Plum/Turquoise Lingerie Set

Photo Link to all photos

I had great fun making this set. I got the fabric at G Street Fabrics when I was in Maryland visiting Linda. It's been aging gently in the inventory, and I'm glad I finally made it up. It's pretty wild, but I had a good time dying all the elastic/findings/notions to match. In fact, at this very moment, I have 3 white lace tangas in the dyepot. I wanted more than one matching panty, and realized I might as well just sew them first, and dye later. This works beautifully, as long as you use Nylon Thread when you sew. This is very important, as polyester thread won't dye, and you'll suddenly have contrasting stitching everywhere. That can be a great look, but not when you didn't plan it.

Here's a closer view of just the bra.
I used the pattern I copied from a Freya bra. This is one of the few bras I've made without any lace on it, and I think it turned out pretty well.

I wanted a matching panty, and the tanga pattern I like is for stretch lace only. Well, with no lace on the bra, that seemed to be a bit of a problem. I dyed lace to match the notions for the bra, and ended up using a little of the bra fabric on the panty. It's kind of a reverse applique, in that I placed it underneath the lace and stitched around it on some of the lace lines, then cut away the lace over it. I think it works. The lace itself was sold with the selvedges still attached, so you had to cut the galloon edges free. You can see what it looks like when partially cut away.

From Lingerie

You may have noticed that the lace seems to be wider than what was used on the finished panty. Well, you're right. It was wider than I like (I like about a 3-1/2" lace for these) and so after finishing the whole thing, I decided I just wasn't happy, and so I carefully marked and cut between the top and bottom lace motifs, then joined them with zigzag stitching along a motif line, cut away the excess on the top, then stitched again and cut away the excess on the inside. This worked beautifully, and it's very hard to see the join, even when you are holding them in your hand. Lace is just handy that way.

I knew I wanted a garter belt for this set, and I copied an older Vanity Fair one I have. I dyed the components for it as well, including some silk organza to underlay the centerfront piece, and some very narrow non-stretch lace edging for the edges, ribbon to cover the garters, loopy elastic for the garter straps and waistband, and SeamsGreat. The original I was copying was 'taped' along all the edges and seams with some kind of tricot strips. I thought about it a lot, and finally decided that SeamsGreat would work okay. I think it worked great, and I doubled it for strength. It was very easy to dye, and I am keeping that in mind for future plans. I'm sure it could come in handy for a lot of things, and I have a lot of it on hand. Here's a view of the inside of the garter belt, and a close-up of the inside front.


I think the garter straps, etc. are just as cute as they can be. I love the little ribbon flowers. I got those at JoAnn's, they had the perfect color. You'll notice there's one on the bra as well. Making a garter belt was a new experience, and not difficult, but pretty fiddly. There are just so many little pieces and steps to put them all together. I would do it a little differently next time, if there is a next time. I wouldn't try to make it so adjustable in the back. There's no point really, I know what size I am, it only has to fit me.

I'll leave you with a photo of the garter strap.

Turquoise/Plum Bra & Dyeing

I finally started on another bra. This one is a wild turquoise/plum fabric I got at G Street Fabrics when I was visiting Linda. First I had to dye findings for it. I had thought a lavender-blue strap elastic was the perfect color, so I dyed some things to match it. I was extremely thrilled that the color match to the strap elastic was so good, but then I decided that what I really needed to go with this fabric was teal. So, I began again. Here's what I ended up with for dyed things.

From Lingerie

And this is the teal dyed items with the fabric swatch.

From Lingerie

I'm using a pattern I've used before, which I copied from a Freya bra. Since I'm now making 'cheeky' style lace tanga panties, I'll have to figure out a way to make them 'match' this bra. I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure just what I'll end up with. This is how far I've gotten on this bra.

From Lingerie

Fleece Thoughts -Plus- Most Fabulous French Onion Soup Ever

From inbox

First, thank you for the comments on my fleece cami. It's nice and warm. Sally had an interesting thought, which made me think. She mentioned that she'd like something that came up higher on the back since her upper back was always chilly. I then wondered why you couldn't use a pattern like Jalie 2568 with fleece. You could make the back neckline higher without too much trouble, although at some point a CB seam, some shoulder darts or other shaping method might be desirable.
You might have to be a little careful of the size you cut, comparing the amount of stretch in your fleece to the amount called for in the pattern, but fleece is pretty stretchy, and I think this could be a real winner. I have an OOP KwikSew pattern that is almost identical that I would use.

