Vintage Kwik Sew Nightgowns – Kwik Sew 630, some undies, and pj pants

Woohoo!!! I have things to share!  I have been doing a bit of sewing here and there and have a bunch of makes to share with you.  OK, so we are going to start with these two vintage nightgowns that I made.

I’m going to start with the second one I made, first, because it’s my favorite.

Vintage Kwik Sew 630 Nightgown sewn July 2022 (second one) Measurements at this time:

high bust 39 inches

bust 42 inches

waist 37 inches

hip 48.5 inches

Date Sewn: I started sewing this on July 31st and finished it on the same day. It's a nice quick sew

Size: large for my bust/waist, and extra-large for the hip

Adjustments: I made 1/2-inch forward shoulder adjustment Fabric: a remnant from Joann’s. I know people give the doodles/pop line a bad rap because they shrink so much but this was the cutest fabric and I just had to have it. I don't care. it is a little bit tighter than my first nightgown, but I don't care. I purchased a one-yard remnant of the pop interlock in this bluish picnic-bees-and-mice fabric. I paid only $5.24 for the one yard and then I used some cotton lycra scraps for the neckline and the sleeves. The cotton lycra was from purple seamstress from some project, who knows how long ago. I keep my scraps in the bucket and then when I need them, I just pull them out. The royal blue happened to match exactly what I needed for this, so win-win. The interlock fabric is 98% cotton and 2% spandex. It's super soft, doesn't have a ton of stretch, but it has some stretch and I love it. I bought the fabric on June 14th, 2022. Thoughts: I find the neckband tight when I used cotton lycra, I feel like it needs an inch more in length. I should have used ribbing for the neck, not the cotton lycra - or added the extra inch. This is a vintage pattern and I know they choose ribbing back in the day. It's not completely uncomfortable but the arm bands on the biceps are a bit tight, using the interlock.  I just love this pattern for a nightgown. It is the perfect length, it is super comfortable, and I love that curved hem on the sides.

Here is a closeup of the fabric so you can see how cute it is.

Vintage Kwik Sew 630 – Sewn the first time around Jan 23, 2022 Measurements at the time: Same as the 1^st nightgown above

Size sewn: also the same

Adjustments: also the same, lol

Fabric: Now I will talk about the first time I made the pattern. I used a rayon spandex fabric; I got it a long time ago from fabric Mart (May 12, 2017).  It's called turquoise white tie dye print rayon lycra jersey knit. I had three yards of this for $4 a yard and I don't know why because I really don't like rayon spandex. I have a ton of rayon spandex in my fabric stash and I don't like the fabric LOL.  I find that it shows every lump and bump, and it pills, and I just don't care for it; however I wanted to try this pattern and not use any of my good fabric so, it sewed up just fine and it works but it's already pilling. On the flip side it is soft and really comfortable. I sewed up Miss K a pair of pj pants with my scraps, so we used every inch of these 3 yards of fabric.

I used a ton of wonder tape on this one. the bottom hems are only 1/4" and curved, that makes for some interesting sewing.  I used wonder tape and then coverstitched the bottom hem but after wearing I found that the coverstitch, even on narrow is too wide for the 1/4” hem.  So the second nightgown (bees and picnic baskets), I used a 3-step zig zag on the hem and I much prefer it.  You can see the difference in the hems below. And you can see the pilling on the tie-dyed fabric.

I just love this curved hem!

This pattern also has a pair of underwear/boy shorts you can make to match your nightgown. I wanted to try these because I'm all about trying different underwear patterns as you can see in my super long underwear post. I sewed the underwear with the tie dye fabric to match on August 15^th. I originally took two inches off the front rise and one inch off the back rise because let's face it, vintage patterns are too high rise for me. When I laid the pattern on top of my favorite underwear pattern, I could see that it was super wide in the front but in the back it looked ok. That front gusset was very wide, but I wanted to try it. I used 19 inches leg elastic, 29 waist elastic even though 32 is suggested. I also used fold over elastic here instead of the 1/4 regular elastic they call for. I am allergic to latex and actual elastic is too itchy, but I found that fold over elastic works great and doesn’t make me itch.

Here is the vintage undie pattern on the bottom, and my favorite Draft #2 on top of it.  See how much wider it is!

original wide undies.

When I was done sewing up the underwear they looked quite large. I tried them on and laughed so hard. The crotch is too low, leaving a seam across the lady bits that is not comfortable.  The crotch was also way too wide. There were folds in the crotch because there was too much fabric. I guess it was the opposite of a camel toe in that it just had two much width. I didn't want to give up on these so I took a marker and drew where I would want the front and the crotch to be and I cut the underwear apart and decide to resew them. I ended up taking 1.5 inches off each side of the crotch for a total of 3 inches out of that crotch!! I tapered up to the front hip and left the back piece alone. Now they fit, but the application of the elastic is not something I care for; it makes it way too bulky. The pattern has you sew the elastic to the right side and then flip it around to the back and sew again so you have 2 layers of fabric sandwiching the elastic. That is too thick and bulky for me. I also found while wearing them that I really do not like rayon spandex underwear they are too hot to wear. So, the undies are a failure but that is ok. I have a tried-and-true favorite undie pattern already.

