We recently spent a week down in our favourite corner of Cornwall, but instead of staying with friends, we ended up renting a house for the week. J worked at a local coworking centre for a few days (The Workshed in Liskeard – highly recommend! Friendly, great space, super affordable, and extremely safe air quality!), but as I’m still on sick leave with Long Covid, I’d be alone in the house for three days.
For some this might seem boring but to be honest I was really looking forward to the quiet, and it gave me an opportunity to bring my JL Mini (which John Lewis no longer makes! Boo!) travel sewing machine along and do some sewing while I was there.
In my estimation, lingerie is the perfect travel sewing project! Why?
- Small pieces (less to pack!)
- Doesn’t require ironing
- Doesn’t require special stitches or machine feet
- Quick to finish
In the spirit of holiday sewing, I also didn’t want to try my luck with any new patterns, or ones I’d even have to look at the instructions for, so I brought along two TNT lingerie patterns – the Sophie Hines Axis Tank and the thong runderwear included in our Threshold Shorts pattern. Both of these patterns I’ve made so many times I’ve literally lost count!
I also used up some scrap fabric, too – fuchsia pink mesh leftover from the New Craft House bra and underwear kits I sewed last year, and black bamboo cotton jersey leftover from this teeshirt and vest top. I tend to buy 1cm black FOE in bulk these days, so I just brought that along to finish off the edges, which meant I only needed to pack black and pink threads and bobbins, too.
Our holiday rental was probably THE nicest we’ve ever stayed in (hurrah for being very off-season and therefore affordable), but it didn’t have a traditional table and chairs so I had to improvise. I used the high bar/counter as my cutting and pinning surface while I stood…
…and I sat in an armchair with my sewing machine on a chopping board on my lap to actually sew. Which worked out pretty well actually!
The rental even had some great interiors and natural light to take Instagram-worthy photos for a change!
I felt the black set was a little too plain, and I already have a lot of plain black lingerie, so I added some baby pink flock heat set vinyl once I got home. These were extra motifs I’d made months ago and were just looking for the right project!
Unfortunately, I think this FOE had a little less stretch than I’d used on previous Axis Tanks because the underarms feel really high and tight on both and are uncomfortable to wear. So I really need to unpick the elastic under the arms on both, lower the curve a little, add a bit of extra elastic, then sew it back in. Which feels like a PITA right now, so I’ll see if I can find the motivation at some point… Maybe on another holiday!