Now on to the onion soup. The perfect meal on a cold, cold day.

I have to give all the credit for this to my dear friend Barbara, of Cat Fur Studio. She is many-talented, and also has a cooking blog where I found this. Her method for making Caramelized Onions in the crockpot is fabulous and unbelievably simple. I now make sure I always have some of her caramelized onions at the ready in the fridge at all times. Makes for some wonderful things, and of course real French Onion Soup is not the least of those.

Barbara's Caramelized Onions and French Onion Soup Recipe and one more look at the delicious result.

From inbox

Fleece Camisoles

From Lingerie

Perhaps not the most sexy lingerie item, but when it's below zero with 40mph winds outside, I think most of us are a little more interested in warmth. I am anyway.

I have a fleece camisole that was part of a pajama set I bought a few years ago that I use as a camisole when it's really cold. I've always thought I should copy the idea, and I finally did. I made two. The first one is very plain, with fleece straps, and just hemmed at top and bottom, and was made from a scrap of fleece I had. It was my test version, and I didn't even take a photo of it, I just put it on and wore it.

From Lingerie

The second cami is in a polka-dot fleece I bought with this project in mind. I used a piece of embroidered and scalloped sheer tricot (from my FabricDepot Stretch Lace Valu-Pack) beneath the hem edge, and found some large chenille rickrack in a hot pink that is the perfect strap. The top edge ended up a funny, but intriguing shape because of the way I cut the front and back together. I forgot to cut the front lower in the center after I was done with the double layer, but it is a very interesting look, almost like an Elizabethan corset top, and I like it. It would look cuter with a bow or twist of rickrack where the straps connect, but the chenille rickrack is so ravelly I think I won't bother, and it would make quite a lump under clothing anyway.

From Lingerie

The original has no shaping at all really, and I didn't give this much either, just making a small pleat where the straps attach, and giving it a fairly close fit, making the stretch of the fleece do the work. I love the sheer tricot hem edge and the straps give it a little kick, perfect with polka dots.


I think these are going to go on the list of great Xmas gifts, and my sister-in-law may get one for her birthday much sooner.

Questions & Answers (I hope)

I try to answer questions that are posed in the Comments for this blog, and sometimes I answer in the Comment section, and sometimes I do a post. This time it's a post.

You may remember the Twisted Binding I've done on a couple of tank tops. The original post was far enough back that I thought adding a comment there would be unhelpful to anyone who had seen it then. these are photos of two garments of mine with Twisted Binding. They are both knits, the first is a fairly beefy cotton knit, the second is a very thin mesh knit.


Photo Link

Photo Link

Suannah from Adventures in Dressmaking said:

This is great! I hope to do a tutorial on a twisted hem edge soon myself. I see that you can use the straight grain on a knit, but do you think bias would be better for a lightweight woven? Hm... (and also, I assume you would press under 1/2" or so on the back before stitching in the ditch?)

A: You will want to use bias with a woven, but I would not press under the edge on the back for two reasons.

1. It won't ravel anyway, being on the bias.
2. You're going to have a lot of bulk (comparatively) from the twisting and the edge will not be nice and flat anyway, as it would be if it were a non-twisted binding. I think it would be overkill to press it and attempt to turn it under as you stitch, and I don't think you'd get the result you would like. Just trim the raw edge so it's even and unobtrusive. You can probably trim very closely.

joanier asked this on the Olive Green Lingerie post:

Do you mind if I ask what panty pattern you use? I assume that they are comfortable or you wouldn't be making them. They almost look as if they don't have elastic in the legs. That's my next undertaking to make some panties but am trying now to decide on a style and pattern.

A: You're correct that there is no elastic in the legs. I've found this to be very comfortable, and to be no problem in wearing. It works better in some fabrics, although I've been surprised occasionally by what works better than I'd thought. In general, you want a knit with a good lycra content so it has nice, snappy recovery. Often the 'heavier' knits are better, although mesh seems to be great in most cases as well, and that's almost the antithesis of 'heavy'.

