Lingerie set
I finally finished my bra! It is a matching set with the panties that I made a couple of days ago. The bra pattern is bought from Elingeria and it is called Pin-up Girls Classic Bra #1230. This is a pattern for a classic bra with full band that can be made with or without underwires. The instruction booklet is really helpful and perfect for a newbie like me.
I don’t like bra with underwires or padded cups, so I choose to make mine without underwires. According to the instruction booklet, I am size 30B, which is a size that I have never found in the stores. Usually I wear size 32B, so this time I had the chance to make size 30B. I’ve also bought the Bra kit white/mandarin along with the pattern, the supplies are said to be enough for one bra and two panties. The quality is wonderful and they were gliding smoothly under my sewing machine foot.
Before I made the bra (and even bought the pattern), I’ve read a lot of reviews and tutorials to familiarize myself with the terms and sewing order. There is a bunch of helpful tutorials on lingerie making in this tutorial blog by Sigrid. You should check out all her tutorials! I found her via Millie’s post.
Making the bra was so much fun! As I said before, the instruction booklet is wonderful. This is also my first time using 3 steps zigzag stitch on my machine. It is used to secure the picot edge elastic to the edge of the bra. I only made one alteration, which is using double layer of lycra for the lower cup so the seamline is invisible from the inside and the lower cup is not too transparent. I learned to do this from Sigrid’s tutorials.
The panties pattern was bought from Merckwaerdigh at Etsy. It is called Merckwaerdigh Mix30 with bra, panties, and knickers pattern in several sizes, mine is size S. I also bought bra notions kit (without fabric) in two colors, the elastics are not as soft as the ones from ElingeriA, but the colors are bolder.
The finished bra fits wonderfully! Although the cups have no underwires, they have enough support and are very comfortable. The panties are also very comfortable, not to mention that they are beautiful. My husband also agrees with me that they are indeed beautiful (^_^)
After I finished my one bra and two panties, it turned out that there were still have leftover fabric for one more bra! Next time I need to find good local resources in Japan for lingerie making. I want to make more!
Lace trim
Panties
Inside
Bra pattern is Pin-up Girls Classic Bra #1230 from ElingerieA
Panties pattern is Merckwaerdigh Mix30 (bra, pantie, knickers)
Helpful link: Sigrid’s tutorias blog
I have just finished off 4 sets of curtains, I couldn’t imagine all the skill of making lingerie by hand!
Novita, I’m working on the same pattern, the classic pin-up bra, #1230. Can you please let me know what the measurement of the two seams is in the front? I mean specifically, what is the distance in your bra between the two seams in the front that secure the channel to the bra? I’m working on step eight and nine of the same pattern, and there seems to be so much distance between those two seams. I’ve measured 3/8 of an inch (9.52 mm), and looking at the bra I’m making, distance between the seams in step 8 and 9 of the pattern seems so wide (I bought the exact same kit from elingeria. Can you please let me know if yours i 3/8 of an inch as well?
Yours look so pretty and I’m hoping that I’m doing this correctly.
Hi Rose,
do you mean the distance between the topstitching on the channeling?
Mine is about 7-8 mm, I find that too wide a distance is not proportionally balanced for my size (30C). But it really depends on your taste.
I hope your bra will turn out beautifully!
Thank you Novita for answering and helping and you’re right, I was talking about the “topstitching”, not the seams! The topstitching securing the underwire casing to the bra is 9.5mm on mine and it looks kind of large and gaudy for me.
(
I’m wondering if there are different sizes of underwire casing. The instruction manual for the Pin Up Bra 1230 simply says “underwire casing”. Maybe they come in different sizes and a smaller one would be better? The casing I was sent is 3.5 inches (9 mm) edge to edge.
My channeling is also 9 mm wide, I’ve never used/found channeling in any other sizes so I really don’t know. I think the width of the channeling doesn’t really matter as long as the distance between topstitching is enough for the underwires. The channeling would be on the inside anyway.
But maybe you can make your own channeling with tightly woven flannel or something? Just a thought, never tried it myself. I would suggest to unpick the topstitiching and make smaller one though
Hope that helps!
Thanks Novita! I wrote to the Elingeria folks and they mentioned that 10/9 mm is the only size they have.
( I didn’t think of making the topstitching closer together because I was so afraid of that somehow making the channelling unstable. But I’ll try it out anyway, why not? 
