Chemise and knickers gift set.

Are any of you maintaining a long distance relationship with a dear friend? I am and I miss her so much! We aren't strangers to long distance friendship, having done it before. Mill lives in Zurich now and I haven't seen her for over a year. We still keep in touch through emails, texts, postcards and Skype dates, but none of it is the same as actually being face-to-face. I wanted to make her something special for her birthday this year, and knew a set of delicates would fit the bill nicely.

I followed Casey's 1920's Chemise tutorial for the top and used McCall's 2389 for the knickers. I had great success with this Chemise pattern last year when I made it for myself with a set of French knickers. For the Chemise I used a medium weight ivory satin that has a beautiful drape. I matched this with some ribbon for the straps and an ivory stretch lace. The top was constructed using French seams and a rolled hem. For the knickers I chose a Liberty of London Tana Lawn because, well, is there any cotton softer than a true Tana Lawn?! All the knickers needed were some thin pieces of elastic and a small piece of cotton jersey for inside of the crotch piece.

The pair were then wrapped in a vintage scarf, tied with ribbon, and posted to Switzerland. Mill loved them and the fit was perfect, much to my relief!

Sam xox

1920's chemise continued.

Tonight I decided to go back to the 1920's chemise I started a few weeks ago. I was stalled because the lace was too soft and folded over onto itself when the chemise was held upright. I have looked through the trimming sections of my local fabric stores but I couldn't find anything that was a suitable alternative. So I decided to improvise.

Firstly, I re-sewed one side French seam as I had not trimmed the seam allowance short enough and consequently little bits of it were sticking out of the finished seam (not a good look!).

Secondly, I decided to fold the top of the lace back over to the wrong side of the fabric and sewed it in place with a small straight stitch. This scalloped edges of the lace sewed down created a nice effect on the inside of the garment. It also made the top edge a bit more stable so now when worn the chemise sits flat against my chest and back.

Finally, I sewed on some ribbon that acts as the straps for the top.

Now all I have to do is sew the hem and it will be complete!

Sam xox