I use an old Stretch&Sew pattern, #2046. I think it's OOP, although it seems to be available with a different number. There's nothing unusual about it, it's a very basic pattern, and I think you could do very well with almost any basic panty pattern.

Photo Link

Olive Green Lingerie

Photo Link

I've had this bra partially done for some time now, and finally was able to find time to finish it up and make a few pairs of panties to go with it. The lace and findings are all from Fabric Depot. I used foldover elastic for the straps as well as the upper edge, and it worked very well. Since I certainly do not need stretchy straps, I inserted twill tape into the straps, and also into the upper bridge piece. It's covered with 3 small ribbon roses, but it's the same folded elastic as the straps.

I dyed the stretch lace, picot elastic, closures and powernet lining. I had enough of the stretch lace to do a waistband on one pair of panties, and I used the foldover elastic for another. The duller green pair is actually a very wide piece of lycra with knitted-on stretch lace at the top and bottom. It was billed as stretch lace, but it's not very lacy. I like it, though. I realized while sewing them that I should probably have used it for the front only and made 2 pair, instead of piecing the back with the bra fabric. It's not quite as striking a demarcation in real life as it appears in the photo.


Photo Link

The print pair is a very soft mesh knit that I made a Jalie summer top from. I'm planning a camisole from the scraps as well. I would recommend this type of fabric for anything next to the skin, including nightwear. The stretch lace band is the same pattern lace as the dyed green, but this came this color in my Fabric Depot lace bundle.

You can see a closer photo of the bra below, and
more photos here.

Photo Link

More Aqua

Link to All Photos

I thought I'd do a couple more panties for the Aqua Set while I was on a roll. These have little scraps of lace as embellishment, with some narrow ribbon couched onto the cut lace edges.



I cut one complete pair from the Frosted Lycra and one from the Satin Lycra, and then 'mixed and matched' to combine both fabrics in each pair. The front and crotch-piece are one fabric and the back and upper-left front are the other. The lace was attached, and then the fabric was cut out behind it. I used plain picot elastic for these, as I did the previous pair.

More lace details below.

Aqua Lingerie

Photo Link

I've lost a little weight in the last few months, and I thought a new bra would be a good idea. I used the Freya pattern I copied, and made the band about an inch shorter. Next time I will also take a little out of the lower cup, although this is perfectly wearable, and if I were not now so picky from having beautifully-fitting bras, I would think it was just fine.

I used an aqua lycra from Fabric Depot that has kind of a frosted look, and is a very nice weight. I dyed the closure and the strap elastic, which is a double-sided plush with Natori woven into it.

Photo Link
I used this on the lower band edge as well. I used a white picot edge elastic for the upper band edge, and clear elastic inside the lace upper cups. The lace was already dyed to match.

The panties have the same lace at the sides, and I used my favorite boy-leg method with simply a cut edge at the bottom, and bar-tacks at the lower edge of the lace-joining seams. The front of the panty is made from a Victoria's Secret satin lycra fabric I got from a co-op. I got several colors of this, and it's pretty, and very shiny, but it had a lot of fold lines which do not seem to want to come out easily. I'm hoping they'll finally relax and fall out on their own, as they're from the shipping, not a bolt fold. It also snags very easily, so I'll have to be careful with it.


Photo Link

I thought a half-slip would be fun as well, as my favorite one (from an old Nancy's Notions kit) is getting pretty tired looking. I measured it for the dimensions of this one, and also added a strip of the frosty lycra for a little oomph, as well as to tie it into the bra a little more. The lace hem is so easy to do when you use scotch magic tape to hold it while you sew. This is when a knee-lift for your presser foot really comes in handy, as you'll be repositioning your fabric each time your lace takes another turn.

Photo Link

After you have the lace attached, remove the tape slowly, first on one side of the stitching line, and then the other. I then stitch a second time maybe 1/4" away from the first line, for security. You can see the finished inside here, including the frosted lycra strip. I used a serpentine stitch to flatten the seam allowances. You can use any decorative stitch for this, and lingerie is one of the places you can use all the decorative stitches on your machine that usually look a little juvenile on adult clothing, so go wild! If you click on the photo link below, you'll be able to see a much larger photo, and the stitching will show much better.

Photo Link

I sewed the side seam of the slip after attaching the lace to the hem, and I left the lace side seam area unstitched, for a slit, and just turned the edge of the lace twice to finish.
Photo Link

I used the same white picot elastic for the waist of the panties and the slip.

I have a couple more panties cut out, and another bra as well, in a different color. I need to be thinking of lighter colored sets for spring and summer, but this was fun to make.

Blue Rose Nightgown

Photo Link

The photo above is of the nightgown I came up with after seeing this darling babydoll set from Jesus Fernandez.



As soon as I saw this, I knew it was a style I would really like. I have plenty of wide stretch lace in pretty colors and patterns from a Fabric Depot Value Pack, and so I went trolling through my stash of suitable fabric to see what would make a good combination. This is a very light, sheer mesh knit with a rose print. It was something I bought online that was. not what I'd expected, and I couldn't really imagine what I might do with it, but I put it away in case anything ever came to mind.

Since I wanted quite a bit of fullness in the skirt/body, I knew I needed something extremely light. Sheer just came along for the ride in this case. Mine is longer than the inspiration piece, and I made panties to match, but not in all lace. The front is lined with a silver tricot, which rather disappears under the print.
Photo Link

The only other things I added were black satin ribbon and some blue rosettes.

Here's a better photo of the fabric.
Photo Link

Vanilla Meringue Set

Photo Link

I've not been doing much sewing lately, more knitting, and fabric and yarn buying, but I finally decided I wanted a light-colored bra, and I wanted it to be lightweight and cool, so I thought I'd try it without powernet lining in the lower cup pieces. I used the Panache pattern for this, with non-stretch lace yardage over tricot for the cups, and lace over powernet for the band. I started with white tricot, cream lace, pink straps and all the other bra findings white, and dyed them all slightly with Taupe Rit dye. I added a little Rose to the Taupe for the lace. As usual, the elastics take the dye most quickly, and I like the counterpoint of the slightly darker elastic with the pale lace and tricot. As always, if you click on the photo links, you can get a much more detailed look at the photos.

I've gotten to really like having lingerie sets, and I made 2 pair of panties to match this bra. They're different, and this one's my favorite.
Photo Link
Both the ruffled stretch lace on the legs and the plain at the waist on these are from my Fabric Depot 'grab bag' of lace. They're both really soft.

Here's a close-up of the bra.
Photo Link

Melange

As my title suggests, there are a lot of disparate items in this post. From sewing to books to soap, I'm putting it all in here.

If you are a regular reader of Stitcher's Guild, you'll already know that I also asked there for advice on underlining my skirt, and among several answers got a very thoughtful question from Ann Rowley. She wondered if this fabric was really right for this design. It made me stop and think, and after some testing, I decided that she was right. I'm so glad she stopped me before I made a terrible error and wasted that gorgeous fabric.

I've been searching the inventory and have almost positively decided on a fabric which seems much more suitable. It's a Pendleton wool plain in a pinky-beige/cream/brown combination. It's a very fine, lightweight fabric that seems to drape beautifully on the bias. I will almost certainly underline it with something, but I haven't started testing that yet. I need to make a muslin from my corrected pattern and make sure it's just right before I start on the real thing.

Meanwhile, I sewed another pair of pants last night while procrastinating from some bookwork I should have been doing.

I have enjoyed looking at the various styles that Sigrid has put in her Inspiration file, and I thought it would be fun to try to copy these.

While I didn't get a perfect copy by any means, I'm fairly well pleased with these, and I know there are a few things I'd try next time if I do another pair. Photo Link The original has a 2-layer front piece, and this may help form the top bands a little more easily. I also would make the top band area wider so I had more to work with. Generally, I think they're kind of cute, though. The lace is some that I have had for years, waiting for a suitable project.

I was thrilled to find that several of you also have a fond feeling for The Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese de Dillmont, which I discussed in the last post. I have ordered my own copy since then, and was able to get what I hope is going to be the exact edition my mother has. There are lots of reprints available, but I wanted an original. Miaaa, It was so interesting to hear that you have your grandmother's copy too!

