Fancy a bit of meringue?

So I was sticking quite well to my break-from-lingerie-sewing resolution. I’ve managed to churn out quite a few articles of clothing over the last month or two, and I was quite proud of myself. But then it struck – halfway through working on a new shirt, sew-jo fled. Vanished. I had zero desire to work on this shirt. Turned out I wasn’t turned off all sewing, however – because I whipped up a dirndl skirt using one metre of polka dot poplin from the Lincraft half-price sale (a dangerous, dangerous place) in about two hours. “Oh, I just needed a break from the drudgery of shirt-making,” I thought. “I will definitely finish this shirt now”. Well, the shirt is still sitting about two-thirds finished on my desk. I said I wasn’t allowed to make anything else until it was finished. But then I remembered it was lace month on the Bra-A-Week Challenge…and that this would be my last week to get a submission together…and I had this really, really pretty lace I wanted to use…

I’ll spare you the rest of my justifications – we all know I’d rather make frosting than cake! – here’s my veritable *meringue* of a lingerie set:

This is yet another Boylston bra, but paired with a new underwear pattern – Merckwaerdigh‘s first downloadable, the pocket boxer! This whole set was made with stashed bits and pieces and patterns I already had, so it feels like a free make (even though this is totally untrue because I did pay for everything at one point or another)! But it was nice putting stashed goodness to use – the lace and strapping was from Rathdowne, the rings and sliders from Arte Crafts, the underarm elastic left over from my Grey’s Fabric Watson kit, and the foam, band elastic, back closure and sheer lining from Booby Traps. And the cotton jersey in the underwear from The Cloth Shop 🙂

I don’t think I need to state yet again how much I love the Boylston, nor how good the fit is on me – this has been well covered in previous posts 😉 but I did do a little design change this time – the scalloped lace edge along the bottom of the band. I was inspired by Erin’s post last week, and chose to do the method where the band is lengthened slightly to accommodate the lace edge. So it’s a little longer than a normal bra, but not a full longline like my velvet Boylston – and I have to say, I love this look. Construction was very much otherwise as normal, with the exception of zigzagging the edge of the lace on the upper cup, again in order to use the scallops.

One of the nicest things about using a TNT pattern is not being afraid to add in extra details or use really pretty notions. I’d been saving this strap and underarm elastic, and those gorgeous rose-gold rings and sliders, for about six months, waiting for a project that deserved such specialness. I sure am glad I did, because I feel like this bra is one of the most well-put together, best-fitting, comfortable and PRETTY bras I have made to date – to say it’s a new favourite is a bit of an understatement 😛

Speaking of comfortable – this is possibly the most comfortable pair of underwear I have ever worn, let alone sewn! I mean, all of my me-made underwear has been very comfortable, but this – THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF UNDERWEAR. I’ve always liked the idea of boyshort-style underwear, but the style you get in RTW almost always has front and centre back seams and they are always drawn almost magnetically into a wedgie 😦 but this style has no pesky centre seams! It’s actually got six panels (front, back and four side), and then a separate crotch piece. So not only is it an awesome fit and super comfy, the colour-blocking opportunities are practically endless; a feature which is highlighted in the instructions, which include a full page of ideas to inspire. I received this pattern free as a newsletter subscriber, but you can now buy it as a pdf in her Etsy store 🙂

Well, this sent has certainly refreshed my appetite for sewing a bit! And a good de-stress after my first full week of placement too. I’m determined to finish my shirt now (especially now that I’ve realised I’m going to need a lot more clothes for placement!), so look forward to seeing that soon!

Also, while I’m on the topic of bra-making, I was a winner in the category of Best Bra-Making Blogger in Madalynne’s Blogging awards! I’m really honoured, so thanks so much for all of your votes and support – you can see all the results here. And over the weekend, The Fold Line published an article I wrote on lingerie-sewing tips – you can head across and read it here 🙂

Until next time,

Miss Maddy xx