Tag: Everyone deserves Pretty Knickers

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Sewing Adventures – a matching set

Much of the fabrics I use come from Pitt Trading, some of that’s because I used to work there and I stashed a fair bit of stuff and some of it is because they sell some of the most amazing fabrics and trims available. When they asked did I want to give one of their Crystal lycra kits a try I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The kits are generous, you could easily make 3 to 4 pieces that co ordinate together. I decided to go all out and use as much as I could on an Emma bralet (pattern available via the shop) and matching it wth some Evie La Luvie Esme knickers.

I love the knicker shape it’s super cute and a great use of lace. However I don’t love how the crotch gusset is smaller than the outer knicker panel along the sides. Unless your sewing is super precise it’s so easy to miss a bit when you are stitching it down. Honestly I’ll just be cutting it wider in the future to make the sewing more enjoyable and less fraught with worry that it won’t be caught in correctly.

I do however love the entirely lace back, it’s so pretty, particularly with the stripe elastic I do like a bit of sporty style mixed in unexpectedly.

The Emma I have made multiple times before but this is the first time I’ve added the lace to the lower hem. For myself I don’t do it as I’m so short it just folds up but this one is for someone else and it looks so cute I think I want to try a narrower lace version for myself. Sewing on the FOE was a dream as this one is so lush and thick it’s like an elastic ribbon it’s so satiny. Absolutely gorgeous.

All in all it was a wonderful set to sew and I hope the person I made it for will love it too!

Patterns: Evie La Luvie Esme knickers, Emma bralet by Measure Twice Cut Once

Fabrics: Crystal lycra lingerie kit from Pitt Trading

Alterations: fix the width of the crotch gusset before I use the pattern again

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Sewing Adventures – more Mara Bralets

Any long term readers will know I’ve been on quite the bra sewing kick this year. Mostly because I needed new ones but also with lockdowns and COVID restrictions I just haven’t needed new dresses or other new clothes as much. I’ve been enjoying wearing what I have and filling the other holes in my wardrobe. However it has meant my blog and Instagram have been fairly Bra heavy on posts with lots of comments.

One person who sends me messages every time I post a new bra is my cousin Sarah who lives in Canberra. She keeps threatening to come steal my bras so I offered to make her some of her own. She sent me her measurements and I was shocked to find we were almost matching in our sizing. So I grabbed my patterns and got cutting.

I’ve started with the Mara bralet as it’s so comfortable and because I can’t get to Sarah to check the fit I thought it would be easier to start with a soft bra rather than dive into an underwire.

Rummaging through the stash I matched laces to printed meshes and came up with these combinations. Sarah said she didn’t mind if I stuck with my stash and made things in my non matching style.

Now to send them off and fingers crossed they fit!

Pattern: Mara bralet from Studio Costura

Fabric: Meshes, laces, trims all from the stash but most likely originally from Pitt Trading. Back closures from stash or Booby Traps

Alterations: let’s see how they fit?

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Sewing Adventures – Ohhh Lulu Romy Bra

Another week, another bra! or more accurately my need for more comfortable pieces now I’m staying in all the time. The Ohhh Lulu Romy has been on my to make list for forever and the other day I had the machines all set up to sew lingerie so I grabbed some extra pieces and cut this one out. It’s really small pieces so I even managed to cut it out of some scraps left over from other projects which is fantastic as it’s yet another pattern that can be used to reduce waste.

It went together really well. I’ve lined the front cups with the same soft pink mesh that the upper panel is out of. This meant all the internal seams could be clean finish which not only looks nice is also super comfortable.

After attaching the lower picot elastic I thought I should check the sizing and while the cups were ok, the band was way too big. Mostly because the fabrics I’m using are super stretchy, especially the floral it’s got lots of give to it. So I cut the panels back thinking I’d swap it to a pull on style as this is essentially a tester to see if I like the style and if it’s comfortable. Cut off what I thought was excess and finished it all off. Now it looks small and it’s a slight wriggle to get on. Have I made it too small now?

I’m going to wear it for awhile and see what I think. In the meantime it’s looking super cute and I’m hoping I have enough leftovers to make matching knickers!

Pattern: Ohhh Lulu Romy pattern

Fabric: floral – poly jersey knit I got from Cabramatta, Pink mesh and elastics from Pitt Trading

Alterations: made it pull on by cutting off some of the back – wear to see if that works

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Sewing Adventures – Mary knickers

It’s been too long since I used my Mary Knickers pattern. I forgot how much I like th low slung on the hips fit and the little almost legs to them.

As part of my Make nine topics was “Operation Lingerie Drawer and I couldn’t be more pleased with how these first 2 pairs of Mary Knickers have gone.

The lace is a super soft floral print from Pitt Trading. The fabric stretches one way but not both ways. The Mary is great for this type of fabric as it doesn’t really need too much give through the height but it does mean these ones are ever so slightly cheeky but I’m ok with that. If you want to avoid that just cut them with a longer back rise. Always be sure to cut with the greatest stretch going around you.

I’ve used an organic cotton jersey also from Pitt Trading as the gusset, you can just use the lace but I prefer the cotton.

Make wise I just overlocker them all together. The gusset is actually a floating gusset but I decided to use my coverstitch machine and stitch it to the lace. Sometimes with a delicate fabric it helps give them a little extra strength and longevity.

At the last Pitt Trading pop up store I got some of these beautiful patterned elastics and put it to the Instagram hive mind to see which one got to be the waistband.

