Alabama Chanin Style Knickers

I'm a huge fan of Alabama Chanin, hand sewing is beautiful, relaxing and somewhat forgotten.

A while ago I bought some gorgeous organic cotton stretch fabric to make my own underwear. I made a few but in the end sewing stretch fabric on the machine was driving me insane. I had the pieces for my knickers cut out and they were sitting in my sewing box for at least a year until I discovered Natalie Chanin's label and found a way to incorporate her style into my designs.

I salvaged the thread from an abandoned thread factory. It's really good quality linen thread perfect for hand stitching.

I seem to be making a lot of underwear of late, at least it's useful! I sewed these up over a few hours and took my time to enjoy the process.

 

Crochet Shorts

So things have been pretty busy of late and I haven't had time to finish off any new projects but I made these shorts a while ago from scraps in my yarn stash.

They have definitely become a favorite in my wardrobe!

 

Layer Skirt

I love asymmetrical designs and layers and lace at the moment and I'm always a fan of warm earthy tones so I was really excited about making this skirt.

I designed the skirt a few months ago and slowly I searched for fabric and raided all the local op-shops for doilies.

The main fabric is a beautiful piece that my sister brought back from overseas a few years ago. I couldn't bring myself to cut it up so I waited until I had the perfect project to put it to good use. The lace fabric is a remnant I picked up at an end of year clearance, I love scrounging in remnant bins and collecting bits for my fabric stash.

The crochet cotton around the top and bottom was a part of my Grandmother's yarn stash which  I hand dyed with eucalyptus leaves.

 Detail of eucalyptus dyed crochet cotton.

 Detail of layers.

Dot Stitch Bamboo Knickers

At the moment I think I have a thing for knickers. You might think hand knitting underwear is a bit out there but I can tell you these knickers are so comfy.

I had my eye on some gorgeous bamboo yarn for some time but with nothing in mind to make I left it on the shelf and resisted the urge to buy it until I decided to go all out and knit some (practical) underwear.

With many large projects on the go that seemingly have no end in sight at the moment I found this knitted up quickly and gave me the satisfaction of having a finished piece to wear.

I love the delicate texture of the dot stitch, it's a little feminine but still sturdy, pretty but not lacy. Perfect everyday knickers!

 

 

 

Kimono Knickers

These knickers are made from yarn that I inherited from my Grandmother. I lined them with some cotton fabric I picked up from a remnant bin and embellished them with second hand lace and doilies, and some gorgeous off cuts of fabric from re-purposed kimonos.
  

 

Back detail.

Front detail.

Front.

 Back.