. . . a little late. Sorry about that!
Posts Tagged ‘Lingerie’
The Lingerie Contest: The Completed Gown
Thursday, March 11th, 2010The Lingerie Contest: The Muslin
Sunday, January 31st, 2010Finally, a picture of my muslin. Definately not wearable. 
The Lingerie Contest: The Lace
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Here is the lace I plan to use. I’m still not sure about it. I don’t trust my imagination! I don’t think I will know for certain what I am going to do until the gown is finished and I can lay the lace on it just as it would be. We’ll see!
I have ungathered, prewashed, and pressed the lace so it’s all ready for the fateful moment.
The Lingerie Contest: Tracing, Layout, and Alterations
Monday, January 25th, 2010Tracing the pattern pieces.
Because the fabric is so sheer, I am adding a lining. I wanted the lining to have less fullness (in the yoke seam) than the outer gown but before I removed any fullness from the pattern I needed to determine the minimum width of the lining piece at the yoke seam (so that the lining would be at least as wide as the yoke). Here I am measuring the bottom of one of the yoke pieces. I turned the measuring tape on its side so that I could measure the curve. 
I later realized that although I don’t want a lot of extra bulk in the yoke seam, I also don’t want a drastic difference between the lining and the gown. So, I’ll have to compromise between these two issues. I have since added some fullnes back in on my lining piece (which is just a copy of the gown pattern piece).
Layout! This fabric is not fun to work with, since it is slippery. However, that isn’t my biggest layout challenge. I don’t have a lot of fabric to work with here and it has some flaws. I’m glad I already decided not to use the sleeves ~ I wouldn’t have room for them.
Alas! I just couldn’t make it work. So, I removed some fullness from the gown piece and shortened the gown a lot from what I had originally planned. Also, when fitting the muslin, I decided to take in the side of the gown some. I was just going to take a wider seam allowance but after the layout problems I went ahead and removed 1/4″ from the side seam. I’ll probably do French seams, and since I don’t think I can do that with a 1/4″ seam allowance, that will probably shave off a little more and (I hope) make it just right.
Now, if I can just make it all fit this time!
The Lingerie Contest
Monday, January 18th, 2010(Wasn’t that an inventive title?)
I’ve entered PatternReview’s Lingerie contest which started January 15th. I haven’t sewn a stitch yet but I have been working on the preliminaries (which I should have been doing before the start date!).
I hope to blog about my project two or three times a week.
Before the contest began, I chose my fabric. I got together a lot of potential fabric and trims, and tried various combinations until I eliminated nearly everything! lol I chose a purple sheer curtain (that was in my fabric stash because I liked the color but had no use for it as a curtain) and some off-white or ivory lace.
Here is the fabric, hanging over my shower curtain.
A close-up shot. The darker is the right side of the fabric.
The fabric is very sheer. In fact, too sheer for a single layer, in my opinion. It just doesn’t look good. I will be making a self fabric lining.
I’ve also chosen to use Kwik Sew’s Beautiful Lingerie to make a short gown. I was originally going to have sleeves but I have since decided against it, so I think I will being going mostly with “Gown A”.
Planning Session
Thursday, January 7th, 2010Last evening when it was too late to get into a challenging project yet too early to go to bed, I needed some light work to do. So, I pulled out my lingerie fabrics, trims, and Kwik Sew’s Beautiful Lingerie and started planning future projects. I’ve done this before, but some fabrics I want to use still haven’t met up with the perfect lace and perfect pattern.
I’m working completely from my stash of fabrics and trims, most of which are other people’s cast-offs, gifts, or recycled from old gowns and robes I’ve rescued. I call them “foundlings”. Putting them together in usable combinations is like working a puzzle (without the assurance that there is actually a solution!).
I still don’t have it all together and haven’t even figured out what my next Beautiful Lingerie piece will be (other than some cotton briefs), but I did learn some things. I realized that several pieces of fabric are larger than I thought and might even be enough to make one of the longer gowns. I also found some pink lace and yellow lace that I think look good together but I can’t figure out how to combine them in a way that looks pretty and appropriate for a grown woman. Do grown women ever wear stuff like that? Or am I just doubting because my style leans toward “understated elegance” rather than toward feminine frills? That might be it.
Decisions, decisions. I have no need to worry, though. I have plenty of projects ahead of my next lingerie sewing. Still, I wonder . . . Should it be a chemise? A camisole and panty set? A teddy? A long nightgown?
