Soma Underwear Hack →

Papercut Patterns July 20, 2016

Kick your 'back-up undies' to the curb and whip up some fancy new intimates using our Soma Swimsuit pattern.

Today we want to show you how to adapt the Soma Swimsuit into a cute pair of knickers and best of all, these can be made on any home machine that does zig-zag stitch. You don't need an overlocker/serger! But if you do have one, by all means, break it out. Both techniques will work just fine.

Now you just need to find that perfect fabric. Look for something lightweight with a bit of stretch and that feels nice on the skin. Otherwise there are no rules! Lacy, jersey knit or slinky ... the options are endless. You'll also need a bit of jersey knit (like t-shirt fabric) for the gusset.

What You'll Need:

Start by downloading your free Soma pant gusset here to turn your Swimsuit pattern into an intimates pattern. You'll also need:

Stretch Lace
2 metres of knicker elastic
Ballpoint/stretch needle
Stretch cotton (like t-shirt fabric for gusset

How To:

Cut out your fabric, checking that the stretch of the fabric will be widthwise. Use the stretch cotton for your Pant Gusset piece.

Take your gusset piece and overlock the wide straight edge only. That's the one with the pointy corners. If you don't have an overlocker, don't worry. You can either zig-zag this edge or leave it raw. Knit fabric doesn't fray, making it very friendly to work with.

Layer your fabric as follows, lining them up to meet at the crotch: gusset (bevelled straight edge, not the overlocked end), back pant piece with the right side up, front pant piece with the right side down. I've flipped the layers in the photo above to give you a better view, but just make sure the back pant piece is sandwiched in the middle. Overlock or zig-zag all three pieces together along this edge.

Match side seams at hip and zig-zag or serge together.

Now we attach the elastic. On the right side of your fabric, zig-zag or overlock the elastic to the waist edge without stretching it. If you prefer, you can stretch the elastic ever-so-slightly, but don't go overboard or your underwear will be too tight and no-one wants that. Amiright?

When you get back to the end of your elastic, butt the two ends of elastic together and secure them by sewing back and forth with a zig-zag stitch.

Turn your elastic to the inside of your pants and topstitch down using a wide zig-zag. If you have cute elastic, you may want the edge to peek out a little on the edge.

Repeat the last two steps for the legs, attaching the elastic around the opening and being sure to catch the edge of your gusset along with your fabric. Just like with your swimsuit, you'll want to slightly stretch the elastic at the back of the leg opening only.

And you're done! Seriously, your underwear draw may never be the same again. So long, back-up undies!

Soma - Make Your Own Straps →

Papercut Patterns August 2, 2014

For those of you finding it difficult sourcing Bikini strapping, this tutorial is for you.

Read on to see how to make your own fabric covered elastic strapping!

Cut a long strip of fabric roughly 4cm 1 1/2'' wide.

Place your 1cm/3/8" swimwear elastic on top, on the wrong side of fabric strip, 1cm 3/8'' away from the edge.

Sew elastic onto fabric with a zig zag stitch. You don't want to stretch the elastic at all whilst sewing.

It should look something like this on the right and wrong sides of the fabric strip.

Fold fabric in half right sides together so that the edge of the elastic is on the edge of the fold.

Stitch together with a long narrow zig zag as close to the elastic as possible without the needle touching it.

Trim excess fabric from the seam allowance.

Attach a safety pin to the end of the strip.

Manoeuvre the safety pin into the hole opening.

Feeling through the fabric, find the safety pin and keep manoeuvring it through. Once the safety pin has reached the other end pull it right through so the elastic is completely enclosed.

Voila! You are left with a beautiful new fabric covered strap! The right side is lovely and stitch free and the back has a zigzag stitch. No elastic twisting around inside the fabric with this method!

Soma - Make your own Binding →

Papercut Patterns July 31, 2014

If using fold over elastic isn't your cup of tea, or if you'd prefer to use your own matching fabric then this tutorial is for you!

We are going to teach you how to make your very own binding! Hooray!

For our example here, we have made the Soma Bikini Top Var. 1, however this binding technique could be used almost anywhere.

Please Note, the right side is the turquoise and the wrong side is the stripe. This is a snippet from an upcoming tutorial on how to make your Soma reversible!

First cut a long strip of your chosen swimwear fabric 4cm or 1 1/2 '' wide.

Place your strip along the side of the edge you're going to bind, leaving a 10cm/4" excess allowing for the top triangle (If this is the variation you're making). Cut at bottom edge.

Making sure the 10cm/4" excess stays as that measurement, pin in place with the right side of the binding strip facing the wrong side of bikini panel and stretch on as you pin. You want to stretch it a bit as you want it to sit firmly whilst wearing it. You should end up with a bit of excess binding at the bottom edge also.

Sew binding on with a 1cm seam allowance, using a long narrow zig zag stitch.

For the overhang of binding at the top edge, fold the binding in half width ways with right sides together and pin until you reach the edge of the Bikini top.

Try to make sure the last pin is at the exact point that you need to stop stitching. You want the stitch to be as close to the bikini edge as possible without it hitting the fabric.

Stitch edge together with a 1cm seam allowance, using a long narrow zig zag. Stop just before it hits the edge of the bikini top, as previously mentioned. Back tack.

We are now going to turn the binding through so the right side is facing out and the seam is enclosed. Find a small safety pin and attach it to the end of the binding. You want to manoeuvre the safety pin into the opening hole of the binding.