Amethyst Lace

Very happy with my latest lingerie set, which is made from some delicate ivory lace that I dyed amethyst.

The intention was to dye a few elastics to match some silver grey lace, but when I saw the colour was not coming out as I intended, I decided to throw more materials into the pot and brew up a whole new outfit!

This was my first time dying fabric for a long time and it certainly was interesting. I used Dylon Elephant Grey, but you would never guess! Every component was originally ivory or pale grey, and they each took up the dye so differently. I ended up with colours ranging from cornflower blue to dark aubergine.

The lace itself became a slate blue with aubergine highlights, which blends all the various colours together nicely. I’m really happy with the outcome.

I used the same bra pattern as the ivory lace bra that I sewed recently. It is a self drafted partial band bra and fits me perfectly so I didn’t change a thing. Except the strapping – I used some Mokuba stretch grosgrain which looks lovely, but isn’t quite as supportive as the real thing. You wouldn’t get away with using it in larger cup sizes!

I’m still excited by the fact that my new machine allows me to sew zig zag at the touch of a button, and still feel the need to photograph it. Maybe I should have changed thread colour on the band elastic, what do you think?

I decided to throw the bows into the dyepot at the last minute to freshen them up (they were grey ones recycled from an old set) and I’m so pleased I did as they took on this lovely amethyst hue.

Because the lace is non stretch I had to introduce some stretch somewhere in the pants, so inserted stretch mesh side panels. I tried to use each component of the bra in the design of the pants, and accented the front seam with some of the blue strapping.

Really happy with these too, but not so keen on my finishing at the back crotch seam. The lace/picot elastic junction is a bit rough and bulky. Need to think about that for next time!

Also I need to look into dyeing the crotch lining rather than using black on everything!

I’m planning on making another pair exactly the same in ivory to match the ivory bra, as it’s an orphan at the moment. They are so comfortable!

Will I ever go back to buying lingerie? I don’t thin!k I will. Once you have stock of some basic supplies and a good pattern you can save a lot of money making your own. And use up all your fabric remnants in the process!