Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Sewing Equivalent of Voldemort?

Could it be? Did I actually make more cake? Actually, if underwear is cake, this is about as frosting-y as cake can be.

So, if Voldemort is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and underwear is euphemised as Unmentionables, well, then it logically follows that I just sewed up a pair of Dark Lords. Um. Right.

You know how I ended my last post by jesting that underwear was next? Well, I couldn't stop thinking about it. As in I went to sleep mentally assessing the state of my unmentionables drawer, and how I needed more seamless panties, and honestly, it couldn't be that difficult, right? I woke up deciding that if there was a free pattern somewhere, and it didn't take up too much fabric (I mean, how could it?) or printer paper, I would give it a whirl. Enter the Lace Tanga Panties over at Burdastyle, and three pages of printer paper and an hour later, I had this pale, noseless, Tom Riddle of my own.

I'm not about to model lacy panties for teh interwebs, so this heart pillow from IKEA will have to be my stand in. It's kind of remarkable, actually, what a good job it does...

Its butt is not as shapely as mine, though, so perhaps heart pillows won't be replacing humans as underwear models anytime soon. Also, the center seams look slightly crooked in these pictures, but that's just because I am really bad at dressing pillows. I promise it's straight in real life.

The pattern was remarkably easy to put together, with only a few seams and minimal fitting issues. The instruction sheet I downloaded from Burdastyle is supremely unhelpful (it also says 2 yards of lace required; I used less than a yard), saying only to follow the video, so I had to go search for that just to find out what the seam allowances are. In case you are ever seized with the urge to make your own, I'll save you the trouble and let you know that the seam allowance is 1/4". But if you want to watch the video, here it is (the best part is the end, where the older lady doing the demo says in a fakely excited voice, "It's so fast, so easy, and ooh! So sexy!" Please go watch just the last ten seconds and tell me I'm not the only one who was giggling insanely). Anyway, the resulting panties are mostly equivalent to the $12 seamless lace panties you can find at Victoria's Secret and such. My only beef with my pair is that it fits more like boy shorts in front, because you have to use the straight edge of the lace instead of being able to scoop it out to fit the curve of the hip joint. If you like boy short style underwear, that's fine, but it's not my favorite.

ZOMG my center seams all match!! You can also tell where I zigzagged the lining in.

Inside out. The video didn't say anything about how to finish the seams, so I just pressed the center seams open and stitched down the allowance on either side. For the other seams, I just pinked, pressed to one side, and stitched down the seam allowance.

Summary:
Fabric: a little less than 1 yard of 6.5" wide cream-colored stretch lace from the Vintage Fashion Expo...I'd originally gotten it for lace insertion, but then I realized that it's way too wide and stretchy to boot. Also, a tiny scrap of what may be the most unstable, incapable-of-recovering jersey I've ever worked with for the lining fabric.
Notions: none...although I'm toying with the idea of adding a tiny ribbon bow on front. That might be too much cutesy for me, though. I mean, isn't it frosting enough that these are lace?
Hours: 1!
Will you make this again? This is a pretty good underwear pattern even for not-stretch-lace, so I think I will, but I'll scoop out the front section to accommodate my bulging quads, first.
Total cost: $2...That's a savings of $10!
Final thoughts: I'm actually pretty excited about this. I never thought that sewing the cakiest of cakes, the basic panty, would be so thrilling, but it is. Probably because it's lacy. I remember being in high school and walking into VS for the first time and coveting all the lacy-but-out-of-my-price-range unmentionables, and now I can make my own! I'm even thinking I want to try a Ruby Slip... Now I just need to find a good source of wide stretch lace, and I'll be all set to churn these out (if this pair is the equivalent of Voldemort, does making multiple pairs mean I'm making...*gasp* Horcruxes??? I think this is where the metaphor really breaks down. Although I guess that you could argue that it was already broken, considering that underwear is not evil, nor bent on enslaving the world, at least to my knowledge...).

Tiny Voldie head from here, pasted in and captioned courtesy of PicMonkey.

41 comments:

  1. LOL - your analogy is hilarious! And yes, the last ten seconds are terribly funny in that video!

    Yep, you are like me - you can enjoy sewing anything as long as you like the fabric. =) Your seams look great the way you finished them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for laughing at both my analogy, and the video :) And I think you're right, the fabric just needs to speak to me and I will listen to it!

      Delete
    2. I forgot to mention how clever you are for thinking of using that heart pillow as your "model"! (At first I thought it was a form you made just for this project, hehe.)

      Delete
  2. Cute! Yours are way better than the ones in the video!

    So, we've had the curtains, and the lace, what's next for gently wafting?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Leimomi! And how funny that you should say that, because my next project actually is pretty waft-y...

      Delete
  3. Your metaphor is the best! Super geeky :)

    Well now, I was wondering if I should post about something so mundane as making home shorts, and you've gone and tipped me over the edge...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am of the opinion that everything and anything that could possibly help someone else needs to be blogged...whether my readers feel the same is another story :) But really, if I find myself wondering if how someone else felt about a pattern, or how somebody else interpreted ____, then I'll blog it because I figure it might be helpful someday. So yes, please blog your shorts (but only if you actually feel like it) because I need more home shorts too!

      And yes, I am Super Geek, even when it come to sewing undawears...

