27.10.11

Liberty Underthings

I visited my sister last weekend and we had a bra sew-a-long.  I made up my next iteration of a self drafted pattern and for her, we cut up one of her existing bras to make a pattern.


It was the first time she had sewn a bra so we set up our machines side by side; I sewed each step first and then she copied it.  I'm not sure what everybody else does for fun on a Saturday night, but we had a very pleasant evening!  Of course, I had an easier time of it, because I was using Liberty, which is a dream to sew, and she was using a slippery lingerie lycra.


My fabric is a bit more muted than the photograph shows; shame really as I like the brighter photograph.

The knickers were a bit experimental, as I was using a woven fabric for the front and a knit for the back.  I started with a Jalie pattern and added 4 cm to each side seam of the front.  This was based on a rough calculation that I did when I was nowhere near my sewing....I was guessing an 80 cm circumference, needed to add on the 10% negative ease that I was guessing Jalie used for their pattern, then added in an additional 10% ease.  Not far off, but the fabric is taut across the front, so probably 1 - 2cm more each side would be better.  I had forgotten that the Jalie pattern has a narrower front than back, and now that I have made them, I've measured a circumference closer to 95 cm when worn.  I cut the front on the straight grain, but probably a bias would be better.  Very comfy all the same, and now I know that I can combine a woven with a knit.  I just need to get a little ribbon bow for the front.

Just for comparison, here is a link for a Liberty bra and briefs on net-a-porter (not current stock), totaling 170 British pounds! 

14 comments:

Gail said...

Wow, they are stunning and very marketable.

Sew-4-Fun said...

Wow, super cute and Liberty!

Summer Flies said...

Beautiful! Very professional looking! Wish I lived up north to have a Saturday sew along!

Sigrid said...

Lovely!! I might copy the idea of using a libery fabric for a bra sometime.

Audrey said...

Liberty fabric can be so expensive. Using the smaller pieces of this lovely fabric for lingerie is a great idea. It is very pretty.

Marie said...

Gorgeous set, I can't stop staring at them.

Joy said...

Using liberty fabric was a brilliant idea (which apparently others have had too).

A Saturday night sew-a-long -- yet another brilliant idea!

Bernice said...

I like the way the knickers turned out. The set looks lovely. Such pretty colours.

Gabrielle said...

Wow - these are beautiful; you are so skilled! I think your Liberty bra and knickers also look more comfy than the net-a-porter version - surely a narrow bow in the middle of your back would not feel that great?

kbenco said...

How pretty. I had not thought of using a woven for the front of knickers, what a good idea!

MushyWear said...

Wow! These look fantastic!

Mary Nanna said...

I couldn't resist - I looked up those liberty undergarments. You have got to love being able to make it yourself better and cheaper.

Very pretty underwear. I admire your lingerie making skills tremendously.

PS show us your crap photos, go on ! Like you I have no time to take a decent photo -it's a very low priority. I'd love to have nice looking photos - and often I feel I am letting the garment down with such poor pictures - end of the day, I would not blog at all if I had to spend the time it takes to get just the right shot. There are beautiful photographers out there who take lovely photos of themselves and their clothes and their abilities are to be greatly admired. It doesn't mean that because you don't have time for it, that your blog post is any less worthy.

EmilyKate said...

So incredibly pretty!! And a sister sewalong sounds like MY idea of a fun Saturday night actually :o)

House of Pinheiro said...

so pretty. Its great to have someone to sew with you!