No Store Like It: Kantje Boord

September 5, 2014 by Miss Celie

When we were trying to figure out where to honeymoon, I suggested a bike trip in France. Jordan was worried that the food portions would be too small for his American appetite and he suggested the Netherlands. He thought I might not want to go back since I’d been there three years before. But, with memories of Kantje Boord in my mind I was ALL OVER IT. We made a deposit on our trip that night and before he could change his mind.

I have to thank Sigrid for taking the time to meet with me on a work day and Valerie for offering to give me a ride to Kantje Boord. It was my second time meeting Sigrid and my first introduction to Valerie. It’s always a pleasure to meet people you have an online relationship with. YAY for the internets!

And, let me tell you, Kantje Boord is all that I remember and more. First, it’s expanded. Second, I didn’t hyperventilate from indecision. But, I may have hugged the fabric. For those who might not know, Kantje Boord is a lingerie focused sewing shop in Amsterdam. What makes it unique for lingerie sewing is the sheer volume of options. There are hundreds and hundreds of laces to select from.

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They have ALL the notions ALL in one place. You go to different walls for the strapping, for the lycra, for the little cute ribbons, for the elastics.

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When you go to the counter, the lovely shop clerk (who I totally remembered from three years ago) pulls the best tulle, lining, channeling and metal sliders for you. She makes it impossible for you to forget something. I really love making bras. But, for me it’s totally frustrating to ‘gather’ the supplies. I’m not a fabric dyer so I don’t want to be bothered with that either. The first time I went to Kantje Boord, I was totally overwhelmed. I just bought little pieces of lace and ordered the rest of the kits online. This time. I went in to buy everything I needed to sew a complete bra (minus the underwire).

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And, thank goodness for Valerie and Sigrid! I was still overwhelmed in the shop and couldn’t think straight about how much of what I needed to buy. They were the best at helping me winnow down my original stack of 12 laces to a reasonable amount.

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I weep from the beauty of it all. And, if Jordan hadn’t taken money out of my purse for his day out on his own, I would have squeezed two more kits in to here. Considering my last three RTW bras that I bought last month were in the $60+ range, I really consider this an investment.

I won’t be sewing these up anytime soon though. I need to work on my new bra size and order the right underwires that I now need. Plus, I’d like to clone one of my RTW bras to have a new pattern. Luckily, Jordan loved Amsterdam too. I’m thinking we’re grounded to North America for travel the next few years. But, here’s hoping for long Amsterdam layovers the next time we travel!

Vogue 8888: Minty Green and Black Lace Chemise

July 26, 2013 by Miss Celie

Minty green and black are so retro, aren’t they?

This is my third foray into sewing clothes I can sleep in. My flannel short set and flannel pyjama pants are still going strong. I made this nightgown last year, but it didn’t hold up well. I decided to dig into deep stash and sew this minty green stretch silk. I bought this fabric back in 2007 to copy a dress a friend has. I just never got around to sewing it.

Vogue 8888 (from Vogue website)

I think this is so pretty!! I’ve always wanted pretty things to sleep in. For this pattern, I made a one inch FBA and no swayback adjustment. I’m bustier than the model and will tell you the slip has a great level of cleavage.

The awesome black lace was gifted to me from Kathi R. I love how it plays against the mint green. I was worried it was too sharp a contrast and would have done better with something lighter. But, I love how the colors play against each other through the lace.

The pattern calls to be cut on the bias. But, I went up two sizes, cut cut on the straight grain and with the stretch of the silk — it was perfect.

Yo! Check my straps! I bought this strapping off of eBay. The original pattern calls for sewing tubes of fabric for the straps. Yeah, screw that noise. Well, 1.) I lost the pattern piece. 2.) I hate sewing small tubes of anything. So, I bought these bra straps and sewed them on.

It looks a little more RTW in my opinion and was a snap! And, if you’re wondering, this slipprovides ZERO support, LOL!

I tried a narrow hem and it was not a good look – bubbly, wrinkly, wavy. So, I serged and turned under once. I still may turn under a second time.

I told myself I was making view E next. Same material. Different lace. I’d also like to make this pattern again using black knit tricot from my stash and wear it as a slip. I really like this pattern!

Thank you for the good wishes for my grandmother. She’s back in her nursing home and hopefully on the mend. The news has been less than encouraging. But, she’s a seriously tough broad. I mean, c’mon. She raised TEN children!

Thank you also for the comments on my last dress. I too am super happy with it. Since it’s black cotton, I think it will be a dry clean only dress to prevent fading over time.

Kantje-Boord’s New Website and Possible Group Order

March 14, 2013 by Miss Celie

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.

Assembly Line Sewing: Fehr Trade’s Lacy Thong

February 27, 2013 by Miss Celie

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.

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.

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.

And assembling

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

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

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!

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!

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.

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.

Long Lingerie Sewing Weekend: Pale Sea Breeze Rebecca Sewy Bra

February 19, 2013 by Miss Celie

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

Lacy Nightgown: Burda 11/2001 #131

April 7, 2012 by Miss Celie

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!

Sewy Rebecca Bra #FAIL

August 19, 2011 by Miss Celie

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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