Tag Archives: lingerie

Kantje-Boord’s New Website and Possible Group Order

14 Mar

Guuuuyyyyyysssss!!! Thanks for the congrats on the job and the dude. And, getting my self-deprecating sense of humor.

Now, back to sewing. Which I am not doing. I have ZERO mojo right now. It’s a little alarming. But, I am crazy absorbed in my new role at work and getting used to wearing bossypants.

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But, I did see that Kantje-Boord has a *much* better new website, http://kantje-boord.net/ and are on Facebook . Because it’s no longer in frames, I can use Google Translate.

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Shipping, is crazy high for the US. But, I am wondering if there might be enough people in the Baltimore / DC area who are interested in going in on shipment. I feel like I’ve seen the Aussie bloggers do this. Hmm, I’ll even throw in peeps from the Ann Arbor, MI area as I’ll be going back two more times (in April and May). (EDITED TO ADD) Because I have my parents in the Tampa Bay area and will be out to see them or vice versa before the year is over, I can include those from Tampa too.  Sadly, I’m not going to PR Weekend, so I can’t hand off there. Maybe I’ll host host a lingerie party at my house to give everyone’s packets out. Ok, you don’t have to wear lingerie. You can come in jeans :-)

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Check out their packets. If we can get, say 10 people in the area to order — it might be worth it. Why 10? Because 45 pounds is the highest shipping at $150. I figure that’s $15 each at 10 people and worth it. More people than that is just gravy to me. But, I think $15 is all I have the stomach for considering how many packets I would want to order at $26  a packet.

Umm, if my maths are wrong, just let me know. I have no shame in my numbers game.

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Assembly Line Sewing: Fehr Trade’s Lacy Thong

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My underwear situation is pretty tragic. Once I figured out a year ago that I could sew my own panties, I refused to buy them any more (even at $5 a pair). Except, I also wasn’t sewing them either.

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It was Trena who mentioned she’d used the Under Armour thin wicking fabric from my local Guss Woolens’ to make drawers.  I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me! They told me in the shop it was used for making underwear at Under Armour.  Trena  kept going on and on about how great the fabric was for underwear (great recovery, breathable, non fading).

Last February, Kathi R. sent me a stack of pretty stretch laces from FIDM. Lots of gorgeous colors! So, when Melissa released her free Lacy Thong Pattern, I knew I had no excuse but to get to sewing.

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For my first sample, I used a black stretch lace from Fashions Unlimited. I think this was like 50 cents to 1 dollar a yard. Once the first version was sewn and worn with success, I got to cutting.

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And assembling

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And sewing. I found my 1/4 inch foot super helpful with the smallish seam allowances.

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In my mind I was making 10 pairs. But, started to lose steam, lol. Here are the six of the seven that I completed.

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My prior lace thong pattern draft is all lace and I don’t find that the greatest for every day wear. But, this version with the jersey is perfect. A little sexy but still practical.

What do I love about this pattern? It’s simple. You don’t need a serger. The style is super cute. I can’t thank Melissa enough for giving us access to it!

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What don’t I like? It’s kind of tedious to sew like this. I wouldn’t recommend batch sewing unless you are in dire straits (as I was). Otherwise, just sew them as you feel like it!

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I’ve updated the Lingerie Resources tab at the top of my blog. A few etsy shops and bra components were no longer active. And, I added another three or four etsy shops I found from searching.

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I have some one inch wide lace on order to make a similar batch of the Rosie Lady Shorts from Cloth Habit. Not my usual style of underwear, but I thought the pattern was super cute and would be great for working out.

I picked up several yards of gray and royal blue thin wicking from Under Armour at Guss Woolens today to try it out soon. Guss Woolens doesn’t have an online presence  but will mail samples out and take phone orders if you’re interested.

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Long Lingerie Sewing Weekend: Pale Sea Breeze Rebecca Sewy Bra

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It was February last year when I made my last bra. I guess sewing is a bit cyclical isn’t it?  What really happens to me is that Sigrid starts posting her incredible creations and I get a crazy itch to try again. My plan was to make like ten pairs of Melissa’s excellent Lacy Thong pattern. But, I got distracted halfway through and decided I wanted to sew a new bra. While the bust was about right in my two home sewn bras, I found the elastic in the cup flipping under when worn. It started to annoy me so much that I discarded the red bra and used the silver one on my dress form.

