom- all sewn with a zigzag stitch.

The back has no fastening as it’s so stretchy, I just stitched up the centre back after trying on and getting the right size. Straps- maybe I cheated a bit, but I attached some from an old bra with some little elastic loops. I hand stitched with was a bugger as my hand sewing is poor.

Knickers were going to follow the same fabric theme- the only additional fabric being plain black t-shirt jersey for the front panel and gusset. The pattern I used is the free knickers pattern from So Zo… which I’ve used on the blog previously. Stupidly- as so much time had passed since my last pair I forgot to add seam allowance on to the panel pieces I’d made so errrr, what we’ve got is what I think is quite an attractive design feature- a nice little extra panel on the side seams!
Honestly, I don’t think you’d have known if I hadn’t said would you?!
That being the only blip- these pants were near on perfect. I am particularly fond of the pink top stitching on the front panel to match that on the bra.

Enjoy!

x

Currently listening to: Fancy, Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
Location: Home Sweet Home, Sheffield

Matching Leopard Set

As discussed in my last post- I was eager to make a matching set of underwear, so instead of just using up odds and ends I took a quick trip to the fabric shop this morning and bought some stretchy lace bundles, some bra straps (because who has time to make their own, really?) and some leopard print velvet that I've had my eye on for ages.

I started out with the knickers as I have made a few pairs now and know the deal. The pattern is based on So Zo's free knicker pattern, but I've broken it down to six pieces- two side panels and a back from lace, front cut from leopard print and two gusset pieces made from stretch jersey. The leg holes are edged with stretchy lace and elastic around the top.

The bra pattern again, is based on the Babycakes Bra pattern in the Secrets of Sewing Lingerie book by Katherine Sheers and Laura Stanford. This time I wanted to incorporate a subtle hint of leopard print, so cut a triangle in the front piece and inserted a triangle of velvet. Not too sure if I did this in the right way but it seems to look ok! I'm sure there are some rules to abide by when just bunging in panels of different fabric- but I'm sure I'll pick them up as I go along!

There is a piece of elastic around the bottom and hiding that a thick band of stretchy lace. The top of the bra is edged with the same lace as the knicker legs.

It all seemed to run pretty smoothly today!
A few changes I made to the pattern-
- I made the back band of my bra wider than my previous attempt
- I made the gusset pieces a little narrower
- I cheated and used ready made straps! They are detachable, so attached them with little loops of elastic.

The only think I wish I'd done differently, was make my knicker side panels out of black jersey so they matched my bra a little more... But- I do have enough supplies left to knock together another pair. So If it's still bothering me when I wake up tomorrow, that's just what I'll do!

x

Currently listening to: Good Times, Towers Of London

Babycakes inspired Bra

With one day of Bank holiday sewing left before going back to work tomorrow I wanted to make something fast that used up some supplies I had kicking around the house. My usual go-to project would be a pair of lacey knickers, but this weekend I wanted to mix it up a bit and make a bra to match my last pair. Although the worst thing about losing weight was my boobs getting smaller, this actually comes in pretty handy for making soft-cup bras!

The pattern I used is based on the Babycakes Bra pattern from Secrets of Sewing Lingerie book, however instead of cutting two separate cups I extended the shape and cut on the fold to make one solid front panel. I then cut the wings from my favourite lace fabric- again cutting on the fold so I wouldn't have to mess about with a fastening. Initially my plan was to make the band out of the red velvet I used on my knickers to that we could have a synchronised set. I made quite a good band, but actually attaching it to the bra I had made was just a nightmare! So I unpicked and thought I could make some rouleau velvet straps instead. Well. that didn't work so well either! The rouleau was too bulky and really wasn't getting the job done. So I sacrificed the velvet dream and attached some spare lace to some elastic, which in fairness does look pretty neat.
I am currently toying with the idea of making the centre of the bra (where the darts currently are) a panel and using my velvet in the centre. I'm not too sure how easy it would be to work out the dimensions of the panel- one wrong move and I could have some dodgy looking boobs!

Anyway, despite it not quite being what I set out to do, I am pretty happy with it! I love adding a lace trim to underwear- I was pretty lucky to find a bundle of stretchy wide black lace in Hillsborough that was ideal for lower edge. It also came in handy for hiding any dodgy stitching on the elastic!

x

Currently listening to: Boys Boys Boys, Lady Gaga

Love Sewing Magazine Kimono III & Boudoir Blushes Vest

So after last week's boxy kimono, I felt needed to get closure and have another go at making up my garment suited more to my style.

The fabric I chose this time was the skull patterned open weave affair that I spotted in Hillsborough last weekend. I knew as soon as I touched it that this fabric's drape would be much more suited to the pattern.

What no one told me though, was how much of an arse open weave is to sew. I can tell you now my machine hated every second of it. My machine seemed to be making a few odd clunks last week when I was inserting a zip into my college dress, so after this weekend's marathon clunking session (not as fun as it sounds...) I'm slightly concerned about what state my machine is in.
Anyway, I battled through, sewing the seams as smoothly as I could. I was about half way when I had a brainwave and tried using a piece of tissue under my fabric while I sewed so that the stitches had something to hold on to in more open areas of the fabric.
Once the seam was sewn it was easy enough to remove the tissue just by ripping it away. Much less stress!

Due to the terror of the situation, along with last week's lumpy seams, I decided not to go for French seams this weekend. Luckily for me, my fabric was not prone to fraying! So assembledge was made much simpler as I left my edges trimmed neatly, but not stitched.
The simple way of finishing (cheating?) Meant that the garment was made up in an afternoon and ready to wear that evening.

Now, regulars of you will remember last week I also had the problem of not knowing what to wear with my kimono. So my second make of the week was a simple lace vest using the basic shape of the Boudoir Blushes camisole from the Secrets of Sewing Lingerie book.

There are a few differences between the camisole and my vest top.
1- I have added an extra panel to the boob area as the lace is a bit see-throughy. To do this I literally just copied the top of the pattern, put the darts in, and then stitched it to the front piece. The two layers aren't completely opaque, so don't worry boys! It's still lacey enough to be a bit flirty.

2- I did not add a lace trim to the vest like I did the camisole as I didn't want to to look too pyjamay. Instead I edged it with binding I made from excess fabric. The lace was a bit bobbly, so it leads to quite a casual effect, but think that works quite nicely in a textural kind of way.

Which leads me on to 3- The straps attached are just extensions of the binding. I did not add hoops and sliders, instead just attached the binding straps to the back panel.

The vest in pretty simple but just what I needed to wear for summer whilst keeping those abs tucked away.

How is everyone getting on with Me Made May 2015? My double whammy this weekend has opened my options up a bit for the month! I'm keeping a log on my Instagram of my outfits throughout the month, but will be updating on here at relevant stages... I've made a couple of hairclips up incase we get desperate!

x

Currently listening to: Maybe On Monday, Calexico

Secrets of Sewing Lingerie Boudoir Blushes Camisole and Shorts

This is my second make from the fabulous Secrets of Sewing Lingerie book!

I chose to have a go at this one as it seemed fairly simple in comparison to some of the other project, but also a good way to combine some of my new skills! The vest is made from two pieces cut on the fold and the front piece has one straight dart for each boob. The book suggests using a silk satin fabric to make the set from, but I decided to go for a crepe-back satin at £7.99 p/m. I found this fabric was less likely to fray quite so badly, but also had less drape than a silk fabric would have. If I have another go at this pattern in the future I think I might try a silk fabric in red. I was tricked into buying pink fabric after I saw how good the one in the book looked, then realised I don't really wear pink! Doh!

After sewing in the darts the next step was french seams along the side seams. I was quite proud of how neat they came out! My attention to accuracy at college is definitely paying off. When pressing the fabric I found it could withstand a lot more heat than silk could have, so that's another point in the crepe's favour!

