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!