I look forward to Me Made May, I wear me made almost every day anyway, but Me Made May makes me take a fresh look at my wardrobe as a whole.
I started off the month in recovery from surgery and was in pyjamas most days, and I've missed a few days here and there where I was either having a lazy pyjama day or I just didn't feel like sharing a photo.
One thing I have discovered this month is that since my gallbladder surgery I have lost 3 inches off my waist, which means I can fit into all of my spring/summer dresses from last year. This makes me very happy! (Although my new found post surgery love of food may jeapordise that new waist measurement!)
Taking part in previous years I have tried to identify holes in my wardrobe, but this year I've been less bothered by that. I realise that actually I'm not that bothered about wearing some RTW clothing. There is a certain high street store that sells the perfect stretch t shirt for me, and another that sells the kind of fine knit cardigan I like, and of course despite my new found love of bra making and rediscovered love of lingerie sewing I still am a sucker for good quality lingerie, especially bras. Never underestimate what a good foundation can do for you, and especially for the look of outerwear.
Why would anyone spend time and effort making a dress (or buying one), to put it on over shabby illfitting undies?
And speaking of undies, these are my new favourite me made knickers.


Velvet knickers! Honestly these are the most comfy, most flattering knickers I have ever worn! The pattern is the same one I adapted to make my Daisy Knickers, the stretch velvet is from Funkifabrics and is the best quality stretch velvet I have ever worked with. As my friend Jayne pointed out there may be some issues with the nap under certain pieces of clothing, but since I usually wear dresses with a slip underneath, I should be ok. I'll be making lots more knickers in this design that's for sure. I might even put up my re drafted pattern as a freebie if there is enough interest?

So there we have it, I'm beginning June wanting to make more lingerie, but not stressing too much about buying basic tops and cardigans. I call that a result!

Recently I was asked by a local fabric company Funkifabrics if I'd like to try out some of their wares. Initially I was overwhelmed by their website and the hundreds of fabulous designs, after losing myself in the website for quite some time I made a list of everything that caught my eye and managed eventually to whittle that rather long list to a much shorter one. This Daisy print was a must, and top of my list.
I admit Lycra is not my usual go to choice of fabric, but having been experimenting lately with some underwear designs, I thought this Daisy print might work well.
I bought this Ladie's Panty Girdle pattern a few years ago, but never got around to making it up, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a go.



My first attempt, I followed the pattern as closely as possible, using power net in the main body, and velvet (also from Funkifabrics) for the centre panel. (The gusset is lined with 100% cotton ).
The velvet panel was a bugger to insert, and I am left with a rather comical merkin style panty, which I hadn't really noticed until after I had put it on Instagram proudly only for Woody to point it out to me !
When worn, the velvet panel does stretch out and look much less merkin like, I promise you...but don't worry, no modelling of these!



For the second pair, I re drafted the waist to be 2cm's higher, and changed the shape of that centre panel. These work well, but I decided I wanted to try eliminate that seam joining the centre panel to the gusset.



Another re draft, and this pair are my favourite. I had run out of powernet, so this pair couldn't really be classed as a Panty Girdle, more a High Waist Knicker. The entire centre panel/gusset is lined with 100% cotton, and the body is simply one layer of lycra.
I am very pleased with these. The coverage is fantastic, perfect for under circle skirts on a blowy day, or under short skirts when you want to stay active. ( I often have an issue reaching for high shelves while wearing short skirts and dresses, never mind bending down to see to small children! )
They are also perfect for a bikini bottom....maybe something to work on?