Drum Roll, Please!

…okay, maybe don’t start your drum rolls quite yet; the winner of the giveaway will be announced, but not till the end of this post – I hope the suspense doesn’t finish anyone off by then!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that lingerie-making is an excellent use for remnants, offcuts and scraps of all kinds. But this in itself inspires another question; if one makes underwear from other projects’ remains, what does one do with those from lingerie projects? Well, my friends, it seems I’ve discovered the answer: make MORE lingerie! Remember that coral lace I made my last Marlborough and Alice tap pants set from? Here it is, back with a vengeance and lovelier than ever! This time, a pair of Grace panties and a matching garter belt:

I had a lot of fun with these two! I think the Grace panties are definitely a TNT for me now; the fit is consistently good, I love the style and the design, and every version I make I love more than the last (I’ve already cut my next one, and it’s already my favourite!). Given the sheerness and stretchiness of the lace, which I’d describe as an incredible mechanical give rather than a true stretch lace, I underlined the front panel with some sheer tricot, and I really like the effect. I’m also pleased with the fact that I now have two pairs of underwear to match that Marlborough; as much as I love the Alice, the Grace is also a far more practical, and more importantly, *wearable* style for day to day life. Besides, you can never have too many matching pairs, right? 😉

Now as a contrast to an old favourite, something completely new to me! I mentioned in my post about the Boylston set that I was interested in making a garter belt – well, the lovely Sofìa of Silver Linings Atelier informed me that she had already drafted a pattern for one, and very kindly offered to send it to me. Now that’s the kind of offer I can’t refuse! It was incredibly well-drafted (though I’d expect no less from Sofìa, everything she makes is flawless!), and it came together super quickly and neatly. Even though by this point I’d gone through most of my lace remnant, the pieces were so small it was still easy to get a good pattern placement (something I’m pretty proud of in this piece. I mean, LOOK AT THAT PATTERN PLACEMENT). It’s also a perfect fit, given the brilliant coincidence that we’re about the same size. I didn’t have *quite* enough of the coral elastics left to do the whole garter belt with it, so I chose to use a cream-coloured elastic from my stash as a contrast on the side pieces, and I rather like the effect! Everything else was from my stash, with the exception of the strapping and clips, which I picked up from Lincraft.

I don’t general bother pricing my makes too closely; the enjoyment and satisfaction I get from making far outweighs that of saving money, and I think pricing your garments too strictly, looking for savings, is a path to misery and frustration. That being said – there’s a definite exception for spectacular bargains! Out of that $2.50 lace remnant and $11 Merckwaerdigh elastics kit, I got a bra, two pairs of underwear and a garter belt, all for less than $20 all up. There’s still a bit of that lace to go, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it pops up again…(much like that infinite pink milliskin, which I’m not convinced we’ve seen the last of either).

The squad.

In other news, I recently discovered my new fabric heaven – GJ’s Discount Fabrics. Specialising in quilting cottons and, more importantly to me, dance fabrics, I’m pretty certain I walked around for half an hour just touching all of the beautiful bolts and tugging on them, marvelling at the stretch. I can tell you now, a dance fabric shop is a lingerie sewer’s dream: not only all the gorgeous stretch satins and laces, lycras in every colour and print (THE METALLIC GOLD DOT ONE, I WANTED IT SO BAD), but all the technical fabrics too: stretch meshes in every colour, and proper amazing medium and heavy-weight powernets, the kind you just can’t get in good ol’ Spotlight and Lincraft. I was so happy I promptly treated myself to some proper medium weight powernet, instead of the light-weight stuff I’ve been using doubled. It’s only slightly cheaper than other places I’ve seen it advertised online – about $25/m – but the real advantage is that buying in store I could get just 40cm in each colour, instead of the full metre, and not have to pay for shipping. Given how little I need for each bra, I think it’ll last me a while (I’ll still be using the lighter-weight stuff, too, as it’s much more comfortable for underwear and underlining). GJ’s Discount Fabrics has been added to the resources list, and I highly recommend it to my fellow Melbournians!

Finally! The announcement we’ve all been waiting for! The winner of my giveaway is…Joanne Walker! Congratulations Joanne, I’ll be in contact soon with you soon about sending you your prize 🙂 Many thanks again to everyone else who entered – I’m sure it won’t be too long before I’m feeling generous again…meanwhile, I have to admit I was so enamoured of the kit myself I went and got twice the amount of everything so I could make it as well! So you’ll be seeing my version in the coming weeks, just as I’d love to see yours somewhere soon Joanne 🙂

Until next time,

Miss Maddy x