As I was sewing up Christmas Presents for my family, I felt this strong pull to make a whole bunch of lingerie. I'd already started making basic cotton panties in early December. So why not continue my trial and error self-education through the month of January? And so I am.
To kick off my month, I sketched up a quick idea of the Florence Bra by Seamwork Magazine and a pair of Lace Tanga panties. Keeping with my theme of using stash fabric, I was focused on using a pretty red stretch lace I found at Fabric Depot in Portland a few months ago. Boy was this sketch met with great enthusiasm! I had 3 non-sewers say they would love to join me in sewing lingerie in January if I was willing to teach them. Hmm... those are pretty simple projects, we could stick to panties, um OK!
To kick off my month, I sketched up a quick idea of the Florence Bra by Seamwork Magazine and a pair of Lace Tanga panties. Keeping with my theme of using stash fabric, I was focused on using a pretty red stretch lace I found at Fabric Depot in Portland a few months ago. Boy was this sketch met with great enthusiasm! I had 3 non-sewers say they would love to join me in sewing lingerie in January if I was willing to teach them. Hmm... those are pretty simple projects, we could stick to panties, um OK!
I estimated my yardage for the Lace Tanga and compared it to 3 different Tanga or Brazillian Panty patterns. Sad news. This lace is going to be too narrow for my needs on the lace tanga. 2" too narrow. Ok, time to redirect. Don't worry, I'll be coming back to the tanga's later this month!
So I looked into Melissa's Lacey Thong pattern and asked her if I could get away with leaving both scalloped edges. Her advice is to stick with the curved edge as that's what the body needs to hug the pattern around one's curves. Darn, but I do understand the reasoning.
So I looked into Melissa's Lacey Thong pattern and asked her if I could get away with leaving both scalloped edges. Her advice is to stick with the curved edge as that's what the body needs to hug the pattern around one's curves. Darn, but I do understand the reasoning.
Not willing to cut into this lace and let those upper pieces go, I put the red lace aside and opted to dig into my stash for another stretch lace. A year or 2 ago, I bought some lovely stretch laces at Sew Expo. Seeing that it's high time to use these pretty fabrics, and that this lace has a free upper edge, I thought it would be a great way to test out the lacey thong pattern.
Excellent news, I had just enough scraps to turn this bit of highly stretchy grey cotton into the lacey thong. Yay! That also means all I have left now are even tinier scraps that are not useful and can now be moved along.
I'm liking how this is coming together. That lace is rather pretty. I hope the center front seam doesn't turn out weird.
And voila! All done! Pretty great if I do say so myself!
Now, after trying these on (over other clothing), I discovered a couple things.
First, the center front seam wants to point out and there's actually a little too much fabric right there. It's just barely too much. I wouldn't want to take out too much, and it could be that this fabric behaves differently than others. So I may make them narrower next go round. That's a normal alteration for me.
Secondly, that lace is a wee bit scratchy against my skin. I also used a stash knit elastic and enclosed it rather than using plush backed picot elastic which would have helped. White wasn't the best choice since it shows through so much. Black would have been better. Good to know for next time!
Secondly, that lace is a wee bit scratchy against my skin. I also used a stash knit elastic and enclosed it rather than using plush backed picot elastic which would have helped. White wasn't the best choice since it shows through so much. Black would have been better. Good to know for next time!
Here's a close up of the lace. Isn't it pretty?!
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