Inspired undergarment of the 1950's

Okay so well, yes! Basically this is how I sewed some basic underpants. It all started a couple of days ago when I was wearing a skirt, normally I wear pantyhose but because it was warm enough I scandalously decided to not wear them (Which I regretted now!!) and damage my inner tights because of the hot weather and the friction that had cost it.

So I had decided I would make some Undergarments I can wear without having to always wear pantyhose’s all the time but still can protect my legs.I got researching and saw some pictures of the 1950's undergarments (I believe) 

with a high waistline and also running

down the tights which is what I really wanted! (otherwise, I wouldn’t be much use to me!)

It seems comfortable, lovely and also very stylish in a way, something to keep me cool during the summer times and warmer during the winter! I'm however treating this undergarment more as a pair of shorts then underwear!

I, however, did some miscalculations on my part when I started this project and it didn’t turn out as I fully wanted as the picture here on the right

Nevertheless, I'm happy with trying out something new and exciting especially for a one day project! 

In the weeks that I wore this I discovered some discomfort so I did have a crack on this project once again and worked out some little problems that I will also address in this blog post. In the future, I will most likely make a video out of this project (maybe) and will tackle this project with silk then instead of cotton. I will definitely be changing the designs so they will fit better and sit nicely against my skin. They're definitely nice to wear but would like to perfect them even more now so if any modifications happen I will write a new blog post about it with a video attached to it! 

This is what I used for the 1950 inspired undergarment for two of them: - one meter of 100% cotton of 1,50 meter width - Lace for around the bottom of the leg, three meters. - Lace for the side of the undergarments, two meters - And a decorated edge if you would like to for the top part of the undergarment, 2 meters (which I didn’t use in the end)

I decided to use an existing pattern that I already had in my closet but modified the length from 70 cm to 45 cm and then 5 cm of lace on the bottom of the legs which would become a 50 cm long undergarment or shorts.

This was the beginning of my undergarment, I cut out four pieces (for two shorts) all at the same time without any seam allowance (which was a mistake on my part, but again, you always learn the hard way, making mistakes will keep you on your toes!)

What I had decided for those undergarments is that I truly wanted insert lace on the legs for a little peek a boo effect that I was going after.

I remembered I had some of that ribbon lace left from my chemise project and decided that I would have just enough to re-purpose it for this project.

I cut off all access fabric around the edges so I was left with nothing more than just the lace.

The lace was then laid down on top of the undergarment and pinned into place and top-stitched over on the rights side of the fabric.

After the lace is being top-stitched onto the fabric you turn it the other way and cut the fabric underneath the lace (the wrong side of the fabric) with some small scissors so you have a line right in the middle.

Those edges will be ironed flat and top-stitched over once again, but this time from the inside.

Once the lace is fully in and neatly stitched it looks clean and neatly on the right side of the fabric, with larger pieces of lace this method works even better than you can fold the edge that has been cut double so the fraying will stay encased.

The insertion lace has been stitched in, the next step I did was sewn in the lace that would come around the leg-holes.

I sewed them right sides together and stitched over it on the thinnest line of the lace. Afterwards, you have a clean line on the outside and top-stitched on the right side of the fabric right above the lace so it stays flat.

After the lace is on you can sew both pieces together right sides together, flip the piece inside out and now sew another straight stitch on the inside to finish up the french seam for a nice clean edge!

This step that I took changed but I will show it anyway, mistakes have been made but perhaps some people do enjoy doing this step instead of the extra one I took for more comfort and a better fit for myself.

For a simpler step (the first one I did but changed my mind as I wore it) I laid the edges of the leg seams together, right sides together and stitched over them and then finished them on the inside with a french seam for a nice clean edge.

(after this step a lot of thing changes for the overal piece after wearing it for a week)

After the first week of wearing the inspired undergarments and figuring out it didn't work to my satisfaction. I stumbled upon this image which made me think about the gusset.

A gusset is mostly a triangle shape that is inserted to make the fit even better.

It can be applied to clothing and also on a framework.

So I decided to go back to my drawing board and think through my pattern and how to apply the gusset so it would work.

And get me more comfort into the garment.

This photo was a big inspiration for the gusset <----

The other approach to make them more comfortable for myself was to make a gusset. I cut the gusset two times out of the fabric and then stitch the right sides together to make a french seam, I love a clean edge.

(these are two gussets for two separate undergarments) I used the same lace again to stitch it around the legs, with the same steps right sides together first and then top-stitched it.

Then I sewed the edges to the sides of the legs inside the undergarments legs and sewed them again with a french seam and a top stitch so all seams are as flat as possible. Cut the edges to the smallest amount of seam allowance so the left over fabric doesn’t peek out of the encasing from the french seam.

Follow this on both sides and then the inside of the undergarments has an extra gusset in for extra comfort/movement!

Now for the top, that I kept amazingly simple. I made a tunnel by folding the fabric twice over by a cm and ironed it flat. I then sewed around it except for two cm and fed in some elastic smaller than my waist and sewed the elastic together and the tunnel closed.

And with that, the undergarments are done! With some experimenting and some trial and error. I'm really happy with how it all turned out! Now I can actually wear them without destroying my legs in summer!

Hope you guys all enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

I hope you guys are all safe at home and if you are outside, please stay save!