The Quest of the "Comfy Undies"

I know, I know, undies aren't really that interesting a project - but please bare with me on this one.

Below is the result pair from undie pattern attempt number 1.

That is actually a couple of strips of stretch lace on the side there, but the, um, weave (I guess that is the right word - correct me if I'm wrong) of the lace is very tight so it just looks like 2 blue strips. Anyway...

I am on a quest.

A quest to draft myself a great fitting pattern for a pair of comfy undies.

The above pair is the result of attempt number one. They fit, ok. Not great. Just ok. Too high on hips, leg holes too low at front, not enough bum in the necessary areas, and perhaps too long in the crutch. The above pattern was a direct draft from a leotard pattern I have. It was a good place to start from, but I have thrown that pattern out and am now considering getting it out of the recycling bin as a reference to make the next pair better.

I am thinking that I may have to sacrifice a pair of existing undies in this pursuit. I have a few pairs that I can probably let go of...

A Summer/Maternity Dress

Now don't go getting all excited - I'm not pregnant. This dress was made for my Sister-In-Law who is expecting her first (and my brother's first) baby in early May.


Just before Christmas she was looking for a Summer maternity dress and couldn't find anything. I had told her that if she'd let me know earlier I could have made one for her for Christmas. So, I decided to make her one after Christmas. 


This is what I ended up with. 


This dress is actually based off 2 different dresses that I have myself. One I made, the other I bought just before Christmas. Years ago I made myself a summer sun dress that had a shirred bodice and an a-line skirt, with simple tie straps. The one I bought has a similar top, but only shirred at the back but had 8 triangular panels so it was really full in the skirt. This 2nd dress was also strapless.
So I decided to mix the 2 together, and add wide straps. As the shirring elastic I have at the moment is pretty crap I just used regular 6mm flat elastic to gather the top. The top is lined and there is 5 rows of elastic in it. The dress is lined with a full circle skirt and the outer layer is made up of nine panels. This is going to allow lots of room for a growing baby belly. I used black eyelet lace to embellish the top of the dress. I also finished the edges with a rolled hem. 


This dress would be easy to dress up or down, and can be worn when she is in need of maternity clothes, and when she is back to her normal size after having the baby. 


I have a tutorial in the works for this dress, so hopefully it will be up soon. 

Some boardshorts for me!

These started life as a present for my boyfriend.

I had no pattern so I traced a pattern off a pair of his boardshorts.

I obviously didn't do a very good job of tracing because once I had sewn the seams I tried them on myself to see if they were as big on me as his normal pair, they fit me quite well and thus would have been too small for James.

So, instead of throwing them in the corner as a failed project, I decided to finish them off for myself.

I cut about 4cm off the top of the shorts and put in a couple of darts at the back which I wouldn't have put in if I'd been making them for a boy.

The facing for the top of the shorts wasn't quite right in shape (cause of the darts) so it ended up being half as wide so that I could sew it in without the actual shorts bubbling.

I figured out how to do the fly with a lycra backing instead of velcro - I hate velcro with a passion. Again I studied his pair for this. After finishing this I tried them on and the fly didn't sit right. I decided that I would just do a button fly instead. Easy!

They don't fit really well, but hey it's beachwear!! Who really cares?

They are reasonably comfy and I love the print.

Blog directional.

I have decided that my blogger blog will be my 'sewing' blog and my tumblr blog will be for 'other crap'.

Just a heads up. So my few a far between followers, that is where the story is at!

Hoping to start the sewing stuff shortly. It might actually make me do things for myself!!

come and visit me over here...

I have decided to try something new.

Come and visit me at http://kiraph.tumblr.com

There may still be posts on here, but for the time being I will be at my new home.