The lace trim hides a sneaky reverse hem which I'd never tried before. I chose to use a zigzag stitch along the lace to make sure the hem was secure. I still need to practice joining the lace where it meets (I think I did it different each time!), but I don't think you would notice if I hadn't said anything!

It took me a few attempts before I got the hang of just where to stitch when doing the shell stitch around the top of the back. I ended up going round and marking every 3cm so that they didn't come out wonky! I quite like the effect though- another sneaky way of doing a hem without anyone stitches showing!

To make the straps for this garment I was required to make two long pieces of rouleau. Not done this before! It's fairly easy in theory but I did find that the width of my straps was a bit wobbly which wasn't ideal once they were folded and sewn into place. I will be extra careful next time. The attaching of the straps was fairly simple- my hand stitching is not great but shhhh!

The shorts were also made from two pieces of fabric and sewn together with french seams. The top features an encased elastic waistband. For the first time I did a row of stitching along the top and the bottom of the casing before inserting the elastic and found it looks 100x more professional! Will have to be careful in future if I do this not to make the case too narrow for the elastic though.
The shorts also feature a cute little petal gusset where the french seams meet between the legs. I followed the instructions in the book which told me to attach this before adding the lace around the leg holes. This backfired and I had to take the gusset off again later so that the stitching around the reverse hem of the legs didn't go over the gusset. Ooops!

The final adornment was the double box bow that was added to the front of the waistband. I could have hidden my join in the stitching behind this but I'd joined my stitches at the back! I am really happy with the way my bow turned out, though a little disappointed you can't see it when I have the camisole on!

My main regret is not making the set in red with black lace instead. But there's always next time!

x

Secrets of Sewing Lingerie Babycakes Bra

After having a go at a few pairs of knickers I have really got the lingerie-making bug! I picked up Katherine Sheers and Laura Stanford's Secrets Of Sewing Lingerie book so I could have a go at a few different patterns.

The book covers all kinds of different makes and all the sections are really well explained and illustrated. The only thing putting me off getting started was collecting all the different materials needed. The lady in the fabric shop looked rather blankly at me when I said I wanted a swan-hook. Luckily for me I had a few old bras at hand so recycled hoops and sliders off the straps.

I was relived to find that the Babycakes Bra only required to pieces cutting out- the rest relied on careful alignment of lace and elastic! After having practiced darts over the past couple of months I felt quite confident with the cup darts. I was pleased to find they were a perfect fit!
The pattern suggested using rigid tulle, but it seemed a little difficult to get hold of round here. Instead I used a stretchier lacy tulle-type fabric. I'm not sure if I would need to make the next cup size up if I were to use a rigid fabric next time.

Another material I struggled to get hold of was 'strap'. The pattern suggests buying 2 meters of the stuff, but the strap I found in local haberdasheries was definitely no good for lingerie. There is a real lack of fancy elastic around here too. In the end I ended up buying a pair of ready-made detachable straps (boo) and butchering some old ones so they had hoops instead of detachable hooks. They were surprisingly easy to sew though which was a relief!

The centreback of the pattern features this snazzy gated swan-hook type fastening. This was really the only thing on my bra I wasn't really happy with. Firstly the strap I used was clearly different on the front and back so the folding of it looks really obvious. Secondly it was really difficult to get the angles of each triangle to match. it was important they were the same length and met in the middle. The positioning and the angling of the join to the back of the bra was also really important. I thought I'd done an okay job until I tried it on and found the end of the wings that join the strap both buckle up in the middle. I thought putting the final strip of strap over the top of the join as a kind of boning would help hold it down, but it just seems to have accentuated it! I am thinking about maybe finding some actual boning and seeing if that will help it keep the right shape.

I am really looking forward to having a go at some more of the things from the book. There is a satin shorts and cami set with my name all over it!

x

Currently listening to: Calexico, Trigger (Revisited)