Here are the fixed, modified narrow undies. They will be going into the trash.  **Update 04/30/24** they did not go in the trash and I actually enjoy wearing them.  They are comfortable and the rayon is so soft and breathable.

Final thoughts: So I love this pattern for the nightgown.  I love the length, the curved hem, the ease at which it wears.  It is easy to throw on and be comfortable lounging or in bed sleeping.  I will probably make a few more in the future.

Lets throw in a quick picture of Miss K’s pants I also made with this tie-dye fabric.

I sewed these up Jan 19, 2022.  It was the first real make I sewed since brain surgery and I struggled.  I only attempted to sew one other time in Sept 2021, my black leggings, but now I am doing better and able to sew more. Not as much as before brain surgery, but at least I can get in my sewing room and make some things.  I shared these pants on a different post back in March of 2022.

I’ve made this pattern for both of us so many times now:

Jan 2022 these blue tie-dyed, April 2020 green fruit, both for Miss K  Sept 2017 black stripe for Miss K, Dec 2017 Red yoga for me, Dec 2017 purple stripe for me, Dec 2019 red xmas pjs for Miss K, and Aug 2020 my favorite pair of gray french terry pants for me.

Miss K wears these ALL THE TIME so I must have made a winner.  She loves the pattern of course but she also loves the softness of the rayon spandex.  I love that I used up every bit of the 3 yards of fabric and we had no scraps.

And now a quick health update: A lot has happened since my last health update in March 2022.  I started a different seizure medicine.  It seems to be helping quite a bit and my stomach is tolerating it so far.  This has allowed me to be able to get out of bed more and do more “normal” things for me.  I still spend a lot of time in bed, a lot of time in pain, and a lot of bad days, but they are getting less and less as time goes on.

I had my radiation follow-up MRI in August.  I was so freaking scared.  BUT the best news happened. My remaining tumor has showed NO GROWTH.  This is huge news, very good news.  Now I wait another 6 months and have another MRI.  We just continue to watch the leftover tumor (half was left from surgery) the rest of my life.

On the flip side, the radiation has destroyed much of my pituitary gland so I am dealing with many symptoms from that So now I deal with pituitary hypothyroidism and all that goes with it= hot sweats, dizziness, hair falling out in chunks, weight gain, fatigue, not sleeping, cold as ice, etc. A lot of the brain surgery symptoms such as fatigue and insomnia are made worse with the thyroid issues.  My emotions are a mess as well.  I miss my pituitary regularity.  I never knew all the things it did for me.  So anyway, we just watch and wait and see what damage comes further.

I’m trying to stabilize my emotions, but I’m still so very angry about having the tumor.  I don’t want it. I don’t want to be this person.  It frustrates me daily still.  My hair still falls out in handfuls daily, but it is slowly growing longer again.  I’ve gained 60 lbs since last fall/winter when my pituitary gland crapped out - that pisses me off because most of my older makes do not fit me.  I look in the mirror and I don’t see me. This is not me.  I look so old and tired.  I try to do more normal things, for me, and then they hurt and I”m mad. But when I succeed at doing something I used to do, I’m elated, but exhausted.  It is very much a rollercoaster.  I’ve been trying to repeat this quote in my head when I get really depressed. “Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.” by Sonia Ricotti.

That’s all for now, I have many more makes to share so be on the lookout for more!

Happy Sewing!!! Kristin

The much overdue big, long post about underwear

I’ve been meaning to write this post for years now; I have been making underwear since 2013 so there is a lot of information in this post. Some of these undies have been blogged briefly in the past and many have not been blogged yet at all.

I own over a dozen underwear patterns now (16 to be exact). I’ve tried a lot of them. I am very particular about my underwear. They must meet certain criteria: comfortable, full coverage with no riding up, very little to no latex (I.e. exposed elastic), and no bunching. Many patterns claim to be full coverage and they end up not covering my cheeks. I need them to come under my cheeks fully or there will be riding up. I have had to modify almost every pair of underwear I’ve sewn to date to make this happen. Patterns I have tried:

· Jalie 3242

· Jalie Julia 3886

· Stitch upon a time (SUAT) scrundies

· SUAT bunzies

· Made for Mermaids (M4M) Sabrina shorties

· The plucky butterfly hipster

· Self-drafted Beverly Johnson 1

· Self-drafted Beverly Johnson 2

· Apostrophe Myfit

· Mash up of Jalie 3242/bunzies/scrundies Things I have found out along the way:

· I like my fabric to be cotton lycra or athletic wicking fabric (I have heard bamboo spandex is also good).

· Double brushed poly is too hot and makes me sweaty, this is not an area I want to be sweating no matter how soft the fabric is

· I prefer fold over elastic to keep my bands tight with no sagging during wear and sewn in one pass or the extra thread bothers me

· I much prefer a triple zig zag stitch because it allows more stretch and is softer – for my machine this setting is (#12 triple zigzag stitch) width 5.5 and length 1.2

· Cotton lycra bands sag over the day - K tried swim bands and liked them, I need to try sometime. I also read to zig zag 1/4” elastic encased in the cotton lycra bands and use them that way.

· I don’t like lace, it itches.

· I love how hipsters/boyshorts look, but they do not work for me with my large thighs

· Underwear is a very personalized thing. What works for me might not work for you. Luckily altering them is fast and easy and they take very little fabric and time.

In the first picture on the top left, the dashed aqua line is where I want my underwear to sit, compared to the gray underwear where patterns usually end up. In the second picture on the top right is how I usually alter all my underwear varying from 1/2” to 1” where the aqua line is. The third picture on the bottom is what I want my underwear to end up like. My top 3 favorite patterns with the least altering:

· Jalie 3242 (includes kids, adults, female and male patterns)

· Stitch upon a time - Bunzies

· Self-draft #2 from Beverly Johnson’s class on craftsy (link to similar free instructions at bottom of post) The details:

Jalie 3242

Style: full coverage

Size: Y waist to BB hip; View A, low waist and modified eventually for enclosed crotch seams

Thoughts: I love these. They are my TNT and have been for years. This is my most made underwear pattern to date. If you want to buy one pattern and have a great fit this is the one to get.

Makes: 2019 – black lace with blue foe and teal with black foe and vinyl butterfly – unblogged, love these, wear them often. Mar 2019 gray space dye with Black FOE – unblogged and loved

Also Mar 2019 Black lace with green foe – unblogged and loved

June 2018 charcoal with blue foe, and blue space dye with gray foe; both unblogged. The top pair I made the elastic too tight so I do not wear them but I love the bottom pair and wear them often.

Dec 2015 a seven pair set that I loved. 1 pair has even lasted 6 yrs as I still wear the teal with yellow Jan 2015 purple with binding on legs and picot on waist - I used regular picot elastic for the waist and sewed right on top of it with the cover-stitch. I should have made the leg binding tighter. After wearing them a day, the leg elastic became a bit loose over time – these were tossed after 1 day. Jun 2014 orange and blue stripe – I really loved these but they were too tight on me so I wasn’t able to wear them more than once or twice. I still have these saved in my “small size” clothing bin –hoping to wear them someday. Feb 2014 black and green chevron – My very first pair made for myself. Can you believe I still have these?!? They are just a tad too small now, but I squeeze into them nonetheless; sadly these undies days are coming to an end as they are getting really worn after 7 years Aug 2014 set of 6 - these worked out great for K and she wore them often. Feb 2014 another pair for K blue with pink picot – she loved these and wore them until she grew out of the size Nov 2013 blue umbrella for K. I loved these cute little undies so much. July 2013 yellow popsicle - the very first pair I made. My husband thought I was nuts and K thought they were swim bottoms.

Jalie Julia 3886

Style: briefs/full coverage

Size: CC; low waist, added 1” out on cheek

Thoughts: Initially these were too cheeky for me so I modified them and they are ok. They are also way too low in the back and my rear shows when I bend over. I don’t love them but I like them. The design of them is cool

Makes: Mar 2019 purple with pink foe; I made these again in Aug 2017 V waist to Y hip with 1” added to crotch height and ¾” to back waist height as well as 1.25” to cheek coverage - Charcoal with teal foe; The first (purple) undies fit good except that they didn't cover my cheeks at the bottom. They did not ride up, however I like to have the fabric cover my cheeks, so on the second pair I added about 1.25” to the width there. The charcoal pair of undies fit better with alterations but wearing them I found they are really low rise in the back; I need more height there so when I bend over the top of my rear doesn’t show. (Both these pairs have been tossed). I still think the design is cool and I will make them again when I alter the pattern more.

SUAT Bunzies

Style: full coverage

Size: M waist to L hip

Thoughts: These are great. I do like them better with FOE and not cotton lycra bands. This is close to a TNT for me. If I had to choose I would make Jalie 3242 first, but if that wasn’t available, this one is the next best.

Jun 2018 blue with blue foe and blue with black foe – both unblogged. The top ones were fine but a little tight in the elastics. The bottom pair was the boyshort version and they didn’t fit right on my thighs. No boyshorts for me!

