Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Making Undies


Lately I've been making ladies underwear.  One of the things I wanted to do for gifts for my girls was to dig out an old pattern I have and make them some pretty panties.  While I already had plenty of elastic, lace and pretty embellishments to make them I didn't have any fabric.  My girls wear cotton so I decide to look at the fabric stores for some fun knits.  Unfortunately the selection was poor and the price surprisingly high.  So I waited and I thought about it.  Then I got an idea!


Last spring I used a 20% OFF coupon at JoAnn Fabrics and picked up half a dozen XXL 100% cotton T-shirts that were on sale for $2.50 each.  I bought the biggest ones they had so I'd get the most fabric.  The coupon shaved an extra quarter off of the price so on six shirts I saved an extra $1.50!  Not a bad haul given the current price of ladies underwear.


The pattern I have is made by Stretch & Sew and is one I used waaaaay back in the eighties when I was broke.  I had borrowed it from my mom who at one time had worked for Stretch & Sew as an instructor.  Needless to say, she has a ton of patterns.  Several years ago I had mentioned that pattern to her and told her I was going to look on eBay to see if I could find one.  She ended up giving me the pattern back and told me I could keep it.  And it sat there.  Until recently.




A couple weeks ago I washed all of those T-shirts in warm water to remove the sizing and shrink them up if that is what they might do.  Then I dug out that pattern and used a piece of tissue wrap to trace the three pattern pieces.  I used one of my kids washable markers.  That worked well and no bleed through.  I cut out the pieces and then pinned them to the T -shirts and cut out six pair.  The instructions are really easy to follow and making them is far simpler than one might think.  And it is a lot of fun.



They are coming along quite nicely and I think they are every bit as nice as store bought.  Possibly even better quality.  Once these are done I might even make a couple pair for myself.  I need to find out where to buy tricot (nylon) online as JoAnn's doesn't carry it anymore.  I think I have a couple of leads but if anyone knows where to go please share that in the comments.


I know Stretch & Sew and I believe Kwik Sew made these multi size traceable patterns back in the day.  They also made patterns for men's and boy's underwear and I've made those before as well.  If you think you might be interested in making some for yourself or your family I'd encourage you to find a pattern on eBay or maybe even Etsy.  I think they are a great value.




27 comments:

  1. I love this!!! I've been wanting to do this for years, but I've been worried about how to do the elastic. Kudos to you, they look beautiful!!

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    1. If you follow the instructions the elastic is amazingly easy. They have figured out a great technique for this and it works like a charm.

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  2. Oh my goodness! this is the best thing ever! I saw another blog recently (can't remember where) who was making panties and I thought just how cool. Your girls are going to love them. I hope you can find the fabric you are looking for.

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  3. Wow you are creative & thrifty! I know they will love them.

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  4. WOW - that is awesome that you can make underwear! they are so expensive in the stores.

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    1. Aren't they?! I think I have less invested than the price of one pair.

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  5. I have thought about this every time I need to buy more. I sigh, then toss the package into the shopping cart. It seems with me the fabric wears out first before the elastic. I have been tempted to cut the frayed fabric and reuse the elastic.

    Yesterday I bought a white sheet made from a soft knit fabric for $1.50 at a thrift store. It would be great for this and would make many pairs; but alas, the white sheet is destined to go under Scooter when he lays on the couch. I just can't trust him not to bring in ticks anymore.

    http://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2017/09/scooter-is-in-big-trouble.html

    Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

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    1. Poor Scooter. At least you let him back in the house. ;)

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    2. The spoiled rotten pooch, who loves my husband more than life itself, was outside long enough for me to get the house vacuumed. Even though he complains, he is not mistreated. (This statement can apply to both the dog and my husband)

      Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

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  6. I would never have thought of this...Amazon has the perfect undies for me at a great price or I'd be trying this too...

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  7. When I was young Mom made all my panties. I had more and prettier panties than anyone I knew. The T-shirt fabric idea is fantastic!

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    1. Thanks Anne. I think I got pretty creative on this one.

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  8. Great idea but I just won't sew underwear unless I have to. maybe my religion has something to do with it:)

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    1. I find it fun or I sure as heck wouldn't be doing it. I'd be buying them! ;)

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  9. Oh my goodness, they're so pretty! I too only wear cotton panties - a necessity when it reaches 104*F in summer - but attractive ones are so hard to find.

    I think you just discovered a new side income. I would buy them! :)

    D.

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    1. Thank you! I'm not overly impressed with the selection of cotton ones in the stores these days either. Very utilitarian, but then I guess they should be to some extent.

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  10. Genius using the tshirts for fabric!

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  11. Stretch and Sew brings back fond memories - I need to try these again. Great idea to use t-shirts.

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  12. I was going to suggest tshirt fabric/jersey. For years I made my own panties and bras. I could make them so comfortable for my own use. People thought I must be poor to make my own panties and bras. Bras never fit and always hurt.

    As a joke, I made a G-string for a woman. No one could believe a person could make it. I suppose they thought the G-string fairies made the ones in the store.

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    1. That is great! Yeah, somebody makes them! ha, ha. The t-shirts are working perfectly and I am really pleased.

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