Following a 1930s Undergarment Pattern

As Valentine’s Day is around the corner and even though I don’t have a beau, I figured it would still be nice to make myself something a lil… saucy. Hehehe at least I will have something new to lounge around in on my sofa with a bunch of blankets and maybe a little bit of wine.

This is a 1930’s vintage undergarment sewing pattern. Specifically, it is Simplicity pattern 8510.

I think the longest part of this project was just cutting the paper pattern and then the material pieces. When I bought the pattern I thought it would fit me based on the measurements on the back of the pattern envelope, but, I found out after cutting the paper pieces out that there was no way the bottoms were going to fit my waist and the bralette cups were questionable. My main mistake was misreading or completely missing the sizes which were included in this pattern envelope listed on the front of the envelope. So make sure you do that. Nevertheless, I went on and proceeded to make this set regardless.

I do want to highlight that if you do sew this pattern, it is definitely not meant for those with ample bosoms. Can I say that word on here? Anyways… The pattern did require quite a bit of alterations. The bralette, in no way provides support, and the side and back pieces for the bralette were not long enough to close in the back, so I had to follow the curve of the back pieces and elongate those to make sure the bra would close in the back.

I altered the bottoms to fit by adding two strips on either side on the front and back to add to the patterned waist and basically make it bigger to fit my waist and hip measurements. And even after all of that they still wouldn’t close on the sides. It was a bit annoying, so I added these adorable flower buttons on the front panels of the bottoms and green buttons on the back panels at the edge of the side seams and then added elastic loops so there would be some form of closure.

I added velvet trim to the sides of the bottoms, where I added additional fabric so that it would hopefully hide the seams. I also added the velvet trim to the top and center of the bralette just to add a little something to it.

In order to provide more support to the bralette, I added a couple of strips on either side of the main shoulder strap at the top of the cups to form a little triangle, hoping that this would also help to make it more aesthetically pleasing as well as help hold the bra cups up.

You can take a look at the whole process by watching the video below: