Sewing Your Own Retro Lingerie: Are You Into It?

As you may know, last year I released a lingerie pattern with Butterick for a vintage-inspired knit slip, cami, and panties.

Since then, lingerie has been on my mind: sewing it, researching it, shopping for it. My Butterick pattern was easy to sew and super simple. A big part of me wants to go deeper into the whole subject: more complex designs, more authentic retro styling, more lingerie knowledge for everyone! I love the vintage-inspired designs from Gossard (see the Retrolution collection at the top of this post), What Katie Did, Dita Von Teese, Agent Provocateur, and Kiss Me Deadly--to name just a few.

Agent Provocateur Abby Basque

What Katie Did Valerie Cathedral Bra

Dita Von Teese Star Lift collection 

I suppose this post is an informal post of sorts. Do you share this interest in sewing retro lingerie, readers? How into it are you: would you make your own slip? Your own bra? Your own corselette? Would you buy a whole book on the subject, or maybe just an individual pattern?  

If you are interested in sewing lingerie, what has stopped you up to this point? Difficulty finding patterns, notions, and instruction? Lack of time? Fitting concerns? 

I'm so looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. Several years ago, I brought up the idea of writing a lingerie sewing book, but there's always been a concern that it's too much of a niche topic. What do you think? 

Make a Bralette Using Butterick 6031

Hey, remember my lingerie pattern for Butterick? B6031 is a collection with patterns for a slip, cami, and panties.

I discovered last weekend that it's also shockingly easy to convert the slip/cami pattern into a bralette. This is a cute little piece for lounging or casual daywear, NOT aerobic activity. (Trust me.) It looks cute when made up with the matching undies. I made this in sheer 4-way stretch mesh for a little spice.

To convert the pattern to a bralette, all you have to do is make the back shorter. Take the bra pattern piece and the slip/cami back and align them at the side seam notches.

Then draw a line across the back pattern so that it ends at the same point as the bra. (See the blue line above.) Then cut off the pattern piece. I added a new "cut on fold" bracket since the original got cut off. (If you don't want to cut up your pattern, make a fresh copy!)

Sew the bralette as you would for the slip, except finish the bottom edge with wide stretch lace, after sewing on the straps. It helps to first hold a length of the lace snugly around your body, right under the bust. Cut the elastic to that length (plus a little extra for seam allowances). Sew the stretch lace into a ring, and then zigzag it to the bottom of the bralette, lapping the lace over the mesh by 1/4". Stretching the lace to fit as you sew. 

For a little more support, you can also zigzag some plain elastic to inside of the bra, at the top of the midriff lace, just below where it joins the bra fabric. Measure it to your torso, as you did with the lace, and then stretch it as you're sewing to fit the lace, if necessary. 

You may also notice that I made the neckline of the bra slightly lower than the original design. See how the center front meeting point of the lace reaches down to the midriff lace? 

If you want to try this, just lay some lace on the pattern piece where you want it to be positioned on the final bra, keeping in mind seam allowances and such. (There's 5/8" seam allowance at center front, and 1/4" at the bottom of the bra, so I placed the lace accordingly so it would end up at center front when the piece is sewn.)

Then fold in the excess at the top of the pattern and cut out with the new lower neckline. 

That's all there is to it! If you'd like more pointers on sewing the slip and panties in this pattern, check out all my relevant posts, including a step-by-step sew-along. 

Butterick 6031: Panty Tutorial!

Panties, at long last! Here's a step by step tutorial for making the undies from Butterick 6031, my lingerie pattern. (See the slip steps in these posts.)

Before we start, perhaps you're wondering, "why the heck would I make my own panties?" Let me tell you, the reasons are numerous. After you make one pair of these, you can tweak the pattern to your personal preferences. I designed these to be my perfect undies: boyshort-esque, with adequate butt coverage, flat lace trim, and a higher-than-usual rise (though not Bettie Page high). The design came from my frustration at finding lingerie I liked the fit of. Second was my frustration at the cost of lingerie. $23 for a pair of panties that rides up all day? No, thank you. Once you get the technique down, you can make a pair of these in about 20 minutes and the cost of supplies is incredibly economical.

Convinced? Okay! Let's get started. First, make sure you have a stretch needle in your machine. 

You'll have three pattern pieces cut out: the front, the back, and the lining. You'll also need a length of wide stretch lace trim.

With right sides together, sew the front to the back at the crotch seam: set your machine to a narrow zigzag (about 1 mm wide by 2.5 mm long) and stitch with a 5/8" seam allowance. Then stitch again with a 1/2" seam allowance. Trim next to your second line of stitching. Finger press the seam allowance toward the panty back.

Get out your lining. Place the lining over the crotch seam, on the wrong side of the panties. Pin in place.

Baste the lining to the panties with a narrow zigzag (1 mm wide, 5 mm long). Use a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

Now get out your stretch lace. On the upper edge of the panty front, place the lace on the right side so that it's overlapping the edge of the panties by 1/4". Pin in place. The lace should not stretch at all as you're pinning or sewing it.

Stitch in place close to the lower edge of the lace with a square zigzag (2.5 mm x 2.5 mm).

Repeat with the upper edge of the panty back.

Now open out the panties and repeat the lace pinning/stitching process with the leg openings. Here's how it will look pinned.

You have lace on all the edges, and the side seams are still open.

With right sides together, pin the side seams together.

