We discuss our favourite sewing tips for sewing undies and the supplies you need to sew your own undies. From period panties to boxer briefs, we’ve got you covered in our sewing patterns round-up too!
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Love to Sew episodes mentioned:
Sewing machine needles for sewing undies:
- Use a ballpoint sewing needle for jerseys
- Stretch needles work great for sewing elastic
- Use a microtex sewing needle for lace
Elastics:
- Standard ¼ inch elastic
- Regular waistband elastic for fabric casing
- Picot elastic:
Photo credit: Emerald Erin Shop
- Fold-over elastic:
Photo credit: The Bra Makery
- Plush waistband elastic:
Photo credit: Tailor Made Shop
Getting Fancy:
- Lace trim
- Bows
- Crystal embellishments
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View this post on Instagram
Shops to buy supplies:
- Emerald Erin Shop
- Tailor Made Shop
- Bra Makers Supply
- Sophie Hines
- The Bra Makery
- Allskintones.com
- Pacific Trimmings in NYC
- Etsy
- Blackbird Fabrics
The sewing part:
- Great stitches to use:
- Zigzag stitch
- Twin needle stitch
- Decorative stitch (Helen uses the lattice stitch!)
- Serging
- Sewing elastic:
- Try the ‘quartering method’!
- A more advanced technique is sewing the elastic off the roll!
Additional resources:
Sewing Patterns:
- Bikini:
- Thongs
- Boyshort:
- High Waist:
- Period panties:
-
- Seamwork has a whole article on how to make period undies with their undies patterns which include the Dakota and Dana undies
- Boxer Briefs:
- Boxers:
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So happy for this episode. When I first began sewing – i thought the idea of making my own undies or bra was a little crazy, but now i’m eager to try. I love the patterns you shared; but what i would love a pattern for and don’t see is for a thigh saver – are you aware of any patterns to sew your own?
Thanks,
Kristen
Kristen, thanks so much for your positive feedback! For thigh savers, we recommend using the Avery Leggings pattern by Helen’s Closet Patterns or the Virginia Leggings by Megan Nielsen Patterns 💕
I have delved deep into sewing bras and am now jumping into undies to go with. I do not know why I would have started with bras (likely because I’m an F cup and saw the financial benefit there). But I have picot underwear elastic from Bra Builders and find it is so very stretchy and not plush at all. The picot I use for bras, while plush has too much recovery and pulls against my skin. What picot do you use? Do you have a good source for one that somewhere in between wimpy and reboundy?
Hello Rochelle! Thanks so much for your message! We like the picot elastic from Emerald Erin’s Shop which is linked here in the show notes. You can always reach out to Erin directly to ask for further information before purchasing too. We hope this helps!
Thanks. I do use her picot for bras, but was thinking the stretch was too firm for undies. I’ll open one of my packs and give it a tug. I love Erin too.
I loved this show and I’m inspired to try to make some undies! I am a new sewist, though, and a little intimidated. I’m still struggling with what fabrics to choose and where to buy them….. I have an autoimmune disorder called Lichens Sclerosus, which requires me to have only natural, undyed undies near my lady parts…. do you have any advice for where I could find such fabric? Thanks so much!! -Denise
Hello Denise, thanks so much for your message! The Dharma Trading Co sometimes carries undyed knits! You can always reach out to them directly for options 🙂 One other thing to take a lookout for is OEKO-TEX 100 certification. This certification ensures that the fabric has not undergone processes with harmful substances. Blackbird Fabrics does carry some knits with this certification. Here is the link so you can look into whether this certification will work for you: https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/standard-100-by-oeko-tex
OH! Thank you so much!! I went ahead and made a pair with dyed fabric (beautiful cotton modal jersey knit in dusty petal from Blackbird!)!!! I LOVE them!! I learned a lot and my next pair will be even better! Also, I’m going to re-listen to this episode….. now that I’ve actually made a pair, I’ll probably understand some of the things you guys talked about better! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For the fun and the inspiration! 🙂
This was a fun episode. I first started sewing undies because of this podcast when one of you casually mentioned sewing undies. I’d never even thought of sewing my own before, and I started with sewing undies for my daughter while potty training. It was a great way to train the technique and I highly recommend it. I used some tshirts to make up my first pairs before cutting into new fabric. I actually had sewn many pairs before I learned that most people sew FOE in two passes. I don’t. I fold it as I sew the elastic down with a double needle. One pass through the sewing machine and no trimming necessary! I’ve never tried picot elastic, and the idea of trimming makes me a bit hesitant. Also, a big shout out for the Acacia undies. After hearing Megan Nielsen on the podcast, I downloaded her free pattern and it’s my go-to pattern. Thanks for another fun episode!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Charity!
Panties? Agree just no. In the UK they’re knickers. But I’m inspired to make my own now
Yay! We hope you give it a try, Beverley!