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I poured through Sigrid’s tutorials and posts on bra sewing. It finally occurred to me that maybe I needed to sew the channeling so that it flipped outward to be on *top* of the elastic instead of inward and away from the elastic. I dashed off an email to Sigrid with the subject ‘Dumb Question’. Once she responded, I sewed in the channeling correctly (outward) and had my almost perfect bra.

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This all lace version of the Rebecca Sewy has been cut out for a year now. I went with all lace instead of just the upper cup. The lace is from an Asian market vendor on etsy and the lycra kit is from Summerset also on Etsy.

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I mean, it’s the gorgeous lace bits that made me want to start sewing my own bras!

Guys, the elation I felt when I put this bra on and it *fit* in indescribible. The entire time I was sewing it, I thought it was looking too big in the cup. It’s also frought with many little errors.

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I plan to sew one or two more straight away. My three RTW bras are about three years old and need to be retired soon. If my next two come out correctly, I will *finally* sew my complete kit from Amsterdam. I’ve been saving this one for when my bras are almost perfect.

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After all this, I will never begrudge the cost of a RTW bra. Especially one with all lace. Think, there are about five pattern pieces. I have them cut from lace, powernet, and lycra. There is a lot of little small seams and details. It’s a lot of work, but so worth the effort!!

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Lacy Nightgown: Burda 11/2001 #131

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Burda World of Fashion 11-2001-131

I apologize now for not being able to show this to you on either my persons or correctly on my dressform. Because the bust cups are lace, they were not exactly internet appropriate. At least not the kind of internet that is free. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get it on my dress form either because of the small bodice and lack of collapsible shoulders on the form.

Which is the perfect segway into the nightgown (or slip. Take your pick.) I’ve wanted a nice night gown for a while. Well, I’ve wanted *anything* nice to sleep in for a few years now. I’ve made pajama pants in flannel and a full outfit back in 2007 but nothing ‘nice’.

This is made up in a silk/cotton blend from India that was a gift from Bhoomhika. I like to sleep under a blanket no matter the temperature. So, I wanted something cool and breathable for summer. The fabric has a wonderful hand a gorgeous sheen. It does ravel like you would not believe so serging was a must.

The lace is from Etsy and is a mirror image.

I cut the size 38 grading to the 44 through the thighs. For the bust, I made a 1 inch FBA. Now that I’ve tried it on, I could have (and have since) added at another 1/2 inch.

I didn’t really follow the Burda directions. For this version they do not  cut the dress on the bias. But, knowing you’ll be sewing from silk, they provide the full pattern piece (since silk is not as wide and would be hard to cut on the fold).

For the the side lace that was not scalloped, I used clear elastic and turned it down. I also used a little clear elastic in the cups to have them snug up (you do this when sewing bras).

For the hem, I attached the lace on top of the silk/cotton. This is called a ‘reinforced’ method taken from my Sewing Lingerie from the Singer Sewing Reference Library. I would not use this method again for a hem that is not perfectly straight. The lace doesn’t lay smoothly. I didn’t think about this when I decided to use this method. And, it may be better suited to a double scalloped lace.

This color  looks really good on me despite my cups running over. I’m a tad sorry you can’t see me in it! I may send this to my mom. I’m narrower through the rib cage than her though so it might be tough for her to wear.

I’m debating another version in  a silky mint green.

If you’d like a slip or nightgown and don’t have a 10+ year old Burda, have I got great news for you! Pattern, Scissors, Cloth has a gorgeous slip called the Ruby Slip for *Free*. I should have just made this myself!

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Sewy Rebecca Bra #FAIL

19 Aug

I took another go-round with the Rebecca bra  from Sewy this week. This time, after two muslins, it was time to break into my Amsterdam lace.

Big, fat, #FAIL. The bra was so big! One of several things happened:

  • I retraced the wrong size.
  • I stretched out the fabric while sewing.
  • Non stretch lace in the upper cup is different than stretch lace. The gods are laughing at me.

