Entry tags:

craft books, sewing, sewing lingerie, sweet nothings, underwear

There are two sewing books I'd like to introduce you to;

1. Sewing Lingerie; Amazon
   
   'Sewing Lingerie' is an older book, and many of the garments in the book are either old-fashioned, or terribly 80s. It deals with the technical aspects of sewing lingerie, of working with fabrics, different elastics, different types of hems. It has a small bit about bust-adjustments, and ideas for making variations, for example many different kinds of panties from the same basic pattern. But, it does not include any patterns. It has (at least) two proto-patterns, garments that can be made without patterns; a kimono, and a stretch lace cami (which the author calls a sleep bra).



2. Sweet Nothings; Amazon
   
   'Sweet Nothings' is a new book, and aimed at younger adults. It's a sweet, girly book, with little sweet projects. This book does include many projects/patterns from various designers, but many are simple and made with stretch materials, while others are made from old table-cloths and crochet doilies. It tells you only what (technically speaking) you need to know to complete the projects. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while most of the patterns are only available S-M-L, that their L should fit me.

An era ago I bought some lovely wide stretch lace from Lucy's Fabric. I didn't have a use for it, I just saw it and knew at once that I needed it. It's 6" wide.




Reading 'Sweet Nothings' I came across a couple of projects for wide stretch lace, including a cami top. This rekindled a faded memory, and I dug out the cami instructions in 'Sewing Lingerie'.


Sleep Set cami from 'Sewing Lingerie'

It is extremely simple;

• Cut a length of wide stretch lace that will sit about your middle comfortably. Sew the two ends together. This is your centre-back seam.


• Cut out four rectangles, making sure each one has a scalloped long edge. You pin two rectangles right sides together. Along the non-scalloped long edge mark the midpoint. Draw a curved edge from the top of the scalloped edge to this point. Cut along this line, then sew just inside it.


• This should result in the outsides of a triangular-cup finished with the nice scalloped edges, and the pattern automatically symmetrical about the seam. You now have one cup. Repeat with the other two rectangles for the other cup.


• On the band, mark the centre-front. Baste, then sew the two cups (behind the band, so the band's scalloped edge remains visible) to either side of this mid-way point with a zig-zag stitch.


• Add straps. (I just used some spare ribbon.)

But. I only have the one length of wide stretch lace, I really don't want to risk wasting it if I make a mistake. So I mocked up a version in left-over purple stretch knit. I overlocked/serged the edges that should have been scalloped, and had at.

A couple of remarks.
1) I found the curve of the cup too full higher up. An almost diagonal line creates better fitting cups.
2) The stretch in the cups ended up being from top-to-bottom. This may have been a mis-translation on my part, but personally I think a width-wise stretch would work better.
3) This will work well with wide stretch lace, but with any other fabric it's just not finished enough. If I'd thought about it I would have sewn the bra cups to the band with right sides together, and made a rolled hem all the way around. Still, as it is the almost complete lack of seams make it really flat and smooth to lie on :)
4) Maybe it's too big for me, but absolutely zero support. I look forward to modifying this with a more structured woven fabric.

Front

Back

'Sweet Nothings' has a similar stretch lace cami, but the construction is more complicated. It took me a while to understand the process, pattern pieces are involved, but essentially;

• You remove pieces from the band just under each breast.


• The cups are more tear-drop shaped.


• When sewn up, the band doesn't seem to merely sit below the breasts, instead the whole becomes a continuous solid.

Stretch lace cami from 'Sweet Nothings'

'Sweet Nothings' also has a couple of patterns for stretch lace panties. The simplest (and first project in the book) is this cute pair.


Stretch lace panties from 'Sweet Nothings'

Basically, two strips are cut out, one for each leg/hip, and a piece is added for the crotch. Ingeniously simple, and seeing as how you don't have to finish any edges, you could make a pair in ten minutes.

Really, wide stretch lace seems so easy to use, I think I'll stock up!