I’ve never owned a bodysuit that didn’t function in some way as a practical top, but they appeal to me as “grown-up” fashion lingerie. Or a harkening back to an time when undergarments were more than just the very basics.
Like slips–does anyone still wear them? When I was a teenager, it was still common to wear slips under skirts. When my mother took me shopping for my first nude slip and pantyhose, it felt like a coming of age experience. We were in the women’s, not the junior or kids, section. Slips kept unlined skirts and dresses from dragging. Pantyhose (we called them either that or just “hose”, although some folks might like the more vintage-y sounding “stockings”) functioned a bit like shapewear, while adding just a touch of color. It was all about finding the right “nude”. My friends and I were recently reminiscing about this–when we wouldn’t of been caught dead with bare legs in a skirt, no matter how hot the weather!
So bodysuits… Way back in February, I posted some of my inspirations and soon after jumped into drafting one. I started with a variation on one of my bra patterns and went from there.
I’ve got a few different bodysuit styles I’m eager to try but I really wanted to get some practice with underwired shelf bras. They’re not too difficult if you’ve gotten the hang of making a bra. This technique for putting in these bra cups is almost the same as one might do for a swimsuit. (Though as much as I love this Zimmerman swimsuit, one of my original inspirations, I just can’t imagine swimming in underwires.) I played around with holding different color linings underneath, but the nude was definitely best for a sheer look.
If I were going to a desert island and I had to pick one lingerie fabric, it’d probably be sheer mesh. Okay, maybe silk charmeuse. Ask me again in a few months. But I seem to be sewing with mesh a lot lately. This is a very light, silky soft stretch mesh I bought from Britex on a trip to San Francisco a couple years ago. You can see from my sidebar that I also used it for samples of my Ladyshorts. I still have a lot left so who knows what else it will become!
Lately, I’ve been adding in silk details where I can, like these little silk ribbon rosettes and handmade snap tape from silk charmeuse–which makes it a lot easier to slip on and off. I think this is what I love the most about making lingerie–sitting down at the end with a needle and thread and adding the special details.
Details:
Bodysuit pattern: self-drafted
Stretch mesh: Britex
Lining fabrics: nude 15 denier tricot in the cups and stretch mesh in the band, both from my stash
Channeling, ribbon and charmeuse dyed with Jacquard Acid Dye in Black
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This is amazing and inspirational, the construction looks impeccable!! I love seeing the pretty things you sew 🙂
Very nice bodysuit. The details are very lovely.
I’ll admit, I still wear half-slips at times. I only have one tho. I hope to make more. I prefer no underwear lines.
I also wear pantyhose, or tights. It makes my thighs happy.
This is just lovely! Elegant and simple, with impeccable construction, as always. I love your elastic choice. What fabric did you use for lining the cups? I have not got my lining fabrics sorted yet.
Hi Katherine, for the cup lining I used a nude sheer tricot (sometimes called 15 denier tricot). I have had this in my stash almost since I first started bra-making! It’s my favorite lining fabric because it’s so soft. I *think* I got it from Bra-makers Supply, although it’s really easy to find here. Even fabric.com sells it.
Beautiful! This is so inspiring. Thank you for all the details shots!
Gorgeous! What a great piece!
Bodysuits! I’m not old enough that there was a time when they (and slips) were de rigueur but I was wondering the same thing as you recently – when would you actually wear one.. With this heat spell in Philly, I wouldn’t mind wearing a bodysuit under a slip dress while at home. I like the feeling of being “sucked in” and not the feeling of “letting everything hang loose” when you wear your “slouchies” at home.
I noticed that you used an acid dye for dyeing your trims. I just dyed some elastic with RIT dye navy blue. Don’t hate me for using RIT – it was my first time dying!! – but the color stayed. Should I be using acid dye and not RIT?
Hi Maddie, yes, I think it’s sort of about feeling “svelte-y”. I’ll probably only wear this with a dress, although a friend suggested I wear something like a white blouse and let it peek out a little bit. Heh, I’ll have to play with that.
As for dyeing, RIT has a couple of different dye types in its mixture, one of which is an acid dye. So it works the same way as acid dyes, by heating and adding vinegar. I’ve been using it, too, just because it’s so easy to get down the street at my drug store and I don’t have to wait! I just dyed a bunch of elastic and hooks with RIT Scarlet and they came out really well. And sometimes RIT liquid is easier to measure out in small amounts than dye powder… did your elastic come out ok?
Thanks Amy! My elastic came out great as far as color goes but I don’t know about the quality. It seems like the amount of stretch was reduced. I might be wrong though because I’m attaching the dyed elastic to velvet and I don’t know if it’s “slipping ” while I am sewing. I used a walking foot when sewing the velvet pieces together but switched to a regular foot when attaching the elastic because it was too thick to get it underneath. Does that make sense? Do you have a problem with the quality of elastic after dyeing it?
