A Rose Gardener’s Bra and Brief Set

Let’s examine the fabric a little more detail. In my point of view it’s challenging to use because it doesn’t particularly stretch, but still moves to all possible directions when handling it. It is even hard to keep in place when cutting out the pieces.
Georgette fabric is made of synthetic or natural yarns. This one is polyester and therefore you don’t need to pre shrink it. By the way, have I ever mentioned that you should always pre shrink non stretch natural fibers used by lingerie making? Otherwise, your efforts will be wasted if a shrinking process occurs during the first wash.
Ny Fashion Center’s Fabric Glossary, a great source for all kinds of fabric information, describes georgette fabric as follows: “A woven fabric created from highly twisted yarns creating a pebbly texture. It is thin and semi-sheer and is characterized by its crispness and exceptional strength”.

Georgette fabric is easily fraying and therefore it is wise to minimize the amount/length of seams if possible. I lapped the upper parts of center and middle pattern pieces in order to get a unified upper edge.
At the lower edge of this block is left only a dart then. It’s important to sew the end point of the dart round enough, so any lumps doesn’t appear around it. This block was cut on the bias grain and the side panel of the cup on the straight grain. (The cradle area on the straight grain).
Because of fraying I didn’t trim the seam allowances at all, just flattened the seams by ironing. Didn’t top stitch the seams either. I like the look more that way. I’m not sure, however, if it was a good choice in terms of washing. We’ll see that later…
The next time I’m going to use this kind of fabric I’ll leave wider seam allowances around the cup. It would be much easier to handle it. Because of frying, again.

It’s difficult to use a non stretch fabric as a brief material because garment must be so highly elastic. In this case, I embedded a few roses on a small area at front. The piece is bias cut giving the most possible stretch when putting the briefs on. It’s easy to understand that horizontal stretch is most important.
I also decorated front piece with the narrow vertical stripes. Normally I would have used a pre folded fabric trim inserted into a seam. But it’s impossible to handle this “lively” fabric that way, so I zigzagged a bias cut trim at place (right in pic) then folded and ironed it (left in pic). When the seams were finished by an overlocker (serger) a small amount of it remained visible.
I tried to help my old PFAFF Select 1530 sewing machine to perform the waist elastic sewing by adjusting the stitch length longer. This machine has served me in a wonderful way especially in lingerie making, but now it has become old and sluggish. Adjusting the stitch length was a big mistake. A loud ripping noise was heard while putting the brief on. Thread was broken at several points and I needed to unpick all the remaining stitches. I hate unpicking stitches, especially zigzag stitches. Then, I decreased the stitch length again to retain more elasticity and started over.
So a new sewing machine desperately needed here! Do you have any suggestions, especially for lingerie making? Which machine you’d suggest? Please feel free to boost your favorite.

The rose gardener’s bra and brief set looks rather pretty, feels great when wearing, but what happens when the set will be washed the first time? And even in the washing machine. Do the seams stay unbroken? You can read and see the answer after a week. I keep us in suspense until then!
Patterns used: Bra Pattern #DL01 and Panties Pattern #DL21
The week has passed since this post, so it’s time to show the bra < brief set after washed in a washing machine. Go to page two and find out!