Tasteful Nudes

REVIEW: Kwik Sew Beautiful Lingerie, Slip

2011-09-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

My finished garment and alterations can be seen here.
I used the Kwik Sew Beautiful Lingerie Master Pattern to create the pattern for the slip. The master pattern is the same for the body of almost all the garments--the slip, teddy, chemise,and camisole all use the same FRONT and BACK pieces. The only additional piece for the slip is the shoulder strap.
The book says to simply lengthen the pattern on tracing paper to create the slip from the chemise master pattern pieces. I lengthened mine by about 8 inches, but found the angle provided for the lengthening to be too narrow--my slip was quite tight in the thighs. I would have doubled this angle if I had it to do over.
As far as tailoring, caveat seamstress!--this pattern has no darts and very little shape to it! It will definitely need alteration if you have any curves and want any sort of fitted look.
All in all, a very simple, quick pattern. The fact that it is a total blank slate makes it a great building block for anything. It's ready for trim and beautiful, luxurious fabrics, but don't expect it to fit well right off the machine. Definitely expect to use your alterations skills to work out a flattering fit around your bust and waist.

Slipped

2011-09-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Well. Vanessa's slip has spent the last two months in a crunchy little ball at the back of a cabinet. I'm sure many of you can relate--after hours of drafting, snipping, and pinning, the initial garment looked like an enormous, filmy sack.

Yikes.

(like this!)

Too big in the waist, floppy in the bust. It was, as they say, a wadder. After a moderately-sized tantrum and a break of about six weeks, however, I was ready to return to the drawing board.

I pulled my depressingly-proportioned slip over my dressmaker's dummy and got to work on my adjustments.

[As a side note, for any of you beginning sewers who are using a dummy for the first time, be sure to not only adjust it to your own measurements, but make whatever modifications you need to so that it also has your proportions. For example, mine wears a stuffed bra, because when I open up the dials to the proper measurements, the bust is too flat and the chest is too deep and my garments end up too large at the back.]

bust dart

trim detail

In the end, I took the slip in two whole inches at the natural waist, tapering up to the bustline and hip. I took one teensy (about 1/4 in.) dart in either side of the bust. Then nothing was left but the most arduous task of all, the hemming. And a finished product that is a good step away from the rough start!

If it was going to be a less-practical (ahem) piece of lingerie, I'd likely take it in even further at the waist. However, this will be going over tap pants for a period costume I'll be wearing in a few weeks, so less cling is desirable. I am in love with the velvet ribbon with crochet trim that I used to finish the neckline, so I'm glad I was able to salvage the rest of the garment.

Would I make it again? Highly likely, since it's such a versatile and basic pattern, but will obviously take into account these alterations from the start--and try to keep my temper under control!

Slips

2011-06-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

via: Etsy Store Childhood Memories

This pattern is more or less the first project from our book. The simple "hopefully this takes about 1/2 an hour" slip pattern. It is not as dated as some of the others, so we figured it would be the least daunting to work around Vanessa is sewing the full-slip version, while Margaret sews the half slip.

The half-slip will pretty much be a halved version of the ad above, except in black. The fabric will most likely be black silk habotai from my stash. The dyed lace insets and pleated trim will also be from said stash. Most likely the pleats will be made from the same silk as the rest of the slip. Although I wear mostly black, I have some magical aversion to sewing it. With that in mind, the sketches I did for the patterns in the Kwik Sew book are mostly all black with some sort of new-for-me-to-sew element such as lace insets or bridal button loops or fan pleating (like the photo above.) So hopefully this design will add interest sewing-wise, if not wearing-wise.
As someone who basically lives in jeans and t-shirts, I do not really need a slip, but really, I do not really not need one either.
- Margaret

I was moved to the chemise pattern more by necessity than anything else--I need a nude-coloured slip to wear under summery sundresses. I was inspired by the Hollywood line at What Katie Did and will be creating a pale pink version of the chemise with lace insets and trim. My fabric is a silk habutai in a pale pinkish beige ("slipper pink"), purchased on extreme sale at Stone Mountain and Daughter. For those who've not worked much with silk, habutai is a very soft, drapey fabric that is great for anything loose-fitting or slinky. Not something you'd want to use on a fitted garment, but should be just right for underthings! As a bonus, habutai is reversible, meaning it has no wrong side to worry about when pinning and sewing.
A very rough approximation of the fantastic stretch lace I picked up on impulse a few weeks ago can be seen in my image board above. It is a floral pattern in beige with golden accents. My plan at present is to sew the chemise more or less as it is presented in the pattern book, and use lace at the leg opening and over the spaghetti straps. I am considering a lace inset at the midriff as well but am not set on it quite yet
- Vanessa

2011-06-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

So we sat down on our respective giant plaid couches and had a talk, deciding if we were going to do this, we wanted to do it right. We want lingerie we will actually wear and love, not just things that we happened to sew that either end up in a ball half completed or shamefully worn on laundry day.

