I tested the most recent pattern by House Morrighan – the Viola French Knickers.
These are a really quick sew, and they are darling on. They’re designed for stretch knits, so it was cotton Lycra for me.
The first thing I did before making these was to plan what I wanted to have them match. Well, I wanted them to match my Poppy, and Dahlia, and Abbie. Hmm. That didn’t get me very far, so I just decided to make a pair in some cotton Lycra I had in my stash – just to see how they were going to fit before I started planning matching sets.
Here’s my first test of the Viola French Knickers.
They are darling! I didn’t finish the hem on these, as these were only to see how the sizing would be. They fit perfectly.
Here’s the side view:
You can see, these are a cheeky little panty.
And the back view:
You might be wondering, ‘What is going on with that waistband?’ Well, tired sewing was happening. Somehow I didn’t realize the whole time I was attaching the waistband that it was inside out, so the raw edges are outside rather than inside. I started to rip it all out, but then decided these were only to see how things fit, and they fit just fine. They can even be worn this way. I have tops I’ve bought that have edges that look like this.
Now I know they fit perfectly, it’s time to make another pair – this time to match something I’ve made already. But what will it be? Poppy? Dahlia? Abbie? It was hard to decide.
Violas to Match
Abbie won out because I really love the Abbie chemise. Here are my Viola French Knickers in cotton Lycra, with matching CL band.
If these look a tad shorter than the pair above, it’s because these have been hemmed.
Oh, they are darling. Some of the testers used elastic at the waist, which is another option. I also saw lace trim to finish the hem. They were all lovely.
Here they are from the side:
And when they’re hemmed, they’re just a bit cheekier from the back.
They are really darling. They might not be my everyday panty, but I’ve heard from a few testers say they love them under trousers. Whether these become an everyday panty or not, they will be a wonderful addition to any lingerie drawer.
Violas for Em
I was asked to test this pattern in a smaller size too, so I made a pair for Em. I still have some fabric left over from Em’s Abbie too, so she’s getting some Violas to match her Abbie as well.
These knickers are adorable in all sizes.
Oh these are sweet.
And that cheeky back view:
You can find the Viola Knickers in the House Morrighan Etsy shop here.
Happy creating!
This is the new Amethyst pattern.
I thought of a few ways to use lace on the Angie. I’ve seen people use it laid horizontally across the lower part of the cups. I’ve seen people use lace on every other cup piece, and on every cup piece. None of those were what I wanted to do for this one. I didn’t think any of those options would showcase this lace the way I wanted. So I decided to cut out the floral part of the lace, and applique it onto the cups. A little Misty Fuse to hold things in place, a small zigzag, and they look lovely.
Yes, this lace goes beautifully with the black cherry duoplex. I really like this! You can also see I’ve added a strap tab to this Angie. I like the strap tab addition and will likely continue to use one.
This is not my bra, and not my photo. It is beautiful though, and shows you can use lace in different ways than just on the upper cup. If you want to see the most stunning lingerie, go look at the post I linked above. The bras are amazing.
You can see here, although the front is black cherry, I’ve used black for the back band and all the elastics.
The band has a downward hike to it.
Most of the Watson’s I’ve made, I’ve fused a stable interfacing to the front cradle, but for this one I’ve used sheer cup lining behind it. (The lining was from my stash.) I love how it looks. You can hardly see any difference between the front cradle and the cups.
The back band is a dark navy Lycra. It has a lot of stretch, similar to power mesh, which is what I’d used for Em’s Watsons.
I’m really happy with how this turned out. And I hear Em’s sister is happy too.
They’re made from cotton Lycra, and have bean-bag-fill (tiny plastic beads) in them. They weigh just less than 1/2 pound each. They’re also very similar to some store-bought ones a family member uses.
The cups on this might look familiar. This pattern uses the same cups as the Poppy Bralette. I imagine you could use the Dahlia cups in this too, which might be fun.
Oh, this is lovely! It flows over the curves perfectly. It’s just skimming over those curves. It’s very comfortable.
Yvonne has some lovely tips in the pattern to make this more supportive as well. You can choose if you want to add those tips or not.
I love this. It’s no longer summer, (we’ve even had snow already) but I’m thinking forget the long night gowns for warmth! This is just so pretty, and fits so well.
I really love this pattern. I’m sure I’ll be making more of this! It’s so versatile and very flattering on.
This is a cotton Lycra as well, with mesh lined cups. I used the same pretty 
It makes the inside just as pretty as the outside.
I accidentally cut out the wrong cups for Em’s Abbie. I cut out the Dahlia cups! And it does work quite well still. So, I showed you the Dahlia cups without even meaning to do that. They do look very nice with the Abbie Chemise too.
And the back view:
You can also see the hem on this. I gave it a normal hem, but I didn’t have time to press it for photos. Em was here to claim her new Abbie, so a quick photo was all I could manage.
I’ve been using a knob for a few years now – almost since I started sewing bras. It’s a wooden ball, elevated, and on a base. It’s a great, very specialized, pressing tool for bra-making. I got this one from Bra-Makers Supply. You can find them 
This was from the old store location, and it showed one of the walls. Do you see down there on the left?
Knobs! And they came in different sizes! Larger sizes! Unfortunately, Beverly said she was no longer able to get the other sizes. So, I have been looking for a wooden finial to make a larger knob since I saw this photo.
I found 
I found this on 
My first thought is, ‘That looks huge!’ However, when sewing the cup seams together, they’re still relatively flat. A larger pressing surface is going to be great!
The cup dwarfs the knob.
The knob fills a lot more of the cup. What a difference this will make!
I have to tell you, it works wonderfully! I was using it on my most recent bra – 
The photo above shows the racer back feature. I simply chose to use the same bands as I used for Poppy.
I used a gorgeous 4-way stretch material and lined the cups with black mesh. The bands are lined with the same floral material – just to make it really pretty on the inside too. This fabric was from Fabricland.
I do one alteration on my Poppy, and I did it on Dahlia too – I put a dart in the underarm. I need to do that on almost every bra or bralette pattern I make.
I think this is my favorite make yet. I love this material. I was a bit reluctant to use the racer back because of some neck sensitivity, but I think it looks wonderful! The really nice thing with these patterns is you can mix and match. Just wait until you see the next pattern. I love it!
OH! That’s such a pretty detail. This elastic is from 
This Ruby fit everywhere, but was a little small in the cups.
For this Ruby, I’ve used some gorgeous lace I bought from Merckwaerdigh, duoplex and power net from Bra-Makers Supply, and some amazing strap elastic I bought in a destash group.
It’s so pretty! I think I’m going to save the rest of this lace for another bra rather than use it up on panties. It’s just too pretty.
One of the things I like about the Ruby pattern is the underarm is nice and short. I don’t have to take it in.
Ooh, I love that strap elastic. It’s very firm, and I like the detail on it.
This is also a nice close-up of that lovely strap elastic.
Hmm. I’ll keep thinking.
A small black bow with a pearl for the center front, and two small black bows without pearls for the straps.
Oh, this is lovely.
And the back.
You can see here I also did a lettuce edge for the hem instead of a regular hem. I really like this. When I’ve made the Agnes in the past, I was using cotton Lycra, so this was the perfect material for this hem.
Happy creating, and seeing as it’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
You can find more about it 
For options, this has different heights, a front panel or plain front, bands or elastics for the waist and leg openings, and even a maternity height so it will fit comfortably under a pregnant tummy.
These are a very comfortable brief. They feature either bands or elastic at the waist and leg. I’ve never used bands before on any panties I’ve made. I’ve used fold-over-elastic, and lingerie elastic. I’ve also used lace trim (my favorite), but never bands. So, I tried the bands. They are really nice. And they are very comfortable.
These are also my first serged briefs. I usually sew my panties on my sewing machine, but as the pattern instructions say to serge or zigzag, I thought I’d try the serger for them. They come together very quickly.
Bottoms are always a little droopy on this display, but I’m glad I can display bottoms now.
For Em’s briefs, I decided to try the elastic waist and leg option. Just to see how the pattern worked that way.
And I know what size my display is now! These are fitting it perfectly.
What was that I said about bottoms being droopy on this display? No, they are not! These look perfect. Yup. My display is a size 6.