Stitch in a double-stitched seam with a narrow zigzag, and then trim away the seam allowance.

Finally, place a bow at center front (at the bottom of the lace) and hand stitch in place.

That's it! Pretty easy, huh? After you've worn them for a day, you'll have an idea of changes you want to make: you can have them cut higher or lower on leg openings, have a higher or lower rise, etc. If you want a retro high-waisted look, you can also use super-wide lace just at the waist opening.

Hope you enjoy! Now go forth and make panties.

Slip Kits Are 20% Off!

Hi all! I have a bunch of slip kits in stock and ready to ship. All the steps for the slip sew-along are posted, so I thought I'd have a little sale. I still have kits in black, red, and yellow, in both regular and plus sizes. Please visit my Etsy shop for details. The kits include everything you need to make my vintage-inspired slip pattern, Butterick 6031.

Use the code YAYSLIPKITS to get your 20% off! And check out the slip sew-along posts here:

Slip Sew-Along #1: Inside the Kit, Plus Other Supplies
Slip Sew-Along #2: Pre-treating Your Fabric
Slip Sew-Along #3: Picking a Size and Making Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #4: Bust Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #5: Cutting and Marking
Slip Sew-Along #6: Sewing the Bra Top
Slip Sew-Along #7: Sewing the Front and Back
Slip Sew-Along #8: Sewing the Lace Hem
Slip Sew-Along #9: Introducing Gertie's Sewing Show!
Slip Sew-Along #10: Sew On Your Bow

Slip Sew-Along #10: Sew Your Bow!

Hey sew-alongers! I am writing from Arizona, where I'm helping out my parents for a bit. (They are a mess: Dad has broken ribs, Mom has a broken wrist.) I don't have my sew-along materials with me, but luckily there's only one step left: sew on your bow!

It's pretty self-expanatory: just position the bow at the center front seam at the bottom of the neckline lace and sew on by hand securely.

You have a finished slip now! I'll do a tutorial on the panties next week, when I'm back home.

Mom and I set up her sewing machines last night. Don't worry, she can still sew with a broken wrist!

Previous Sew-Along Posts:

Slip Sew-Along #1: Inside the Kit, Plus Other Supplies
Slip Sew-Along #2: Pre-treating Your Fabric
Slip Sew-Along #3: Picking a Size and Making Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #4: Bust Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #5: Cutting and Marking
Slip Sew-Along #6: Sewing the Bra Top
Slip Sew-Along #7: Sewing the Front and Back
Slip Sew-Along #8: Sewing the Lace Hem
Slip Sew-Along #9: Introducing Gertie's Sewing Show!

Slip Sew-Along #8: Sewing the Lace at the Hem

Hello, sew-alongers! I’ve decided we’re going to skip the straps for now, and move on to the lace at the hem. But don’t worry; I’ll have a video for the straps to show you soon.

Okay, let’s get going. You need a long length of your wide stretch lace, the same stuff you used at the neckline and under the bra.

First, trim off the excess from one of the floral motifs on your lace. You want it to have a nice smooth edge around one of the flowers.

We’re going to start pinning the lace at the circle mark above the slit on the left side hem. Don’t have a circle mark? Me neither. No big deal, I consulted the pattern and you need a mark about 4.25” above the top of the cut-out wedge for the slit. Make a tiny dot there.

Pin the top of the flower motif in place so that it just covers your dot mark.

Now, pin it down the left side of the slit so that the edge of the lace is flush with the raw edge of the fabric on the slit.

When you get to the corner, fold in the excess to form a miter.

Keep pinning the lace around the bottom of the slip. 

Your lace edge is still flush with the bottom of the fabric. Go all the way around the slip until you get to the other side of the slit. Form a second miter.

Pin the lace up the right side of the slit. Temporarily remove the left side of the lace from the slit and place the end of the right side lace underneath it. Cut it off at the top, and then hide it underneath the floral motif that you trimmed down in the beginning of these instructions.

Get out a hand sewing needle and some thread. Slip stitch the fold of the miters in place, only catching the lace, not the slip underneath it.

Unpin the corners and trim away the excess from behind your slip stitching.

Pin the corners back in place. Now we’re ready to zigzag the lace all the way around the hem.

Put your machine on a square 2.5 x 2.5 zigzag stitch. Begin stitching across the top of the overlapped lace (at the top of the slit). Then stitch down the outer edge of the lace down the left side of the slit. If your lace is scalloped (like mine is) follow the scallops of the lace as you stitch as best you can. Hold the fabric slightly taut, but do not stretch it.

(Hey, check out my fancy new machine! More on that to come!)

Pivot at the top of the miters, and continue zigzagging along the upper edge of the lace.

When you get back to your starting point, backstitch and cut your threads.

Now we cut away the excess fabric. Start from behind the slit. Slash the fabric from behind the lace and cut it away next to the zigzag stitching. See how your slit forms an overlap?

Cut away the fabric all the way around, trimming closely to the zigzag.

And you’re done with the lace hem!

Straps and finishing next, and then we’ll move on to panties!

Slip Sew-Along #1: Inside the Kit, Plus Other Supplies
Slip Sew-Along #2: Pre-treating Your Fabric
Slip Sew-Along #3: Picking a Size and Making Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #4: Bust Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #5: Cutting and Marking
Slip Sew-Along #6: Sewing the Bra Top
Slip Sew-Along #7: Sewing the Front and Back