This week has been cold and dreary, so can I pretend that spring is coming soon with sunny skies and flowers?

Last week I sewed up this shirt out of llama printed flannel using a self-drafted pattern.  When I showed it to my husband and mentioned I had fabric leftover, he said, "I'd totally wear a shirt out of that fabric!"  But there wasn't enough leftover to make a shirt, and I was trying to think up an alternate project. 

I wore the shirt a few days later to my quilting bee and told the story to my friends, and they said, "Make him boxer shorts instead!"  Hah!  What a good idea.  

I don't have a pant block drafted to my husband's measurements, and didn't have time to make one, so I decided to just go search for a boxer short pattern.  I found 400 Oak Street by Green Style Creations.

They sewed up pretty quickly and I'm pleased with how they came out.  Whether they fit or not remains to be seen; these are a Valentine's Day present. 

​I didn't see many reviews for this pattern, so I'll give you a short summary of the pros and cons.

When I talk about sewing my own bras and panties, one of the comments I hear most often is, “I can’t do that, I don’t have a serger!”

Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need a serger to sew knits!  Is it nice to have a serger?  Of course!  But, if I can be honest, most of the time I don’t use a serger when sewing panties; the raw edges are usually (but not always) covered with elastic and only the side seams have exposed edges.  Since I can sew a basic pair of panties in under half an hour, it doesn’t seem worth the trouble changing out the threads on my serger.

​So, if not a serger, do you need any special stitches?  The answer is yes, and I’ll bet your machine has them!  Below I’ll share the two essential stitches needed to sew your own bras and panties, and two other stitches that are nice to have.

Happy New Year, sewing friends!
​A new year means lots of new things to come here.  More patterns, tutorials and videos are coming your way.  Is there something you'd like to see?  Let me know by leaving a comment below, or filling out my contact form.  Thanks!

I’m starting a featured set of the week, with details on the patterns, fabrics and trims. 
 
To begin, here is Black & Tan: