Binging on Barries

I've had half a week of no husband. The end result, of course, has been a sewing binge, and I am now the proud and (excessive use of superlatives be damned!) ecstatic wearer of these:





They are the Barrie boy leg undies, from Kitschy Koo and I must thank Jo for reviewing this pattern a couple of weeks ago. 

Underwear. Some get hugely excited about making it, some desperately bored at the concept. I'm definitely closer to the bored end of the spectrum - I have zero interest in bra making, and in fact my Husqvarna and I recently came to a handshake agreement that neither of us would get involved in such shenanigans. But undies I was keen to try - I hate scrap wastage and have been stockpiling lots of large knit scraps from various tops over the last 2 years. I was willing to invest a little time in trying a pattern that would give me a similar result to my beloved RTW faves - the Jockey Pariesienne.  I did try to make a pattern off a tired pair of aforementioned Parisiennes which was hilariously unsuccessful. 

So, the Barrie Boyleg pattern. A nice small PDF of course, about $12.50 AUD at the time of purchase. Good instructions - simple dot points for 'badass' sewers, or several pages of photographic instructions for those that need a little hand holding which I'll be honest, I didn't look at. There are two views, a lower rise (which isn't particularly low) and a high rise. Plenty of modelling of both on the Kitchy Coo website (sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to pose in them myself but you'll have to believe me that 100% of people who have seem them gave them 2 thumbs up). 

According to the measurement chart I came in at a 4 but they are quite a bit bigger than my Aussie size 12 RTW jocks. They're not too big but I think over time as the fabric stretches they might be so for my 4th version I trimmed off a little closer to the size 3 at the side seams. They come together quickly and easily. I smashed out 4 versions of the lower rise, all varying slightly, and have tested them all.

I'm delighted to declare my bum within them a complete wedgie free zone. 

Version 1 - Angry Cats


Yes. That fabric again. What? They are magnificent. Straight size 4, no changes. Took about 45 minutes to make, during which I was laughing almost constantly in anticipation of the final product. I find banded undies, both RTW and these, have a tendency to dig into the flesh of my muffin top a little - not uncomfortably but enough to sometimes be a wee bit unflattering under fitted clothing. These passed the work/gym test with flying colours. And made my workmates laugh because yes, I flashed them. I couldn't help it. 

Version 2 - Stripes 


Leftovers from a Mandy top. I experienced with the bands this time by making them slightly longer, in the hope there'd be less digging in - didn't really make a difference. Again very comfortable and the husband declared via text message that they were less creepy than the kitties. Yes I matched the stripes - don't you know me at all???

Version  3 - Stripes with lace 



Left overs from my Audrey dress. These are probably the least successful pair, and look a bit dodgy due to some rough lace application. My RTW faves use topstitched elastic lace rather than bands and this gives a much smoother line. One of the pattern testers made them up like this, and this was what prompted me to buy the pattern in the end. The lace is a bit too wide, and I made life hard for myself by attaching it in the round, but they're still comfy, wearable and passed the gym class test (2500 steps in that class according to my Vivofit and 0 wedgies!). 

Version 4 - Black with lace 



My favourite as they are the closest to my RTW undies. Slightly bigger seam allowance taken at the side to make them a little smaller, a little of the seam allowance in the legs trimmed off, then the lace attached in the flat by gentle stretching as I stitched (i.e. not cutting to the length of the band piece) before closing up side seams. I just used a zigzag but I might experiment with a twin needle for future versions. This version only took about half an hour and the flat attachment of the lace was far less fiddly. Worn all day with complete comfort. 

I can't see that I'm going give up my beloved Parisiennes forever, but I'm so pleased to now have a pattern that I can whip up with any leftovers from other projects. The success I think will depend on the quality of the lace. Mine was all from Darn Cheap - each pair took about 1.7m I think - a lot more than what I thought. The fabric was all cotton plus a bit of Lycra/Elastane, and in the instructions this is what is recommended, to help your Barries ping back into shape wash after wash. 

Do you have a fave undie pattern? Gertie's pattern was the other one I considered but I'm pretty happy with this one I must say.... 





Comments

  1. Those look great! Underwear is my next hurdle to cross, so it's good to see what other people do - especially your tip about the lace!

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    1. Thanks! They're nice and easy - a good first underwear project!

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  2. I LOVE the angry cats! Thanks for the tips about sewing the lace in flat - I tried it in the round and it was such a disaster I had to chuck the whole thing in the end. And I was astonished as well by how much of it was needed!

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    1. Haha they're the best aren't they? Yeah I try to avoid attaching anything in the round unless truly necessary!

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  3. brilliant. cat pants (pussy knickers? or I am just too rude 😂) everyone should have some!

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  4. Gah! The cats! I love them so! These all look really nice. Coincidentally, I also just had a half-week "sewcation" while hubby was out of town. :-)

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    1. Thanks Gail! No doubt you made something far more classy that crazy cat undies!

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  5. These are all so cute! I especially like the ones with the lace. Glad to hear they are comfy, but my question is, how do they look under jeans/trousers? Lots of visible lines?

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    1. Thanks Heather - I'll do a follow up post if you like with a couple of pics - I think the banded ones would show up a bit more which is why I was keen to perfect the lace. I think the lace is pretty good!

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  6. Hahaha, yes to cat undies! I'm terribly jealous. I've only tried finishing undies with FOE and picot, so I'd be curious to hear more about how the bands feel and look under clothing?

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    1. The bands are very comfortable, both the fabric and lace but I think there's a little more digging in with the lace. I'll do a little model session and take some clothed pics. There will be way too many pics of my arse on the Internet after that!

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  7. Great job, can't go wrong with cat fabric!

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  8. These are great! I'm a Jockey Parisienne devotee from way back - those and Bonds hipster boyleg. I never though I'd say this but I'm seriously tempted to make these!!! I've got plenty of scraps which I could use and let's face it - Parisiennes aren't cheap!

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    1. The banded version is very similar to the bonds hipsters - you'd just need to narrow the width of the band a little I think. Its such a great way to use up scraps - I subscribe to the Little Betty school of thought that if they're leftovers then they're considered 'free'!

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  9. Barrie!! Show us your knickers! Bwahahahaha! Ok I'll stop being juvenile. No wedgies - hurrah!!!! Using up scraps - double hurrah! Creepy cat undies - triple hurrah! I could go on all day but I'm thinking you're sick of me now. I would totally flash these at work too. Hey, any VPL?? Under tights at the gym or under loose pants? I can't deal with VPL as I wear workout wear everyday for work - thongs/g-ers are my go to. But I do love me a boy leg for bedtime...

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    1. Well it's your lucky day lady! Due to multiple VPL enquiries I've taken some arse shots in jeans today that I'll post very soon. Actually pretty good in gym pants - I wear lorna Jean pants which have that nice spanxy effect but I'll get the hubs to take a gym shot when garments align.... And I don't wear loose pants because I'm a tramp...

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  10. Love your cat pants! These look like the perfect shape, I am all in favour of full bum coverage. I've tried and liked Gertie's knicker pattern, and I have the Watson pattern (unused so far) but maybe I should try this one too...

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    1. Undies are such a personal thing of course.... I've gone off the traditional bikini shape, so the Watson never appealed to me.... I was really impressed with how well drafted this pattern was for such an apparently simple garment!

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  11. These are so fun and cool … stripes and lace !!! ha angry cats !!! double ha ….. love them :D

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  12. Undies forever! I am quite the opposite: I would rather invest my time into bra making, but both are equally fun practical ;-)

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  13. I feel a bit odd saying this, but I LOVE your knickers :). I especially love those angry cat ones, they're excellent, but I also really appreciate the stripey pairs (with matched up side seams OF COURSE, if they didn't match up it would be forever irritating!). I think I'm in a similar position to you on the underwear-making scale - I'm just not that interested. Of course a well fitting bra would be amazing, and every now and then someone will post a beautiful looking bra that I'd love to have made, but sewing bras doesn't really interest me... Undies on the other hand - not too hard to fit, good for scrapbusting - yes, maybe!

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    1. Yeah the scrap busting is so satisfying. I feel so smug only binning a few little scraps (no idea who the smugness is directed at but I feel it nonetheless!).

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  14. These are all so cute! Sorry you're bored with everyone's bra-making, but I reckon it's fun to have matching sets :)

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    1. Despite my lack of interest in making them I still admire the skills of others who do - I think I'm lucky that I find it pretty easy to buy bras I like. And the poor old Husky would be certain to have a tanty..... It's triple zigzag is appalling!

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