That is where this book came in. Kwik Sew's Beautiful Lingerie. It comes with 7 basic patterns for slips, camisoles, briefs, panties, teddies, nightgowns and robes. We figured we might as well master the basics together (finishing techniques and fabric types, not to mention the patterns themselves) and have those under our respective belts before we tackle individual projects and more complex patterns. Admittedly, the book is a little 90's in style, but we imagine the basic concepts are the same. Our tastes seem to lie heavily in the sultry-but-fitted retro aspect of lingerie these days, but who knows, we are perfectly capable of developing a soft spot for flannel. Plus, the simple designs as a project that takes less than a week to complete is a very appealing concept.

Goals, Ideas, and Upcoming Projects

2011-06-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Pink Ladies in Grease. Pretty much all the inspiration you need.

One of our favorite things to do is thinking up new things to sew, buying everything, and then forgetting all about it.

Our Next Supposed Projects:

Marty Maraschino Inspired kiminos. Cotton silk, embroidery (Margaret,) and appliques (Vanessa.)
Swimsuits. An emerald green deep V one piece (Vanessa.) A bikini (Margaret.)
1930's lingerie for the 2011 Art Deco Society Gatsby Picnic. If we are going we are going all the way. Ha.
Slips. Colette Pattern's Cinnamon (Vanessa.) An Elizabeth Taylor replica from Butterfield 8 (Margaret.)

Goals:

To learn how to sew on appliques, create decorative fagoted seams, and other fine finishing techniques.
Underwires. To bring us to our next item...
How to sew a bra that envys our vast and unforgiving (budget-wise) lingerie collection
To learn how to sew with power net fabric
Eventually be able to draft our own lingerie patterns. This is more Margaret's dream than Vanessa's. Do you know how hard is is to find lingerie in a size past a C let alone have it be attractive? Let me tell you. It is not easy.

We are going to Britex tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Colette Madeleine Mini Bloomers i.e. First Actual Post!

2011-06-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

Remember the time we decided we were going to make a blog? So do we. Ahh. Those were the days. Anyway... Here is our first project: The Colette Madeleine Mini Bloomers.

    Ok. So you can't exactly see anything. It is 8:56 and the the light of the TV is not exactly flattering. It should be said that these do make us look like small tudor-esque gnomes, but we like them anyway.

    Super easy. Super fast (2 hours max.) Super short? comfortable? puffy? SUPER FREE. Insert your own adjective here We both used cotton, because this is one of the few patterns out there where you can use quilting cotton and it wont look insane. Also a great chance to use those novelty prints that are too cute to pass up but too whimsical for day-to-day wear--we chose big chrysanthemums and meta-print of pink undies.

    We both made a vow that if we ever made these again we would add elastic to the bottom instead of ribbon (as per the directions). Ribbon comes undone and really just emphasizes the diaper-cover aspect, where elastic stays snug and comfortable for loveseat lounging or late-night dogwalking.

Welcome to Adventure!

2011-02-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

     Welcome to our new blog! We have both been lifelong sewists?sewers?seamstresses? Anyway, we have been around the sewing block. We are also dedicated lingerie enthusiasts, believing that what you wear inside your clothes is just as important as what people see on the outside. In our sewing careers, we have noticed a lack of patterns and information dedicated to the art of sewing lingerie, so we decided to change that! Our goal is to cover as many patterns as possible, creating for ourselves a slightly-less-expensive-than-store-bought lingerie wardrobe while also compiling what we learn into a handy database for ourselves and whoever else wants it. We imagine it's a pretty small group (hi, Ellis), but we are always willing to share.

     We figure sewing lingerie will allow us to use a lot of the more luxurious fabrics we haven't gotten to use in apparel, due to weight, stretch, general price, etc. You may see some stash-shrinking projects as well, since the Halloween ghost fabric Margaret loves so much isn't likely to see the light of day as outerwear anytime soon. We're looking forward to trying some new fine finishing techniques and practicing our applique skills, as well as eventually mastering sewing our own bras. We have very different taste in many things, including undergarments, so there will likely be a little something for everyone.

     Hope whoever reads this enjoys coming along for the ride as we explore the world of less-is-more. As RuPaul says, if you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else?