Even though my valentine is far away this year, I made myself a pretty (and comfortable!) magenta lace set for Valentine's Day!

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.

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:

Awhile ago I made this set, and I forgot to share it!  I thought of it again when I was writing my post about joining strips of lace.

Bralette:  Bambi Bra by Ohhh Lulu
​Panties: Hellebore Hi-Cut 

This is my second time using the Bambi Bra.  It is an interesting pattern because you can use knit or woven.  I used bias charmeuse the first time and it turned out too big.  The only measurements indicated on the size chart are the full bust measurements, and a note that Cup Size 1 is for A-B and Cup Size 2 is for C-D.  I'm around a 32D, so I used Cup Size 2 and a size Small, but the band still felt quite big on me.  

The panties are one of my samples for my Hellebore Hi-Cut pattern.  I enjoy making coordinating sets and wanted to use this pretty lavender lace again.

Main fabric: Lavender heavy cotton-spandex jersey.  I'm not sure of the weight or content because it came in a grab bag.  Not terribly soft, but it has very good recovery, so it must have a high amount of spandex.

Back band: beige powernet.  The pattern doesn't actually say to use powernet for the band, but the first time I used this pattern it was too big, so I made the band smaller and definitely needed firmer fabric in the back.

Lavender lace: 2" wide, two pieces joined together.  Also from a grab bag.

Elastic (upper edges): Lavender matte elastic.  I love matte elastic for panties, but this is probably not the best choice for a bralette.  Mostly I used it because it matched well.  It is thin and soft, but not very firm.

Band elastic: 1/2" beige scallop elastic