Bras and Step-Ins

Last month a friend and I took a bra making class that reset my sewing agenda! I was absolutely amazed that I could produce such a great fitting bra. Filled with courage, I decided to attempt a pair of panties. Kwik Sew's Beautiful Lingerie (the book) includes a pattern for a high-cut panty. My (former) favorite underwear was Jockey's cotton hi-cuts. 

According to Kwik Sew's sizing chart, I wear an XL. This is how my Jockey's compared with that first cut out.

Jockey sz 8 / Kwik Sew sz XL

So...the sizing chart got tossed! I folded the Jockey's in half and laid it along side the multi-sized pattern. Despite my skepticism, I cut out the medium based on that comparison. But, I used an old t-shirt this time instead of fashion knit!

Kwik Sew's sewing instructions are very clear, although I flipped between the elastic description and the sewing steps. 

At this point, you tuck crotch piece #2 under panty back while crunching panty pieces together until the crotch piece comes up over the top of panty front. Then add the edge of crotch piece #2 to the pinned area.

I placed a blue dot on crotch piece #2 at this point because I wanted to figure out whether it became the outer crotch or the crotch liner. 

completed crotch 

The blue dot shows that crotch piece #2 is the crotch liner.

This is important to know when sewing panties with a fashion knit but cotton crotch.

The finished muslin ended up being too big in front.

panty front

I wasn't very surprised because I have to adjust the front waist of pants patterns. Using my fashion curve ruler, I easily decreased the center front by about 1 inch, tapering to nothing on the side. 

The nice thing about this first pair is that I can wear them! And what a pleasant surprise it was to learn a new use for old t-shirts. Very comfy!

As soon as I adjusted the panty front pattern piece, I gambled and cut out a second pair from a fashion knit (90% poly 10% spandex). These went together quickly and were finished in about 90 minutes. The fit is right on, so I now have a TNT (tried and true) hi-cut panty pattern. Yay for me!

Seriously, if you've ever flirted with the idea of making your own panties, give it a try. The comfort of having just the right amount of elasticity in the waist is reason enough to swear off RTW panties forever!