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I had great fun making this set. I got the fabric at G Street Fabrics when I was in Maryland visiting Linda. It's been aging gently in the inventory, and I'm glad I finally made it up. It's pretty wild, but I had a good time dying all the elastic/findings/notions to match. In fact, at this very moment, I have 3 white lace tangas in the dyepot. I wanted more than one matching panty, and realized I might as well just sew them first, and dye later. This works beautifully, as long as you use Nylon Thread when you sew. This is very important, as polyester thread won't dye, and you'll suddenly have contrasting stitching everywhere. That can be a great look, but not when you didn't plan it.
Here's a closer view of just the bra.
I used the pattern I copied from a Freya bra. This is one of the few bras I've made without any lace on it, and I think it turned out pretty well.I wanted a matching panty, and the tanga pattern I like is for stretch lace only. Well, with no lace on the bra, that seemed to be a bit of a problem. I dyed lace to match the notions for the bra, and ended up using a little of the bra fabric on the panty. It's kind of a reverse applique, in that I placed it underneath the lace and stitched around it on some of the lace lines, then cut away the lace over it. I think it works.
The lace itself was sold with the selvedges still attached, so you had to cut the galloon edges free. You can see what it looks like when partially cut away. |
| From Lingerie |
You may have noticed that the lace seems to be wider than what was used on the finished panty. Well, you're right. It was wider than I like (I like about a 3-1/2" lace for these) and so after finishing the whole thing, I decided I just wasn't happy, and so I carefully marked and cut between the top and bottom lace motifs, then joined them with zigzag stitching along a motif line, cut away the excess on the top, then stitched again and cut away the excess on the inside. This worked beautifully, and it's very hard to see the join, even when you are holding them in your hand. Lace is just handy that way.
I knew I wanted a garter belt for this set, and I copied an older Vanity Fair one I have. I dyed the components for it as well, including some silk organza to underlay the centerfront piece, and some very narrow non-stretch lace edging for the edges, ribbon to cover the garters, loopy elastic for the garter straps and waistband, and SeamsGreat. The original I was copying was 'taped' along all the edges and seams with some kind of tricot strips. I thought about it a lot, and finally decided that SeamsGreat would work okay. I think it worked great, and I doubled it for strength. It was very easy to dye, and I am keeping that in mind for future plans. I'm sure it could come in handy for a lot of things, and I have a lot of it on hand. Here's a view of the inside of the garter belt, and a close-up of the inside front.
I think the garter straps, etc. are just as cute as they can be. I love the little ribbon flowers. I got those at JoAnn's, they had the perfect color. You'll notice there's one on the bra as well. Making a garter belt was a new experience, and not difficult, but pretty fiddly. There are just so many little pieces and steps to put them all together. I would do it a little differently next time, if there is a next time. I wouldn't try to make it so adjustable in the back. There's no point really, I know what size I am, it only has to fit me.
I'll leave you with a photo of the garter strap.
