…under…where?…

Back when I was a kid, I remember a friend mentioning her mum had sewn her some new undies. Me in my eternal genius replied “you can sew undies?”. My mum had sewn me some play clothes and blankets, my aunt had sewn my first communion outfit, but undies? Didn’t you just go to Fossey’s to buy those? My little 11 year old mind was blown at how clever you would have to be to sew undies.

Dear 11 year old friend, I hereby humbly apologise for my dense, incredulous self. Turns out that a) you can indeed sew undies and b) homemade undies are the actual best.

A month or so back, I picked up a one-off Lingerie Society kit. it was jam packed with so much prettiness it was overwhelming, so I just looked at it and admired it for a couple of weeks before I started making any real plans. I searched Pinterest and scrolled insta and slowly started to narrow down my favourites, and got to work making a list of what to make to maximise this box of goodies. (You can see some of that list in my august goals post here). I am absolutely floored by the end result. Both the sheer amount I got made, and also, how freaking awesome it all looks. FRIENDS, I MADE ALL THIS!!

I made those!! I CAN BARELY BELIEVE IT! So, here we go, set by set, all the details. I may or may not have have had a wee bit too much fun doing the photos for this post, so far warning, there’s a lot of them!

SET ONE:
There’s nothing quite like jumping in the deep end, is there? For the first make of this collection, and my very first me made bra ever, I decided to make a self-drafted bra based on a favourite RTW. I had worn it to death and it was falling apart at the seams, so I rescued the padded push up cups, used the now discarded band as a template for a pattern, and got to work. if you follow me on instagram, you may have seen the whole process unfold one deliciously child free Saturday a few weeks back. The cups were covered in a very fancy, very technical method, called drape-pin-baste-hopeforthebest. And guess what? It worked beautifully. There are two layers on the cup coverings, a teal stretch lining, covered by the beautiful ocean-themed lace. To finish the edges, I used a zipper foot to attach more of the teal lining, and then folded it over and topstitched it down, to capture the seam, and also provide a barrier against the lace. Being my first bra, and completely self drafted in my signature “winging it” style, it of course is far from perfect. Theres a slight twist in the top of the bridge. One of the underarm elastics could be a bit firmer. I want to come back and shorten the back band by half an inch or so, plus add some power mesh just to give it an extra layer of scaffolding and longevity. But even with all those things, it is delightfully, joyously, wearable, and more comfortable than the original, and it looks freaking amazing (if I do say so myself). That, friends, is what I call A WIN.
With the bra sorted, it was time to turn my attention to a pair of matching knickers. I chose the Violet Knickers from Pitt Trading for this set – the low rise version – which I then tweaked slightly based on a practice pair, to suit my body shape and wear preferences. I used the same teal lining as the bra, for the body of the knickers, and then added lace overlays on each side of the front. To finish the raw edges, I actually used the ribbon that tied up one of the fabrics. Not officially part of the kit, but I decided to claim it anyway! I also finished them in the same elastic as the underarm and bottom hems of the bra to make a neat matching pair. To say I am proud of this set is an understatement

SET TWO:
Set two was almost the complete opposite – no frippery, lots of coverage, built for comfort! For this set, I chose to make the Hyacinth bralette from Oh Lulu, and pair it with low waist, low leg undies from Small Dreams Factory. Both items were adapted to include a lining. I wanted to make them out of a super pretty pale gold shimmer fabric, that also happened to be sheer. Not quite what I had in mind for this pairing, so I added a lining in a nude lingerie knit from my stash. It got a little tricky in parts trying to work through the assembly (especially with the undies), to minimise the number of exposed seams, but after a couple of attempts and a bit of unstitching, I managed to get it so everything was encased except for one of the lining side seams I had to topstitch closed. Both are finished with the same mint green picot elastic and make rather a cute pair! Unlike my first set, there’s not a lot I would change here, possibly just a fraction more ease in the legs of the undies, as I was flying blind on the sizing a little – there wasn’t an included size chart. it was a free pattern, and I quite like the style, so it’s very much a caveat emptor situation. Not much room for complaint when it’s free, is there! Again, both still very wearable and nice and comfy – perfect for under loungewear, especially now our lockdown has been extended again and loungewear is the order of the day!