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Excellent. It was my intent, of course, to kill off the most hilarious sewing blogger I know by posting this entry.

      Delete
  5. This metaphor is hi-larious! Love it! Love the heart pillow too. The, um, unmentionables look well done. Take that VS! Adding this cake and that Ruby cake to the list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, can't wait to see your interpretation of this pattern! And thank you for affirming my poor heart pillow's first attempt at modeling!

      Delete
  6. I begrudgingly share my go-to place for lace: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MaryNotMartha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aaaaahhh I just looked through her shop and am bewitched. Thankfully (?), none of her stretch laces are the appropriate width, so my pocketbook is safe for now. Thanks for sharing your secret!

      Delete
  7. It's eerie how well that heart-shaped pillow works as an underwear model! Those are some awesome lace panties - and if we all start making them (and I think we just might) then I count that as taking over the world! But for good, not for evil. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lace panties single-handedly (?) save the Greek economy! Excellent! Get started now!

      Delete
  8. Ha! Thank you, it's kind of gloomy here today and I feel much more cheerful and amused now! Snicker..Voldemort. I'm glad your intimate apparel sewing project went so well too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ROFLOL!!!! LOVE IT!!! And cute Dark Lords!!! :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *blushes* Nobody's ever said that about my Dark Lords before!

      Delete
  10. Ooh pretty - too pretty to be Voldemorts! There is something uniquely satisfying about whipping up a quick project.
    I reckon you could try a front panel seam and adjust the angles of the lace border to a slight V, to avoid the boy-short-front-leg look. That extra bit always annoys me too!
    Great house model!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think IKEA needs to market this pillow as an unmentionables model! I'm not sure I understand what you mean about the front seam, but I'll play around with the pattern. Glad to know I'm not the only one annoyed by the extra bit.

      Delete
  11. Hi! I just had to comment because I saw these on PatternReview and was so impressed - i love that style of "Dark Lords" (hehe, too awesome), and they are always so expensive!!! YAY! Thanks for the review, and the mention of the free pattern! Yours turned out so perfectly, I'm really excited to try my hand at them too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please do try them, they're so easy! I'm glad this review is helping people to discover an awesome free pattern.

      Delete
  12. These are fabulous! I love that you modeled them on a pillow - brilliant - and that worked so well! I think I may need to add some lace and cake to my wardrobe - you version looks fantastic :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, if you can make a bathing suit, you can definitely bust these out in no time! Thanks for appreciating my pillow!

      Delete
  13. Your right, the video is funny! I love these they look gorgeous, they are definitely on my list of things to make! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for validating me on the video! These should definitely go on your list!

      Delete
  14. Good lord girl, that metaphor had me hooting with laughter in the most undignified manner! In all honesty though, I've been considering making me some Dark Lords for a while now. Even worse, I've been thinking about making my lovely boyfriend some as well. How did I get to this point?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm kind of dreading the day I decide I need to make my husband Dark Lords, too! If you do, let me know how it goes!

      Delete
  15. i love how many HP fans are into sewing, these references always tickle me! some background on the tanga panty-the lady in the video is Elissa Meyrich (sp?), she founded sew fast, sew easy-a school in manhattan where i learned to sew. the tanga video wasn't free originally, it had to be purchased from her. unfortunately, the school closed up shop after 19 years of operation due to the recession. i am heartbroken as i was just about to sign into another course there. i bought a few yeards of french lace at the going out of business sale and the staff printed the tanga pattern for me. i think i'll try these this weekend and hope no muggles get involved. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wow, I had no idea about all that history! I couldn't find any kind of website for them, so your explanation really clears that all up. How sad that the recession would cause them to close down.

      I'm just surprised that my geekery is so well received along with my normal sewing stuff!

      Delete
  16. Wow, great job on these, they look perfect! Thanks for sharing the video as well!

    ReplyDelete
  17. The end of the video definitely made me giggle. It was so contrived! :p

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hah! The idea of sewing up a pair of Dark Lords made my day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sounds like some bizarre, horrible fanfic, doesn't it?

      Delete
  19. These are adorable! (and sorry I'm late commenting.) And now I know what I want to do with the remaining lace from my Ruby Slip (still languishing on my bedroom floor awaiting reworking. Damn.

    Speaking of which, with maybe some minor piecing I'm pretty sure you could get a ruby slip out of this width of lace. Just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're late commenting, then I am late on oh, my entire online life? Moving has caused so many blogs to pile up in my reader that I *want* to comment on, but probably can't/won't.

      I think a matching Ruby slip/lace tangas set would be perfect. Hmm...

      Delete
  20. I'm about to make the jump into lingerie sewing as well! I have a plethora of patterns that I've scrounged up from around the interwebs if you're interested. And I HIGHLY recommend the Singer Sewing Library's Sewing Lingerie book. It's incredibly helpful and includes info on inserts, seams, hemming, pattern alterations, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think a lingerie sewing pattern roundup is in order! I will be on the lookout for that book...thanks for the rec!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts! I appreciate reading them and I try to reply to most, if not all, comments, especially when they are questions. I ask that you keep your comments polite, and if you're a spammer, don't bother because your comment will just be deleted! Also, if you're commenting on a post that's more than two weeks old, it will be moderated.