When I’m dyeing elastic (or anything with spandex), I don’t let the heat go over 120°F. I use a thermometer to check so that it maintains at that heat until I’m done. I’ve learned the hard way that spandex gets stressed above that temperature… it curls or loses some of its recovery. There’s a compromise in keeping the heat so low, because some colors won’t get as rich. I don’t always have great results,it depends on the color or elastic, so it’s constantly an experiment!
Ah! I’ll have to keep tabs on the temperature next time. That’s probably the reason the recovery is poor. It’s not a huge problem though, because with every bra or undie I make, the less I stretch the elastic while sewing. It’s almost sewn flat, especially on the leg opening. I hate it when elastic is tight in that area. What about you?
Every time you post an undies type project, I get a hankering to jump in, too! This is so beautiful! One couldn’t help but feel gorgeous and sexy in this!
Oooh, purdy! And the construction, as usual, is supurb.
I recently re-discovered slips and they’re great! I never have to line a skirt or a dress again. Although, on the other hand, the half slip I bought it almost useless ’cause it’s so short but it helps to keep fabric from sticking to my legs. I don’t know how women used to wear stockings in the Texas summer heat.
I remember being a kid and hearing my grandma complain about not finding her slip or her stockings (well it was in French so her “combinaison” and her “bas”), so I always thought they were old people stuff. Until I started to sew silk georgette. I am now really considering making myself a slip instead of lining sheer dresses ( I feel like making a silk slip is ok, but lining with silk is a bit of a waste…).
I had never heard of anyone wearing lingerie bodysuites, and I wonder about how practical it is to wear… Yours is really pretty though, and I have to admit that it definitely has a grown-up look 🙂
This is beautiful – so elegant and sexy at the same time.
Oh oh oh I love your lingerie so much!! This is so special – I love all the thoughtful details (handmade snap tape? Why didn’t I think of this?) It’s funny about the slip issue… I was just about to make one from stretch nude charmeuse, along with a matching pair of tap pants. I have a few sheer silk garments that would looks weird or bulky with lining and I think a dress slip or a silky pair of tap pants are just the ticket. The BHL Anna dress is going to get whipped up in a pretty translucent silk crepe and that thigh slit will NOT work with a lining!
So I’m on board with the idea of making specialty lingerie. I love the idea of a custom fit under wire suit like this but I have a question. Why add the shelf bra when you already have the underwire? Seems like superfluous structure. I’m posting my black knit bodysuit this week and my shelf bra was not enough. I gotta start bulk ordering cups for these experiments!
Hey girl, that’s a good question about the shelf bra. I wanted to just try it for the experience, but I’ve seen them with and without. I would guess it just depends on how much you want the wires to hold, or how much support you want. Without it, the cups would pull apart a bit & the wires might swim around, because this mesh is very, very light and very stretchy. Same logic behind gym tops with shelf bras, instead of just inserting cups directly into the main fabric. Another option might be to forego the shelf bra and just add something like a tricot piece between the cups?
Amy, you always make the prettiest, most dreamy things!! I hope you know how much I love visiting your blog for all the lovely inspiration you give me! This bodysuit is just gorgeous. I also have a serious longing in my heart of hearts for undergarments that actually have a function (beyond ‘lift & separate’!) One day I dream of being the sort of lady that has a gorgeous drawerful of lingerie and slips for all manner of occasions… sigh…
Wow, this is fantastic, and so well executed. Flawless.
Your bodysuit is gorgeous. I remember these being fashionable in the 80’s an although extremely annoying to wear at times, they were fabulous for looking streamlined in a tight skirt. I also remember slips and I do still wear a half slip from time to time as well as pantyhose but only for warmth and even as a teenager, never in the summer!
Wow, gorgeous! I still call my pantyhose “stockings”. the name seems to have stuck. And I sill wear them and have a couple of slips in the drawers too.
The details are great, and truly, sewn so wonderfully. It reminds me of DKNY from the late 80s/90s and I always loved the layering Karan did in sheers and silks with bodysuits. It was kind of minimalist, but maybe a reference to the 70s as well? I think these are great for travel, you could have one and wear it with shorts and a tank during the day (I like that look with the tanks that have the exaggerated arm holes these days) and then wear it with a silk jersey wrap dress at night. While you are in Italy. Sipping prosecco.
Oh wow Amy, I knew it wouldn’t be long until you set your sewing sites on making a bodysuit, I remember that post well. You never disappoint she turned out perfectly, so,so beautiful. I think the mesh is the most comfortable fabric against the skin, I have picked up so many thrifted designer mesh dresses purely for the fabric and lingerie making is that something you would consider?
Absolutely gorgeous! I love this bodysuit. I loved wearing bodysuits back in the 90’s when they were popular – but I never had any as special as yours. I am SO envious of your talents.
This is absolutely beautiful, Amy! I’m inspired every time I visit here and you’re whipping up something pretty:)
Your lingerie is always so beautiful and inspiring! Could you post pictures of the back of the bodysuit? I’m working on my own patterns, and would love to know how you do the backs and hook and eye closures.
Amy, this is just so beautiful, and finished so perfectly! you are an inspiration 🙂
Oh Amy, please please puuuuleeeease release a pattern for this bodysuit next! Will love you forever!!