Hand made lingerie...

I've been so busy of late, and haven't had much time to post or share new projects.

This is a project my daughter and I completed a couple of years ago, and one that we've replicated many times since, so I thought it worthy of resurrection!

We made this set of bra top and French knickers in no more than an hour or two. We chose to use this set of instructions and template from Project Twenty Two...

http://project-twentytwo.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/diy-bralette.html

They were both cut from a burgundy bed sheet that we no longer used as it didn't suit the bedroom décor any more. A pink quilt cover has been relegated likewise, to the sewing basket, and was used as the second toning colour in our French knickers. The lace trim on the bra cup is offcuts of a remnant of continuous curtaining, that I grabbed for a mere -60c at the local big name haberdashery. I love the remnants bin. You find the best stuff there for next to nix. Especially fab for projects like this that only use incy wincy bits of fabric.

I used ecru lace trim on the edges of the bra cups after zigzagging the edges, to save having to hem. Lace and binding cover a multitude of sins. I got a whole card, probably about 20 yds/m of it at the thrift shop a while back for just $2.50. This will be worn as a pyjama set, so in preference to traditional bra elastic and fastenings, we attached the bra cups to a bandeau which fastens at the back in a flat knot (we'll replace that with little pearl buttons and buttonholes I think).

This photo is not to show you the underside of my sewing. It's so you can see the pretty frilly straps.

For these straps, black elastic was resurrected from the bottom of the sewing box. I used long strips of sheet, cut on the bias, and attached using the 'stretch and stitch' method to get the frilly effect.

Matching French knickers were made using the Coletterie Madeleine Mini free-to-download pattern...

http://www.coletterie.com/colette-patterns-news/free-pattern-to-download-the-madeleine-mini-bloomers

....which my daughter and her friend patiently printed out, matched up like a jigsaw, taped together and cut.

I ignored the elastic instructions, preferring to simply thread elastic through a channel for the hips, and leaving the legs plain so that they're more like a traditional French Knicker.

The little bow details were fashioned from scraps of ballet slipper ribbon which we have in abundance thanks to my lovely's dance exploits, and little polka dot buttons from the bottom of the sewing basket. They sit on the sides of the leg.

All in all, my daughter was  thrilled with such a pretty first time result, and we've made many a similar set of pretty lingerie since.

Give it a try. It's addictive!

...Mimi...