No more boring old undies: sew your own lingerie
February 10, 2015 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
“Sewing lingerie can make you feel so different about yourself. You stop thinking about your insecurities and get to know your own body without judging. It’s a much more encouraging way to view your own shape,” says Laura Stanford, my tutor for today. That’s good to know. On my journey here, I think that anything that isn’t either thermal, furry and drawstring (ie all loungewear from Uniqlo, the true antithesis of lace and cheese-wire elastic) is deeply unappealing. But Laura is reassuring and passionate about this lingerie business.
She designed pants for MS and then moved to Agent Provocateur, a senior designer there when Fifty Shades of Grey took grip, and undies went hardcore. “All that rubber and PVC”, she says shaking her head. Now she freelances and has just finished a book about making pretty, old-fashioned lingerie. Today we’re creating a confection called Baby Cakes Mini. She shows me a pair she ran up earlier. They are definitely mini.
We start by cutting out the tulle (a fine, gauzy netting) with a rotary cutter, which is easy and satisfying. Then she directs me towards the sewing machine, white and shiny and ready to go. Ah, the fun bit: I remember my school sewing class decades ago followed by a brief passion for designing shift dresses in my teens with my mum’s sewing machine. I liked the instant thrill, pressing down on the foot pedal, lurching and speeding over seams, pins flying, my dress finished in a matter of minutes, particularly as I missed out the “boring” bits ie pinning and tacking. No wonder my dresses were unwearable; sewing over an armhole didn’t help.
As Laura reminds me, it’s the preparation that matters, and only around five minutes of machine time. Pin and tack. Pin and tack. Fastidious and deliberate.
We fall into a slow and steady pace, sewing the back and front panels of tulle together, then the lace around the edges.
Our next challenge, Laura says, is to sew in our “floating gusset”. Really?
If only Miranda Hart were here to cock an eyebrow and repeat to camera, “Floating gusset.”
Seriously, they are hard to pin down, so I tack mine in neat stitches and then the sewing machine beckons. Foot to the ground, and take it away. I’m all over the place, lace and tulle speeding through my fingers.
The final hurdle is sewing in the elastic – an art in keeping your nerve. The trick is to hold the elastic taut as you machine on to your tulle – which should shirr up and gather evenly as you go, for that frothy finish. No chance. I speed up and hope for the best. “Don’t worry about the imperfections,” says Laura. We’re not aiming for bland mass-produced MS knickers, after all. Homespun and unique rules. “I love my wobbles. That’s what gives them character,” Laura assures me, inspecting my drunken seams flying out the back of the machine. Once more around the waistband, full-throttle I go. Minutes later, my Baby Cakes are complete: dripping in lace and bows, and the gusset floats no more. You wouldn’t find these in Uniqlo, and I’d be amazed if I actually wear them – but they do look divine.
There is a Secrets of Sewing Lingerie workshop with Laura in March 2015, for the Baby Cakes tulle bra and mini. For more information on all workshops go to saturdaysewingsession.co.uk
