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Wool underwear set decorated with lace

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This weekend I finally finished the wool underwear set that I’ve been planning for a while. It was a fun little project, no too hard, but still a little bit of fiddling, especially with all the lace and getting the crotch gusset to look right on the pants.

Wool has made a real comeback as an underwear material in Sweden in the last few years. Since it’s both moisture wicking, warm and gentle to the skin (if you use merino wool) it’s a great option when the weather gets colder. And there are also several activewear brands that specializes in wool workout wear. One cool brand is Kari Traa by the namesake Norwegian champion freestyle skier (check out the link to see all the amazing wool fabrics that she uses, imagine if we could buy wool knits like that in stores!). And people don’t just use it for keeping warm outdoors – I’ve seen several people wearing Kari Traa’s wool wear to yoga classes!

 

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Anyways back to my wool set. As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to make a set with a vintage look and I struggled for the longest time to find the perfect stretch lace. Yes, that struggle is real! Mostly because most stretch laces doesn’t look vintage enough, or even sophisticated enough, to be honest.  It’s hard to explain, but for me the design of the lace is super important, I want it to be elaborate and to look more like crocheted lace. But then I finally found the perfect lace from a seller on Ebay UK and I knew it was time to start this project.

 

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I used the 3-threaded flatlock seam for the side seams. It’s a tricky stitch to get right, and I didn’t succeed 100% this time, but the trick is to make many samples trying different tension settings on the lower looper and the needle thread. I’ve done a guide on how to perfect the 3-threaded flatlock seam if you want more details.

 

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The gusset turned out to be the biggest headache as this was the first time I drafted a full gusset that runs inside the entire leg. Traditional Swedish mamelucker (long legged wool panties) uses two layers of fabric in the gusset to keep the crotch warm, so I did that too. However, it made the flatlock seam super bulky, so I ended up using regular 3-threaded overlock seam instead. Next time I will figure out a way to make the gusset with a stitched down seam instead.

 

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As for the top, I created a v-neck neckline and had do a lot of shaping to get the lace to lie flat. There are actually seams in four places, mid front, at both shoulders and in the back. I did the shaping on the dress dummy, since that made it easier to gauge. Also, I’m working on a tutorial on different ways to attach stretch lace to a knit garment, so stay tuned for that.

 

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So that’s was all about my wool undies set. If you have thin merino wool I highly recommend using it for lounge wear, as it won’t make you sweaty unless there is a heatwave going on. And if you are curious about the bedding and head board, I’ve done those myself too!

Tutorial on how to make a plank head board

Tutorial on how to make vintage looking duvet covers

I also have a tutorial lying around for how to make vintage looking pillow cases, that I should publish!

 

10 Comments

  • ANDREA
    October 12, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    Your underwear set turned out great 🙂 And congratulations on th very tasteful photos 🙂

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 13, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      Thank you! I was a bit nervous photographing the underwear on the body, especially since the fabric is quite thin!

      Reply
  • PsychicSewerKathleen
    October 16, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Johanna you are so talented honestly! Beautiful set of underwear – elegant but practical too. I have been looking for nice stretch lace too and wow you are so right! it’s not easy. So much of it is rather poor quality and you know it would look just sad after a couple of washes. Bedding too! I’m in awe 🙂

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 16, 2016 at 6:12 pm

      Yup the quality is definitely an issue too, I’ve even had stretch laces that started to pill. Not a good look!

      Reply
  • Kristin Henak
    October 17, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    Love the wool undie set!

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 19, 2016 at 6:49 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  • Jackie
    November 12, 2016 at 10:50 am

    I just recently found your blog. And I love it! It’s fun, informative and has the personal touch. You’re Vlog is superaswell. Good speakingpace and your pronunciation is good – and that’s REALLY important. Anyway I’m reaĺly glad I found your blog. It’s just supergreat.

    So undies.. . I find it really hard finding merino. Especially in Sweden. Where did you find your lovely wool? Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Johanna
      November 13, 2016 at 11:28 am

      Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear! Yes merino can be super hard to find, the one I used here was a one off from a seller that now is gone. But I do have two suggestions for nice soft wool knits, Stoff och Stil has a nice (but pricey line) of soft organic wool (but I can only find one fabric on the site right now) and also check out the manufacturer Andersson och Hjalmarsson http://webshop.a-h.se/category/10-ull.aspx I bought some wonderful organic wool knit from them earlier this fall and you could contact them directly asking for soft wool knits (they have more stuff than shown in the shop I think)

      Reply
  • Jackie
    December 4, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    Thank you for your reply! Missed your answer earlier. I totally agree about A-H´s. May I ask where you ended up finding the lacetrim?

    Reply
  • Such
    December 6, 2022 at 5:24 am

    Thank you for all of your wonderful tutorials. I’m a beginner trying to improve my sewing skills and your website has been a wonderful resource.
    I came across this post because I have some merino wool fabric that I want to make into thermal basal layers (top and bottom) for both my husband and me- I’m looking for adding a gusset to both thermal bottoms for comfort. Do you have tutorial as to how you attached the above mentioned gusset? Thank you

    Reply

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