The version you see above is with some post construction alterations but generally, unsalvageable (too many enclosed seams and stretch stitches I fear). The bra was a good one to two inches too big in the band and just sadly baggy in the cup. After sewing (and trying on) I realized that the pattern seam allowances were about 1/8 inch bigger than the 1/4 inch I was sewing with. That definitely accounted for some of the problems.

The bust curve was also ridiculous. Rather than flatten that though, I’ve just taken some height tucks in the pattern pieces. I’ll try this one again. If the issue was just the seam allowance, then it’s easy to put the height back in to the pattern pieces.

So… yeah. I’m trying not to be salty that I cut into my ‘good fabric’.  Happily, I have *just* enough of the black and gold lace to eek out another set.  Here’s hoping the second version is better!

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Sewing Underthings

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One of the reasons I’m interested in lingerie is to start making my own underthings. I never really thought I would want to. Five for $25 at Victoria’s Secret suited me just fine. But, then I realized the things I were drawn to, the pretty lacy bits, were far more expensive. I started a Pinterest Board for the underpinings that were appealing to me.

I bought a $5 pair of thongs from Target (above) and got to work. Here are the two styles I’ve done. They are both thongs.

Lace along the side with a center front seam. I love this fabric! This embroidered stretch lace was a gift from Hilde when I was in Amsterdam.

Elastic along the side, no center front seam. This yellow and white stretch lace  was also a gift from Hilde. Isn’t it pretty? I saved enough to make a matching bra at some point.

And, I assembly lined about five pairs of these white lace ones. The lace from these came from a local manufacturer and was 50 cents a yard. So, I can make panties for about $1. Not the least expensive garment given my time, but prettier and cheaper than what I was finding in the same range.

I have black and bone colored lace that is the same. But, I need to dye some elastics for the waistband first.

My next stab will be making drawers from supplex for working out and biking.

Then, I’m going to attack  these knickers. I have a really hard time buying them off the shelf due to my, umm, assests.

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Again With the Rebecca Bra

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Argh. As I suspected in my last bra post, I did in fact trace and sew the wrong size bra. I made a 70F when I should have started with a 70G. Boooo! In fairness, different websites put me in different European size bras.

I was suspicious because I didn’t have the coverage I wanted. When I went to compare pattern pieces, I saw I wrote ’70F’ on the pattern. Doh!

I also added an uneeded seam allowance to the bridge. This made the bridge way wide. So, my hot pink muslin really was just a muslin. In addition, I didn’t have enough coverage in this version because it was an F cup.

For my second go- round I sewed the bra in Summerset’s Twilight Blue. I’m putting peer pressure on her for a deep chocolate brown. It’s the only color I can wear under light colored tops.

The color is beautiful. I was hoping to use a lesser loved color of the 5+ kits I own, but there isn’t one. I really quite like them all!

If you can belive it, I made this bra from trace  to finish on Friday night while watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Say  Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss. I started around 7 or 8 p.m. and even stopped to mix up a mojito and have my Friday night phone date with Trena. We talk most nights, but we have a standing Friday Night Phone Date. I looked at the clock when I was done and it was just after midnight. So, yes. It’s possible to sew a bra in four hours.

My techniques were better on this version. And I’m quite proud of my finishing.

But, it’s still not sewn totally correct. I have a few mistakes and several tweaks I still need to make.

The back is riding up. And, I think it’s because the band is still too big on me. This is not a new problem!

When I in college I wore a 36 band. I went down to a 34 two years ago and was sized into a 32 recently. All this despite weighing 15 lbs more than I did when I was wearing a 36!

My cup runneth over in the hot pink F cup. But, it’s not quite snug enough in the G. I accidentally stretched out the lace during pressing and fitting. But, I have made a slight adjustment to the upper bust pattern (taking out 1/8 – 1/4 inch). Hopefully that will work.

I’m also reducing the width of the bridge by 1/4 inch. Not quite sure how to address the band. But, I’m going to post on the lingerie sew along blog with photos on my persons. Hopefully I can get some feedback. Oh, I also need to reposition the bands. I kind of have narrow shoulders and forget that this is why I don’t like spaghetti straps!

There’s a bra making class in Baltimore this October. If I can’t get the hang of this in my next two, I’ll sign up for it. But, I’m really pretty happy with this!

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