Stripes won and I attached it using my coverstitch. I often get asked about my coverstitch machine and it is my least used machine but I’m going to try and use it more and basically get better at using it. Sometimes I forget to have time to just practice at getting better so I’m going to see if I can squeeze in some practise time with it.

Now I had a metre of this fabric and I’m determined to leave no scraps unused so after I had cut some other bits and pieces I had enough for another pair of Mary’s. This time I just used a picot I had on hand for the waistband. It’s fine and very functional but not as cute at the stripes.

Pattern: The Mary Knickers by Measure Twice Cut Once

Fabric: stretch printed lace from Pitt Trading, patterned elastic from Pitt Trading

Alterations: none

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Emma Bralet versions by Lifewithmycubs

One of the main reasons I do Everyone Deserves Pretty Lingerie week is because I really do think everyone does. They are such a fast make and can be used as stash busters to use up leftovers from other makes or a chance to indulge in some beautiful lace and trims. Because you need so little you can actually make your own lingerie quite cheaply when compared to designer pieces.

This week Julia from @lifewithmycubs has well and truly caught the lingerie making fever. Each style she makes just keeps topping the last for amazing use of lace and trims.

She picked up all her fabrics and trims from Pitt Trading and all weekend long they are giving a free gift to all online purchases. It’s a beautiful selection of vintage lingerie trims from a factory that was opening in the 50’s and 60’s.

I love how she has showcased the versatility of the looks you can achieve from sporty to cute to luxury in lace.

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Sewing Adventures: Emma Racer Back Slip in lemon and pink

A sweet Emma in lemon and pink! I actually had made this exact version before but lost the garment in the fire and when I discovered I still had some I knew I had to replicate it.

It’s a slinky jersey knit from Pitt Trading with pink lace trim and pink fold over elastic also from Pitt Trading. I love that their range of lace trims is so large you can always find a colour that is going to complement your fabric choices.

Much like my last Emma I’ve gone for a 12 top and graded out to a 14 bottom half. I’ve also been keeping them at the longest length. I’m just liking the silhouette of the longer line.

As you can see from my photos of all my Emma’s I have been trying hard to get better photos. It’s so much easier when you can shoot outside like I did for my Me Made May challenge. Hopefully with some more practice it will get slightly easier. Right now all I can see is the flaws in me and the photo.?

Pattern: The Emma Racer Back slip and bralet from Measure Twice Cut Once

Fabric and trims: slinky jersey, stretch lace and fold over elastic all from Pitt Trading

Alterations: This version made at the longest length on the pattern, see how it goes during sleep before deciding if I should keep it at that length or not?

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Sewing Adventures – Emma Racer Back Slip with lace

Another Emma! this time with added lace. I really like how this one turned out, I made the variation with the lace and like how the black lace works so well with the darker style print.

The fabric was picked up at the Sydney Spoolettes first fabric swap of 2018 (2nd from the top in this photo. It was smallish but you need so little for this pattern that I knew I could make it work. It’s super soft and the original owner said she got it from Knit Wit in Perth.

It’s slightly firmer across my stomach where I’m lopsidedly swollen after surgery but am not worried as thats something that is unique to me and not the pattern fitting incorrectly.

Since my last version I’ve sized down the bust area to a size 12 but kept the body at a 14 but apart from that no other changes.

One of the reasons I wanted to do a racer back slip is that I am a very wriggly sleeper. Normally slips fall off my shoulders and I get all tangled up in them. This narrow curving back fits perfectly and stops the slip from moving off me as I wriggle in my sleep. A great solution that also looks flattering.

I also got to use my overstitch machine for the hem, was very exciting. Am still in the early stages of knowing all the ins and outs of the machine but so far very impressed.

Pattern: The Emma Slip by Measure Twice Cut Once

Fabric: Sydney Spoolettes fabric swap 2018 and black fold over elastic and lace from Pitt Trading

Alterations or changes for next time: None

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Everyone Deserves Pretty Lingerie Week is Back!

It’s that time of the year again, the annual Everyone deserves Pretty Lingerie week! I started this week years ago to encourage everyone to make pretty knickers and it’s since grown to encompass all things underwear and lingerie.

So I encourage everyone to take a look at their lingerie supplies, patterns and wardrobe and decide they need something a bit pretty, something nice and go out there and make it this week!

I’ll be popping onto the blog all week with different bits and pieces from pattern releases to sharing of new makes of my own.

Blog yours too or if you are on instagram keep an eye out for the #everyonedeservesprettylingerie and #everyonedeservesprettyknickers hashtags to see what everyone has been creating.
Happy Sewing!

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Sewing Adventures: another lingerie set

Not content with giving my friend one matching set of lingerie I thought I’d add another not quite a set to her parcel.

After the success of sewing the Delphine thong I decided to try another one, this time in a soft stretch lace and without the additional back coverage.

The lace from Pitt Trading is so lovely to work with but was so soft that the very end of the plate on my sewing machine was catching ever so slightly as it went though.

A quick fix was to use some wide washi tape to cover the plate and hey presto! Snag free sewing.

I really I thought the thong would pair perfectly with a plain black satin bra but as I was running out of time to get it finished in I cheated a little. In my teaching bag I often have samples of pieces that are not quite finished so I can show students diffferent steps along the way. A bit of a rummage through the bag and I found this black lace triangle that only needed a little bit of finishing off.

Together they make a nice not quite matching set.

Pattern: Delphine thong by Ohhh Lulu, my own pattern for the triangle bra

Fabric: Laces from Pitt Trading, elastics and trims from my stash

Alterations: None