SET THREE:
Another crop & undies set. I tend to wear crops quite a bit in summer, and wanted to add some cute and lightweight, non-active-wear options to the rotation. This particular crop is the Mallori Lane from Madalynne Intimates, another free pattern. I will confess I found the instructions somewhat hard to follow in places, especially with those straps on the back. In the end I kind of just winged it – I’ve been sewing long enough and made enough garments in my time to be able to work out roughly how things should come together. I used the same pale gold as the Hyacinth bralette, and this time lined it in teal for a slightly different look. Like the previous bralette, it was designed to be unlined, I chose to add the lining for comfort/support/modesty. The matching knickers were made using a pattern I drafted using this tutorial, which I then sectioned off in cutting to create a colour blocked effect. At this point in proceedings I was starting to run out of trims in my kit! The mint waist elastic and nude fold over leg elastic on the undies are both from the kit. The back strapping of the bralette is also from the kit. The nude picot and the mint strapping on the bralette are extras – the picot comes from stash, and the strapping was ordered in specially.

SET FOUR
The final set of the original four I planned is a cute little boxer & cami pyjama set. This lovely navy woven lining had quite a decent length to it, so I wanted to use it in a couple of larger pieces. The boxers were easy – I used the same pattern as I had used for a linen loungewear pair back in May. I used French seams to encase all the raw edges, and did a rolled hem on both the leg hems, and also the waistband edge, to close off the raw edges before applying that super cute exposed mint elastic waistband. The cami is from the Linden sleepwear set from Mood sewing. Again I went with French seams and rolled hems for the construction. I also used the leftover mint elastic to create an undercuts feature – I sliced it in half lengthwise, joined the two, and then sandwiched between the upper and lower bodices when I sewed that seam. The straps are a non-stretch lace from the kit also. It’s a super cute set, and I’m looking forward to the weather warming up to try it out. as always, there’s plenty I would change – but making the shorts shorter and the cami longer, for a start. But overall, I’m happy enough with it.

SET FIVE
With my four original sets made and finished, I still had quite a lot of my kit left over. I decided another bra & knickers set was in order! I purchased the Harriet bra pattern by Cloth Habit, and paired it with the same low cut undies as set two, but altered the pattern to give them a higher rise on the backside, I also lowered the waist by 1.5-2″. The strapping, rings & sliders, and the closures were the only thing I had to buy to finish this set. For us small-framed ladies, the sizing on this beauty is fabulous – down two band sizes means up two cup sizes and you can bet I was in the group chat crowing about it allllllll weekend! It was a quick and easy sew, even if I did manage to break not one, but two needles getting the underwires in. I spent a bit of time going back and forth on buying the pattern, but I’m so glad I did, especially given my frustrations with some of the free or cheap patterns used earlier in the project. This one was really well written and I felt confident all the way through that I knew what was going on and how it should look. The knickers are colour blocked, with the backside being the pale gold shimmer used above (unlined this time though), the teal stretch for the centre front panel, and then two cheeky side panels of the ocean lace, also unlined. The navy elastic on the waistband is from the kit. I was really happy with how they both turned out. I will definitely make another Harriet, and have already a few different hacks in mind to mix it up a bit.

THE AFTERMATH

Would you believe with TEN garments made, and only minimal trims added from my stash, I still have all of the above leftover to add to my stash!! I was tempted to try and get a Watson bra and some skimpy knickers out of it, but I think I’m ready to move on from this kit. I’ve successfully made five sets and 10 garments from this one, and it will be good to have some bits and pieces in my collection for future projects. I already have my eye on another kit, as well as having some smaller single-project kits waiting for my attention. While not entirely “killed”, I’m happy to call this kit finished and disassemble it into my stash.

What a fun project! It was so good to stretch my sewing skills in new ways. I am quite proud of myself, I will confess. I’m so happy with how they all came together, and how they look like as a whole collection. Obviously they are far from perfect, and I am not much more than an enthusiastic amateur, but still. I MADE ALL THOSE! MYSELF!! I can’t wait to add more lingerie sewing to my crafty to-make list! Is there anything you would like to know about these patterns or the kit that I haven’t answered yet? Drop a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer!