Self-Drafted Underwear Making

I’ll be honest, the idea of making underwear intimidated me. It’s such a form-fitting, personal garment.  It really just took one pair to convince me that this is a super fun project worth investing time in! I spent a few hours trying to nail the fit. I started with drafting a really basic pair of high-waisted full-coverage undies using this video. It took me a little while, but it really helped me understand how to determine the correct measurements.

I knew I would be using some very stretchy micro-striped bamboo jersey from Blackbird fabrics and drafted my pattern with the appropriate amount of stretch (spoiler: this is very important… read on).

I took a few educated guesses as to how high to cut the leg openings. I also reduced the waist height after my first try on, since I hadn’t accounted for the bindings when drafting.

I freestyled the width of the bindings and cut a bit more than I would need for each edge. I used the same elastic-free binding method used in the Sophie Hines Axis Tank (seriously such a T&T pattern in my life). Another maker @betterhalfhandmade has a great Instagram reel with a similar method. 

I actually LOVE my first pair of undies. They fit me perfectly, and remind me of some of my favourite swimsuit bottoms: high-waisted and high cut *chefs kiss* 

I had some notes:

• Reduce pattern waist height by ~2”
• Shorten the crotch pattern by 1” to extend gusset
• Extend the back pattern leg hole by 1” for more bum coverage
• Reduce the centre front waist by about 1/2”

I woke up at least twice thinking about an old RTW t-shirt that was begging for a refashion. Despite being waist-deep in moving boxes, I was very eager to experiment with some of my notes.

The second pair were super quick and my notes were mostly really great improvements. Next time I wouldn’t reduce the center front waist, or maybe only by 1/4”. I also would reduce the front leg seam by 1cm, as is it cuts into my leg a bit. I forgot to make note that I did this on the fly for my first pair.

One thing I underestimated being an issue is the fabric stretch. The t-shirt I used definitely did not have the same stretch as my bamboo jersey. The underwear still fits, but not as comfortably. For anyone that makes their own undies, do you have a few versions of the same pattern to account for different amounts of stretch content? Or do you freestyle it? Leave a comment below!