My sister, who's very smart of course, is contributing two items to this post. First, she found the Encyclopedia of Needlework online in its entirety. Someone has posted it all, so if an online version will make you happy, it's here. The illustrations are very nice and clear, and there's a nice index, so it should be very usable.

Encyclopedia of Needlework Online

She also told me how to refill my foaming handsoap dispenser. In case you have one, you don't have to buy a new bottle every time. Just use the regular liquid handsoap and mix it with water in about a 1:3 ratio of soap:water. Stir well, and that's it. So instead of paying more for less soap and more water, just refill. Maybe everyone else already knew this, but I sure didn't.

Another Lingerie Set

I made another bra and panty set Sunday from a different pattern than I've used before. This one was copied from a ready-to-wear bra by Panache, and I think it turned out nicely. It has a horizontal top piece instead of the angled style of the Freya copy, and it gives a different look, and a little different shape I think.

Photo Link

I tried several different techniques with this bra. I used a spaghetti strap attachment for the main strap, a detail that caught my eye in an advertisement, and which I've been anxious to try.

Photo Link

Since I'd made a lot of spaghetti tubing to do the straps, I thought I'd use some of it as embellishment, and liked the little roses I came up with. I used one at each strap attachment point, one at CF, and one on a pair of matching panties I made.
Photo Link

I used the print under the lace on the top cup piece, which gives it more stability than the lace alone. All the other pieces are lined with powernet. Although it looks like there's a wrinkle in the bridge, that disappears when it's worn.

Photo Link

The 6" wide stretch lace and the brown lycra are both from my Fabric Depot bundles, and the print is something I had on hand, originally thinking I'd make a tank top or something, and I still have plenty left. It's a soft mesh knit. I dyed all the elastic, the strapping and the closure to match the main print color.

Photo Link

These are the two pairs of panties I made to match this bra. I have enough stuff to make several more of one design or another. The pair on the left uses the full width of the lace, and for the the other, I trimmed the lace to about 2 1/2", or the width of one set of motifs. I still am very happy with the no-elastic look on the legs, so I'm continuing to use the style.

There are a few more photos here.

Thrills and Chills

Isn't it fun when sewing gets really exciting again? I keep plugging away, and although I always enjoy it and wouldn't quit for anything, every now and then I just get thrilled with an idea or a little progress on something, and suddenly I'm on a high with no ceiling in sight. Yesterday it happened with a skirt I'm working on.

I thought I was getting a little stuck on lingerie, and I ought to work on something else, like how about one of this season's Marfy patterns I bought? I thought I'd start with this skirt, Marfy #1949.
Photo Link

I knew I was probably going to have to enlarge the pattern a little at least because most Marfy patterns have almost no ease, and I didn't want a really form-fitting skirt. Also since this pattern has only one seam, at CB, is cut on the bias, and has no dart shaping, and only one partial side seam in the pocket, a muslin was a necessity. Actually, the pattern pieces had me stymied for a while because there are so many waistband pieces. There are 6 waistband pieces. One for the front, one for left back, one for the right back, and inner pieces for each of these, so the band has a seam at the top. Then there is a front and back piece that go between the waistband and the skirt to form the pocket, and of course a pocket bag front. It's a beautifully made pattern, but it took me a while to lay it out so I could figure out what was going on. Then it seemed perfectly logical.

So, I was working on this pattern, and also trying to think about what fabric I would use. I wanted to use a plaid or check as shown in the drawing, but what? Suddenly light dawned, and I thought of a piece I got from Elliott Berman's sale, and the perfection of the combination just thrilled me.
Photo Link
I had originally thought of a skirt from it, but nothing specific, and this seemed perfect. I checked, and I think I will have enough. I have about a yard and a half. Luckily, there's no matching necessary, except on the waistband if i want it there, and since there's gathering on the skirt, it won't match perfectly there anyway. I hope it's going to turn out as well as I think it could.

Meanwhile, I haven't quit on the lingerie thing either. It's almost instant gratification sewing, and mixing the colors, fabric, laces, etc. is so much fun, and unlike anything else I do. I have another set in mind, and have copied another RTW bra for a different style, so I will try that.