The Other Side of the Underwear Drawer a.k.a. Bra Sewing and a Giveaway!!!

Fellow seamstresses, do you sew your own underwear? You know I do. And, I won a prize in that contest I entered my undies in thanks in large part to yous guys. So, THANKS! I got a gift certificate to the Ohhh Lulu Etsy Shop, and I used it to purchase more patterns for more unders! It's a big circle!

So, what patterns did I get with my gift certificate?

Ohhh Lulu's Bambi Soft Bra

Ohhh Lulu's Sophia Panties

Aren't these patterns just gorgeous? I have made underwear and bras from both commercial and indie patterns, and I have found Sarah's to be right on in the sizing. If you are a lingerie sewing novice like myself, this eliminates a lot of fitting frustration and allows you to focus on sewing techniques. Of course you might need to tweak them some, but most are designed to be easy to alter.

And, here is my first (many more to come!) Bambi Soft Bra...

Yeah, it's hard to photograph a black jersey bra. I actually made it from an old top that I no longer used but was a very soft. I am sewing from a colorful elastic stash, so I chose this blue trim, and I actually like the blue and black a lot. I also skipped the back closure and simply sewed the back seam shut after applying elastic and trying it on to fit comfortably and snugly. The straps are self fabric tubes. This version of the bra is more of a lounge wear type for summer sleeping or wearing under comfy clothes. Now that I know I have a good fit, I'll make more with a greater investment in materials. FYI, this pattern is well drafted and easy to sew. The only tough part (for me) is always sewing on the elastic, but my machine decided not to skip stitches this time. I only wish I had made sure my bobbin was full on that top stitching. Practice makes perfect, right?

I also recently sewed some new panties from the Betty Pattern that I love so well. I have been a silk magnet lately- it seems every thrift shop I visit has 6 unloved yards of silk at some ridiculously low price, so I have been hoarding it. Well, with all that silk I decided to start sewing with the best of my fabric (on a tested pattern) and made these...

 The silk center panel is cut on the bias and the side panels are stretch lace. I love them!

Now, enough about my unders, how about yours? Interested in sewing some of your own? Well, you are in luck, as I am hosting a giveaway and the generous Sarah of Ohhh Lulu will be providing the pattern of choice from her shop to one lucky reader. To enter, please be a follower of my blog. Go to Ohhh Lulu at Etsy and look around, then come back and leave a comment on this post saying which of her patterns you would chose if you win. One entry per person please. Sarah has just released 5 new patterns- 3 more in addition to the two I chose. They are all lovely and include another style soft bra, a hipster panty, and a brazilian cut panty. Also, Etsy has just begun to offer an instant download option, so if you decide you can't wait for the giveaway to end, you can just buy a lovely pattern and print it out immediately. And then chose another.

I just want to say thanks again so much to Sarah for inspiring me to sew lingerie, for making fab patterns, and offering to provide a giveaway prize for you! Show her some love by following her blog, favoriting her shop, and/or liking her on Facebook. And thanks to you for reading my ramblings and providing the support you do!

So, there it is! I'll leave the giveaway open for a week- it will end Wednesday the 1st of May (Wha? May already?) Giddy up! Visit the shop, leave a comment, and thanks for reading! 

So I entered some of my undies in a contest...

...wait, that doesn't sound right. It was a sewing contest. And it was for lingerie made during the Ooh La La Lingerie Sew Along hosted by Ohhh Lulu and A Few Threads Loose. Or for lingerie made now...in case you  didn't take pics of your undies back then and don't want to photograph them now that you've been wearing them. Speaking of which, why am I shameless about posting up pics of undies I have never worn? It doesn't bother me one bit, while I'd never want to show the inside of my underwear drawer. Underwear philosophy. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

So. I was thinking you might like to go vote for your favorite lingerie, right? Okay, please? I could win some cool stuff! Like, pattern stuff. For more sewing. Yeah! I have two entries in the bra section (which I am not going to win- mine were bo-ring) and I have 18, 19, and 20 in the panties section.

My favorites are the hipsters I made by folding the high waist pattern down a bit. There is another pair pictured in my Craftsy project here. I love the high waisted Betty panties for wearing with dresses (no hip chub dig), but in my daily life I end up wearing jeans a lot, and we can't have our unders sticking out of the tops of our jeans, now can we? So I made these, and they are a great fit and very comfy.

So, shamelessly, I ask you to go vote for my underwear here. Thanks. Have a nice day. 

My Unmentionables Mentioned...Again

I have been sewing some new unders as part of the Ooh La La Sew Along, and I finished a pair up.
Technically, this wraps up the sew along, but I'm just going to keep on-a-sewing. I did not sew the corset, but I did make a bra, an almost finished bathing suit (using the bra pattern), and a pair of Bettie High Waisted Panties using the new pattern from Ohhh Lulu.

When it came time to sew on the elastic, my machine started giving me fits. Skipped stitches drive me crazy, so I unpicked a couple inches a few times, but then I just went for it. This pair was supposed to be the muslin pair anyway, but I decided to sew 'em up because I liked the fabric combo- they are some kind of gauzy fabric for the center panels and a thin double knit for the side panels. I used a white/blue picot edge elastic, and all three were from stash (I've had both cuts of fabric since we lived in Florida! Eeeep!)

As for the pattern, I love it. For me it cut very close to perfect. I need to lower the back a bit on the next pair, and that's it. Yeah, they look huge compared to modern underwear when you are sewing them, but I am so tired of having my extra bedtime snacks show through my clothes as hip chub where my skivs cut in. These don't do that- they go right up to the skinniest part of my waist, and I'm looking forward to trying these purties out with a dress. It is a lovely pattern. Buy it!

Okay! Enough about my skivs, right?


Hopefully soon I will have a finished bathing suit to show...JUST IN TIME FOR SNOW!!!
What-the-what?!?!?!?