The pattern I used for panties

Last night I was again so excited about bra-making that I couldn't fall sleep. I read through Linda Neubauer's Sewing Lingerie, wrote down ideas for blog posts, and made a list of things I want to try as soon as my bra-making kits and patterns arrive. Both my Elingeria and my Sewing Chest packages have been sent, so I'm hopeful that they'll arrive by Friday. (I think that I'll even stay home on Friday when the mail comes, in case they arrive then - otherwise I'll only get them from the post office after the weekend.)

Today I might try to make a pair of panties again. In case I do I'll document the project in this blog. Now, however, I thought that I'll tell you how I made my first two pairs. I found very good directions at http://comeandseetheseitz.com/2010/03/09/panty-tutorial-how-to-sew-underwear/ and followed them almost exactly. The only differences were that my pattern is made out of 4 pieces (a separate gusset part) and that there was no thigh elastic in the panties I used as a basis for my pattern. When I sewed the first pair of panties I just added an amount of elastic that seemed about right (now I would probably refer to Sewing Lingerie p.18 for an estimate). In the second, green "Ladies Required", pair I made I just folded the thigh edges and sewed a wide zig-zag to cover the edging. (This is clearly visible in the photo:)

I wore them yesterday without trouble - I think that this kind of worked, even though I'm sure that I did something wrong.

Here's the first pair of panties I ever made:

The fabric was originally orange cotton jersey, the plush elastic was natural white and the yarn was tan/light pink. I dyed the panties with a "hot pink" color, but it created a stripy effect on the fabric - it might be that I didn't have enough dye.

For the second pair I made I changed the pattern because the t-shirt wasn't wide enough to cover my enormous hips. I took out panels from the sides of the front and back pattern pieces, taped them together and cut them from the t-shirt edge. (That's why in the photo the violet zig-zag is not continuous around the thigh edge.)

One mistake I made when sewing both was to use a straight stitch for the initial attachment of the elastic. I learned yesterday that it could be a small zig-zag. This was the first time I put on elastic so I'm quite happy about the result anyhow. Another thing is that I could have used a different, thinner elastic for the thighs. The second pair is definitely more comfortable than the first - maybe because the elastic in the thighs feels a bit too thick.