July 2017 teal with butterfly vinyl - unblogged. I so loved the look of these but the boyshort part just didn’t fit right so they were only worn 2 or 3 times before sadly being tossed. Jun 2017 Charcoal with embroidered heart – unblogged these were awesome and loved until I sized out of them.

For K 2020– light blue. unblogged. One day K tells me “mom I am out of clean underwear, I’m going into the shower, please make me new ones before I get out.” um… well I did and they are great. Dec 2019 – Rugrats for K – unblogged, she likes these a lot. wears them often

K: Jul 2019 purple Zelda and red and black link – unblogged but loved

Sept 2018 for K: red with infinity and black bands, black lace with red bands, green/yellow Zelda crest, orange athletic with black bands – all unblogged - She wears these still - a lot

SUAT Scrundies

Style: brief

Size: XX

Thoughts: These were great, until I found fuller coverage in the Bunzies. K likes these a lot. I cannot find any pictures of the pairs I made for myself though I have made K quite a few pairs.

Makes K : Jul 2017 Llama and Pusheen also penguins – unglogged, the left were too high cut for K and the right didn’t have enough stretch, sadly all were tossed.

Aug 2016 adventure time set I made for Miss K from scraps and clothes she wouldn’t wear. All characters were done with my Silhouette and Heat transfer Vinyl. Miss K wore these until they were worn away and needed replacing, claiming them to be the most comfortable ever. I used size XS for her back then.

Bunzies, Scrundies, Jalie 3242 Mash up

Style: full coverage

Size: I took what I liked in all 3 patterns and mashed them together. They offer full coverage and an enclosed liner.

Thoughts: I love these. They fit great

Makes ME: Aug 2017 sadness, horde – unblogged, I looooooved the look of both of these so much. This is when I realized boyshorts were not for me. I have too large of thighs for them to be comfortable or look good. The pair on the right didn’t have enough stretch either. I had to toss both (and shed a tear).

Self-Draft1 & 2 from Beverly Johnson class

Style: full coverage

Size: my size, self-draft

Thoughts: These are awesome. A definite TNT, similar to my Jalie 3242. It took a second draft to tweak them to my liking but now they are almost perfect. I would recommend this class as it was very informative and helpful. I have also included a link at the very bottom to a near identical web post on drafting your own undies if you want something free.

Makes: Draft 2 Mar 2019 ITY tie dye teal white and navy as well as blue space dye with black FOE – both unblogged. the ITY on the left didn’t wear well, not enough stretch and no recovery. The ones on the right are one of my absolute favorite pair! I love them.

Jul 2018 blue ity Aztec – unblogged. I find ITY fabric doesn’t hold it’s shape well or stretch enough for underwear – sadly these are not worn

Draft 1 Jun 2018 Gray silky and light gray cotton lycra – both unblogged and both these were a first draft and they needed some tweaking to be comfortable so both were tossed

Plucky Butterfly

Style: hipster boy shorts

Size for me: L waist to XL hip

Size for K: Straight M

Thoughts: terrible fit for me, K likes them a lot. I did not enjoy this pattern at all and I regret buying it.

Makes: 2019? Red cotton lycra symbol for me and Jack for K – both unblogged. I tossed mine after the photo they are too large and also look terrible; K wears hers all the time.

Apostrophe My Fit

Style: full coverage

Size: custom

Thoughts: just ok. I don’t love them. They bunch up too much I the back so I threw them away after 1 wear. I do not like the lace bands. I just do not feel like the Apostrophe patterns are worth the price tag. They sound great “put in your measurements and get a custom pattern, yay!” but they never really work out without tons of modifications. At that point I might as well take a cheaper pattern and work off it.

Makes: Jan 2021 gray with teal lace – unblogged. I hate the lace. It stretches too tight and is itchy. These also bunch up under the cheek too much. I tossed them after 1 day.

M4M Sabrina Shorties

Style: boy shorts/hipster

Size: Green, midrise with lace legs and waist

Thoughts: I don’t like the lace bands. Boy shorts/hipsters do not look good on me with my big thighs. I do like the fit in the rear – it is nice and snug, full coverage, no riding. I am in the process of altering these to be briefs. I am taking off where you see the white chalk in the photo below. I also need to raise the crotch seam. I think this is a good pattern for someone who likes boy shorts.

Makes Jan 2021 – blue with Ewok – unblogged.

Patterns yet to try but want to:

Vintage Sew Lovely - P504

Ohh Lulu –

• Jane undies
• Grace panties
• Hilda tap pants

Made for Mermaids

• Luna undies

There is a fantastic web post on how to draft your own underwear and the process is almost exact to what I used in Beverley Johnson’s class. You can check out that post on Craftsy, just search for her name. If you have read all the way down to here, thank you! You are awesome! Kristin