For a sewing blog, there hasn’t been much sewing around here lately. Well, today I have three new pieces that I am excited to share. It is no secret that I pattern test for Bella Sunshine Designs and I love their patterns. Last week they launched six new patterns, a camisole and a pair of panties for women, girls, and dolls.
The Coraline Camisole comes in three lengths: cami, tunic, and dress. For this version, I made the dress length. Mine is cut with a 14 bust, 18 waist, and 16 hip. My measurements are 43″ upper bust, 46″ full bust, 40″ waist, and 47″ hip.
I managed to squeak this dress version out of a single yard of 58″ wide rayon jersey knit by folding the selvage edges in towards the center. This piece came from a Girl Charlee Black Friday sale in 2014. It cost me a whooping $2.50! I love a good deal. I also used this fabric for a previous maxi dress in 2016, but this new dress is the last of it.
I am unsure of how I want to wear this dress. Part of me thinks it would be great to wear this summer with a lightweight cardigan, but then I also think it will make an amazingly comfortable sleep dress. One thing I am sure about is that I will definitely be making more the dress length though. It is such an instant gratification sew. Two pieces (front and back) stitched at the side seams, hem it, stitch on the elastic, and done. Easy peasy.
This is my second version in the tunic length. I made this one specifically as sleepwear. The fabric I used for this one is an ITY knit from Jo-Ann’s that I picked up in 2016 with the intention of making an Appleton Dress, which I also recently made. Somehow, when I purchased this I asked for three yards and instead ended up with a fourth yard for free. Instead of letting this one yard linger I used it for this tunic. I added a fuschia fold over elastic (FOE) that matched the roses around the neckline, back, and straps.
I love that this pattern uses FOE. I found so many different FOE color and print options on Etsy for super cheap thanks to some other testers. I will definitely be stocking up on it to make more of these. I foresee a lot of cami length versions in my future to replace my ready to wear camis. But this tunic length is perfect to pair it with the Primrose Panties for a sleep set so I am sure I will make more of these too.
Speaking of Primrose, I did make a matching pair to go with this tunic. This is the high rise brief, but there are also options for a low rise brief or a high or low rise hipster. I think these are amazing and I want to try all the versions! It is my first time making myself undies and I could not have picked a better pattern. I love the technique used for adding the gusset and encasing all the seams. There are even options to use FOE if you don’t want the fabric bands. I am going to make more of these and I definitely want to hack it to make a bikini bottom. This is a great pattern to use up small bits of scraps and stash.
Both of these patterns are on sale right now for a limited time! I recommend checking them out for sure.
What do you think? Have you tried making your own undies?
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