Tag: lingerie sewing patterns

Posted on by — Leave a comment

April 2022 Unboxing of The Lingerie Society subscription sewing box from Pitt Trading

Join me, Susan as I unbox the April box from The Lingerie Society a sewing subscription box from Pitt Trading.

I’ll talk you through what’s in this months box offering hints and advice on how to use the pieces.

Join in to chat all things Lingerie Sewing. See more of my sewing and shop patterns at https://measuretwicecutonce.com.au​

Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_measuretwi…

Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/_MeasureTwice​

Support me on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MeasureTwiceC…

What I’m wearing – Self drafted dress pattern in Outback Wife Barkcloth fabric

Earrings – Made by Maddie store

Nail Polish – Everlong by Hanami

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sewing Adventures – Liberty Tana Lawn Harriet Bra

Summers seem to be getting longer and hotter, in fact it was the ongoing heat of last summer that seriously kicked me into gear over making my own bras. No longer did I want to wear padded non breathable sweaty inducing bras ever again. As such I’ve been working with lace, lightweight lining and basically anything that is going to get my bras feeling lighter and more breathable.

Naturally the next step was to try and make a cotton bra. Never one to waste time on making an ugly bra, I used some Liberty tana lawn scraps for my experiment. Normally the pieces are placed in order to cut with the greatest stretch, to do this with a women fabric I used the bias as my greatest stretch. Apart from the fact I’m using a woven fabric everything else was the same construction as I would regularly follow for a Harriet bra.

But did the experiment work? Well yes and no. It went together well and looks super cute but when I wear it I have a ripple of excess fabric along the apex where the seams meet. The shape is also much exaggerated and looks very pointy. My guess is that the bread tissue normally sits down much lower into the cup due to the greater amount of stretch. This would result in a rounder shape that pulls the fabric down rounding off the shape (the Harriet isn’t a totally rounded shape it does have a definite angle to it).

The upper cup panel I did in a woven broderie anglaise trim. It looks super cute but due to the lack of stretch it does dig in the tiniest amount on my bigger side. I’m hoping it will loosen with wear.

To try and fix it I want to try and pinch out the excess fabric and baste it in place then re try it on and see if that solves the problem. My hunch os that the lower cup is going to need to be split and have a bit more volume put in it as well. When trying to solve any pattern making/sewing issues I always try and solve one problem at a time. That way if it goes right you have done it in the least amount of steps/time and if it goes wrong you can pinpoint where it went wrong and walk it back to that step. Trying to fix everything at once can actually create more problems that are harder to solve than going step by step.

Pattern: Harriet bra from Cloth Habit

Fabric: Liberty Tana Lawn – leftovers from a dress, elastics and trims from Pitt Trading

Alterations: keep working until I find a solution for a good fitting cotton bra

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sewing Adventures – Lexington Bras

Some things are impatient and just push their way to the front of the sewing queue, these bras were certainly one of the ones that jumped the list. With the pandemic continuing and the potential for more lockdowns coming the need for some comfortable work from home bras was increased.

I’ve made the Lexington Bra from Orange Lingerie twice before. The first time was as the pattern was as, the second time I split the lower cup to add in a little more volume. This time I kept the volume on the lower cup and shortened the lower cup, front triangle and back bands by 5mm.

On the ones I had made previously I was finding towards the end of the day the lower elastic had flipped up. At first I put this down to it being too tight but after some investigation I realised the bra was too long for me. I’m only 5 foot tall. I’m well used to having to adjust patterns to my proportions. In hindsight it’s actually surprising I didn’t pick this up earlier.

Technique wise I tried something new, using my overstitch machine I attached the elastic using the single needle chainstitch. The outside looks so neat and I’m so pleased, the inside I’m less pleased with as the loops of the chain stitch shows up so much on the mesh. I’m hoping it wears well but am already thinking I’d like to try the wide twin needle to attach the elastic with as well. It’s always neat to be able to keep trying and learning new things.

As it is a few hours sewing, 2 more beautiful bras and my lingerie drawer is well on it’s way to being the riot of pattern and colour I’ve always wanted. As always I’m using what I have on hand so the back clasp on the blue one isn’t 100% the correct shade of blue and on the blue/grey I went with a contrast of a peach closure. I love the fact it’s not 100% matching as I feel better about having something using up what I have already.

Pattern: Lexington Bra by Orange Lingerie

Fabric: patterned mesh, power mesh and lightweight mesh, elastics, hardware all from Pitt Trading, back clasp from Booby Traps

Alterations: so far pretty good but lets see how these ones wear in

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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

Posted on by — 3 Comments

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

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Sewing Adventures: Emma Racer Back Slip in a moody floral

My first make of the year that’s all for me! I’m very excited. It was such a wonderful feeling to pull on something I’d made after what feels like forever since I’d last done that.

Onto the make, it’s my newly released Emma Slip. I’ve been wearing these since I finished the pattern like 2 years ago. I kept putting off releasing the pattern thinking it wasn’t the right time or I need to have professional photos for it or a million and one other excuses. No more waiting for the perfect timing. If patterns are ready I’m going to let them loose into the world and not wait for that elusive perfect moment (that doesn’t exist anyway).

Size wise I went for a straight 14 as I’m still swollen post surgery and have an oddly lopsided torso. Ideally I think I should have gone 14 for the skirt section and cut a 12 for the bust as it’s a little big, not hugely so but just enough for me to notice it.

Apart from wanting to make that small size adjustment everything else is exactly as the pattern is. The dreamy moody floral knit fabric was a remnant at Pitt Trading and it’s lovely and soft. Perfect for a wriggly sleeper like me.

While I was making it I shared this quick tip on Instagram, when sewing to easily note the front and backs of a project I use one pin for the front and two for the back. You’d be surprised just how useful this turns out to be!

I like it so much I’ve already got more planned!

Pattern: The Emma Slip by Measure Twice Cut Once

Fabric: Floral remnant and lilac fold over elastic from Pitt Trading

Alterations or changes: Next time size the bust down