Something Different – Make Your Own Lacy Knickers – And Visiting Cats!

So back in the day, I used to make EVERYTHING myself, at least everything I could make with my sewing machine!  Partly it was because of having no money, and partly it was just for the challenge and the thrill of making it myself.  Plus it also meant that you had something unique that no one else had, because even if you used a commercial pattern and fabric purchased in a fabric shop, it was still pretty unlikely that someone else would make the identical same item as you, and even if they did, if you want to get really meta about it, the stitching would be different!

One of the things I challenged myself with was making lingerie and swimwear.  The challenge with lingerie was working with tricky, fragile and often slippery fabrics and the need for swimwear was because I did a lot of swimming, so I needed it.   So this week I decided to give myself something different to do from the usual stuff I have been sewing lately, and make these lacy knickers.

I chose this bright, almost neon, pink lace to work with – hey it was either that or neon lime green!

I cut out the pieces – two in total – and obviously identical – oh and a piece for the gusset which you can’t see.  The way this pattern is cut, means there are no side seams but one big seam that goes from the front to the back.

I needed to find some lace to trim the edges and found this one that I had in black and white.  The black/pink combination really wasn’t my cup of tea, so I went with the white.

There’s really not much to do on a pair of pants, it’s just fiddly and small to work with, and because of the smallness, accuracy is important.  What you could get away with on a bigger garment, would really show and/or affect the fit on something this small.  OK, so maybe no one will ever be inspecting it lol but on swimwear it would definitely be obvious. So I sewed them together, added the gusset (cut from some t-shirt fabric) and then edged them with the white lace, and suddenly they look like pants!

In other news this week, we had two visiting cats come a-calling.  This old guy, I feel so sorry for him.  He always looks so beat up and I don’t even know if anyone takes care of him, he often has abscesses or cuts, probably from fighting and it makes me sad.  He is also clearly used to being chased away from people’s gardens as he tends to take off as soon as you open the door, but he has got a bit more used to me now and so if I see him, I give him something to eat.  Sometimes he has trouble eating too, and I worry that his teeth are bad and causing him pain.  Here he is being very brave and peeking in the door.

Someone who is not at all cautious and in fact is very cheeky, is this little girl. Here she is looking cheeky and is leaving the house after not being invited in but came in anyway for a look around.  She also climbs up on the roof and down onto the bedroom window ledge so she can peek inside!