I Sewed My First Pair of Panties

Until I was 14, I wore cotton panties handmade (homemade in those days) by my auntie. Well, it was either that or my sisters' hand-me-down. I never questioned why I had to wear the huge granny colourful cotton panties my auntie made for me. I was grateful they were new. I am the last daughter in a family of 5 girls (and 4 boys)

My auntie was not particular about fit and she made the panties huge. When I wore the panties, I could feel the wind beneath my wings...

When I was 14, I had a bff who had way more spending money than me. One day she asked me what colour panties I wore. (I think she just wanted to show off that she wore black underwear - very daring in those days) I told her my panties had many colours - mostly flower-flower patterns. She couldn't believe her ears so I had to show her what I was wearing. She laughed and laughed. And laughed some more. In fact she couldn't stop laughing. She laughed so hard she physically hurt herself. When she finally calmed down, she asked me why I would wear such underwear. I tried to explain about being the 5th girl and not liking hand-me-down... Anyway, she kindly brought me to a department store and showed me new panties which had no flower-flower print and they didn't cost a bomb as I had been tricked (by my mother) into believing.

Well, I did buy new beige panties for myself which I saved to wear when I went out. Secretly, I continued to wear my auntie's cotton panties at home until I wore them out. Anyway, my auntie stopped making panties for me when I was 14 so it all worked out.

Last December I received a free Acacia underwear pattern when I joined Megan Nielsen's newsletter. I had bought a pattern from her which I haven't sewn yet. So the underwear pattern had been sitting in my hard drive for a while and recently, I thought about making it. I mean handmade panties have a special place in my heart. I looked through the instructions and it seemed fairly simple. The only issue was the fabric. I needed a 20 to 30% stretch fabric and I wasn't sure if I have any.

Then I looked in my wardrobe and I saw this Hang Ten tee shirt. This tee no one wants to wear. It's been passed around from family member to family member. The price tag is still attached. I thought why not use it to make my Acacia panties. I did the stretch test and it had a 20+% stretch. I would have preferred a 30% stretch but I couldn't find another tee shirt to sacrifice.

If calculating stretch is new to you (it's just Math), the pattern includes a stretch chart so you can just place a piece of scrap fabric, stretch it and easily tell the stretch percent.

Only 4 pieces of fabric to join together. Actually for panties, the fewer pieces the better.

I used a 1/4" elastic and my zigzag configuration were 2.5/2.5. I tried out a few variations and loved 2.5/2.5 the most.

In case you're interested, I used Schmetz stretch needle size 75/11.

The inside.

There are 4 areas where there will be bulk. Use this tute and you'll be alright. I did trim a lot of allowances away.

And here's my Acacia underwear. I found it hard to photograph panties. When I went downstairs to photograph, I was so scared I would run into my neighbours. How do I explain myself?

I used size S. The first version I sewed using hubs' old dirty tee shirt and I discovered my bits weren't entirely covered. So I modified the pattern a bit and it came out perfectly. All my bits were covered and it fitted me like a glove.

The sewing was very easy. The only part you may find a bit hard is sewing the elastic to the fabric. My fabric edges curl, so I used a tweezer to control it while I sew. Other than that, very smooth sailing.

The back. Perfect fit.

I found a bike obstructing the pathway and couldn't resist using it.

I will definitely make many more of this underwear and if you want to give it a go, just go here. You'll probably have to jump thru a few hoops..