)
Here’s to hoping it comes out correctly and thanks so much for taking the time to help! <3
[...] requires some experience in home made lingerie.I have used the panties pattern for my previous sets but this time I wanted to try the bra pattern as well. Before making this set, I made a muslin with [...]
[...] times to find what works best for you. There are hundreds of little things that you can adjust. My first bra is fine and they are now part of my daily wear, but then I feel that I should have cut the elastic [...]
wow!! I love it!! amazing!!! brawo!!
wow, fantastic work!!
My goodness, these are beautiful! You did an amazing job on them! Thank you for all the info on the kits and patterns too, I love hearing reviews for good patterns
Just found your blog through the visit stats on my tutorials blog. What a lovely, lovely set. So bright and beautiful made.
Also thank you for linking to my blog.
Thank you so much for the tutorials, Sigrid! I’d never found my courage to try if I didn’t read them first
Very nice! Looks like ti was store bought! Excellent job! Makes me want to try it out!
Wow! Really gorgeous. I am now thinking about trying this out for myself. I had plans a few year’s back and even started to take a sewing class for it, but never followed through.
Thanks for the helpful links. Your bra and panties came out exquisite.
oh WOW! Those are really awesome. Must give lingerie a try!!
how adorable! it looks very pretty too!
Welcome to the group of addicted make you lingerie sewers!! It is soooo much fun to do (& wear). I love your set, it’s light and I love the orange accents.
Thank you for checking mine! I can feel that it is addictive, can’t wait to make another!
Absolutley gorgeous! You have totally inspired me to start on a pair for myself! Thanks for all the info, I love your blog-it’s such a treat to see your projects, all the detailed pictures and info get me all jazzed up to craft my own stuff too. Have you ever considered your own tutorials?
omg. very pretty and neat. never thought that we could make our lingeries by ourselves
Wow! These look so professional and pretty! Love them!
get right outta town. this is WONDERFUL. i’m going to check that bra patten out now!
Wow! Just Wow! They look so professional it’s unbelievable. Good job!
They look stunning!
I can’t believe it’s your first time making lingerie, just kidding, you are so very talented!
Wow, these are great. Impressive!
So pretty! I love the orange lace.
Wow! These are so good. They look just as good as what you can buy in a store. You must put so much effort into having a neat finish. I wish I was patient enough to do that.
If I make a set myself I vow not to buy another set ever in my life!
Novita your new lingerie is lovely! It looks fab – and the style/finish looks like something you’d pay a lot of money for in a fancy boutique – great job
!!
Oh, this set is so lovely. I love white lingerie and the orange touch is very cute. Great job!
Wow! They look great. I might have to change my mind about never sewing a bra.
These are so beautiful. I just saw them on Burda Style. What a great job. It inspires me to make some lingerie now!
I am really impressed. You make me want to try to make my own. Thank you for the inspiration.
I am so impressed! Along with swimsuits, a bra and panties was not something i would consider sewing. Tiny pieces of delicate fabric…scary. Your set turned out beautifully an is making me think I should try to be more bold with my sewing.
They are just gorgeous! You mastered these patterns for certain!
These are very lovely! You did a wonderful job!
I use 3 step zig-zag on my lingerie too…it does a lovely job of flattening the area, while still leaving it stretchy.
Thanks for the mention, btw!
Thank you for the inspiration, Millie!
very nicely done! It encourages me to give it a try… when I get my studio and find all my supplies…
I agree. They are very pretty and professional looking.
Oooo…pretty pretty! Bras and panties are some of my most favorite things to sew! You did an amazing job on your first set. Be careful…it quickly becomes addictive!
WOw! These look fantastic. It’s got me thinking about making my own. How much time did you spend on sewing this set? And was it cheaper or more expensive than store bought ones?
The first panties took about one hour and the second one was quicker because I already knew what to do. The bra was 4-5 hours because I was being very careful. I’ve already made my second one and it only took less than 2 hours. They are much cheaper than store bought ones and much more comfortable!
These look very professional! I love them! And I have to ask you, how much it cost you to make them (I am asking only for the price of whole material that you used to make them)? Is it cheaper to make them or to buy them in local lingerie shop? They are really amazing!
The bra kit (fabric with all the notions), very good quality, is about 16 USD, it is enough for one bra and two panties. The pattern for bra is about 24 USD. I would say that they are much cheaper than buying lingerie in similar quality in shop, not to mention that you can tailor them to fit your body and use the pattern over and over again
Wow, look at this! Go you, that must’ve been quite some work! Looks great.
Esther.