A Valentines Surprise

Or How to make Simple Elegant Lingerie from just two yards of fabric, using just one seam and a hem!

I made this for Valentines day, in just two days, working on it for less than 6 hours total from design to finished. Most of it spent fighting my machine to do a rolled hem!

I am not sharing pictures of me wearing it, as that wouldn't be proper. My dress form is also in storage, so please accept these drawings I made, and forgive my inability to draw feet. After all, it is the costumes that are important!

This is a one-size garment, I am 5’4” with a 33” bust, so you may wish to enlarge the cut out template a bit for larger sizes.

Materials

• 2 yards of fabric: anything slinky. Not suitable for one way prints like stripes, but checks are okay. This is ample fabric and you will likely have leftovers, but it means you can get a large square out of any width up to 60”, and have room for the fabric being cut en evenly at the shop. Consider sheers and opaque, or go for two layers. If using two layers consider making the top layer from a slightly smaller square than the under layer.
• 1 ½ to 2 yards of ribbon 1-2” wide. Length depends on your underbust measurement and how long you want the tie ends to be.
•  Thread to match.
• Any embellishments you may want, beads and appliques would look lovely.

Cutting and Sewing Instructions

1. Cut fabric into a square, this will work with 45 to 50” material, 60” may be too long.
2. Make a paper pattern for the cut out as dimensioned. (Or larger)
3. Cut one corner off as shown, 24” along the sides, the last interior corner rounded off.
4. The back corner will drag on the ground, round it off for a different look.
5. Hem the sides with a rolled hem.
6. If using a single layer of fabric, hem the cut out as well.
7. If doing a double layer, as I did with my sheer fabrics, do not hem the cut out. Instead after hemming the outer square, French seam the interior. Lay both layers wrong sides up, with the top layer on top. Sew around the cut out.
8. Flip the top layer over the seam to the other side of the bottom layer and top stitch around the cut out, making a French seam.
9. Now all that sewing is done, it is time to attach the neck. To do this you need to try it on, pin some ribbon to one corner. Go to a mirror, preferably full length, wrap the garment around you and bring the corners up to your neck pin the other corner to the ribbon where you want it to hang, be sure to check your back view. I used 10.5”. You don’t need to use the ribbon, you could use the left over fabric to make the neck strap, I made a tube out of the fabric. You could also use jewelry chains, braided ribbon, be creative!
10. Last step put the garment on with the finished neck, wrap the ribbon around your under bust you can wear it like this, or sew it to the back opening. You can choose the leave it loose at front or stitch it all the way around.

Other style variations would be to have the neck tie cross over the back and become the torso ties, like this doll version.

Now what to do with the left over cut out?
How about making it into doll versions?
I made 3 quarter scale versions of this garment, here they are shown on some of my dolls and dress forms.

 I decided to have some fun and make each one different.


Left on Red White and You by Tonner is a rounded hem version. The black neck tie is fixed in place, as is the blue waist tie. this will only fit 16" dolls like the Tonner doll it is displayed on.

Center on a display form is a square version with cross over straps, this will fit on the widest variety of bodies.




















 Here I show it on both Piggy and Red, white and You to show how it is adjustable.



 

Right My Fair Piggy by Tonner wears a second square version, with the hems at the same length. this one has neck ties that will adjust to fit different bodies, the waist ties go through loops at the sides so there is adjust-ability there as well.

I also slightly gathered the back a bit, to see how that would affect the drape.

These are now up in my etsy shop. HERE

If you make up one of these in Human or doll size, I would LOVE to hear from you!