Vanilla Cream Polka Dots

I have a large box of lingerie supplies.  Mostly it has been collected ad hoc and is more what I could get hold of rather than what I may like.  I don't feel like I can go and buy beautiful kits, because I have this large box of stash (not to mention, shipping from distant lingerie suppliers can be exorbitant), but often I look in the box and wonder how I could possibly come up with something that I want to wear from its contents.  I bought a bunch of acid dyes a while back, which helps me tie different bits and bobs together.  This set is courtesy of the colour "Vanilla Cream".

I dyed the lace, and some of the elastics, and paired them with ivory mesh and some ivory elastics and findings.  I am worried that I have just about bought my local Lincraft out of their supply of white piping elastic.  I suspect that it is not something that they will restock when I buy the last of the roll.

The bra is my own pattern.  The cups have a vertical seam. 

I often admire sheer bras, both in RTW and on other sewing blogs...they require such precision sewing...but I have never worn a sheer bra before.  After I tried this on, I thought that maybe I didn't need the matching knickers to be quite so sheer, so I lined the lace with a nude lining.

For the knickers, I used the Orange Lingerie Montgomery Brief. 

I made a few changes.  My lace did not have a scalloped edge, so I added a seam allowance to the top of the lace panel.  I changed the construction order to be more like my Elle M knickers, so that all the seam allowances were enclosed. 

Sadly, these knickers are a bit too big, which will be fine under skirts and dresses, but not so much under jeans (I tested...they bunch up).  The size chart for this pattern is a little odd, in that the measurements for one size do not match up seamlessly to the next size.  My hip and waist size is bigger than the measurements given for M but smaller than those for L.  I went with L, but my mesh is very soft, so perhaps M would have been a better choice.  I would have had enough fabric to cut a smaller pair, but I made a cutting boo boo with the lace and can't fit another front out of it.  I might  take in the side seams, which will result in exposed seams when I was so careful to enclose them, but will make them more wearable.  I haven't given up on this pattern though, and want to test it again with some fitting changes.

I'm really happy with this set and my previous set.  I don't have as much time fore sewing these days, but am finding that bra sewing fits in quite well in 10 minute blocks, so my limited sewing time is still fun.  For this set, I gathered the bits together and did the dyeing on the weekend, with cutting and sewing during the week.  Of course, it helps to have TNT patterns and not to have to muck about with fitting.