Panties!

Simplicity patterns hasn't been available here for a few years now. And with shipping costs and exchange rates added onto the online prices it is quite an investment to order off the website. I really want to try the panties pattern but I couldn't find any reviews on this pattern other than for the soft cup bras to justify that sort of investment. So, I searched Etsy to see if I could save a few pennies. And lucky me! 

The latest panties pattern I'm trying is Simplicity 8228. It arrived a few weeks ago but it wasn't until this weekend that I actually got to work, traced out the pattern, cut my supplies and when I couldn't sleep last night, snuck down to the workspace and started stitching.  

This morning before breakfast, I finished installing the elastic. They're not perfectly sewn but with what I have learned from sewing these, I'm willing to give it another try. The next pair I think I might try a size smaller though, just because of the amount of stretch in my fabrics.  

I didn't make any changes to the pattern and followed the directions, including watching this Madalynne video. The instructions are great, the pattern is fantastic, and now that I know the process, I feel ready to tackle another pair.  

The instructions for the elastic warn to be "careful not to stretch the elastic as you sew" and I took great care while doing this only to discover that I should have gave my elastic a gentle tug while sewing. It worked out in the end, not perfectly mind you, making this a imperfect wearable toile. At the waistline there is a 3/8" space where the top of my elastic does not meet. I'll just have to keep this in mind for the next pair.  

There was an emergency mending repair that happened when my fabric was pushed down into the needle plate while sewing the crotch lining in place. After carefully working with my Pro Seam Ripper Kit to remove the knit (lightning bolt) stitch that became knotted, I ended up with a small hole. Again, this could have been prevented if I were to hold the back end of the fabric and provide a gentle tug.  

The fabrics were found at Fabricland, and right now they have a lovely selection of stretch lace fabrics perfect for this sort of project. I didn't pretreat my fabric. ~Gasp!~ If they shrink, I'll be okay with that. These panties were stitched with the knit (lightning bolt) stitch on my sewing machine. Instead of finishing the edges with a zig-zag stitch, I used my serger. The elastic was stitched with the zig-zag stitch as directed on the pattern instructions.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  0.5 metres ($12.00 / metre - 50% off + taxes = $3.39 Cdn / $2.52 US).  

Elastic:  2.3 metres 77% nylon and 23% spandex picot elastic  ($1.25 / metre - 50% off + taxes = $1.62 Cdn / $1.20)

Thread:  100% polyester thread for the serger and sewing machine (averaged out $2.00)

Pattern:  Simplicity 8228 ($13.47 Cdn / $10.00 US).

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, tweezers, seam ripper, serger, cutting table, pins, scissors, hand sewing needle, Burda tracing paper, felt-tip marker, Coccyx cushion, wrist brace, latte, many breaks.  

Happy Sewing!