Stretch & Sew 2046 – Or, What To Do With Leftovers Of Leftovers

I am taking a brief (heh, heh, brief - get it?) break from the Sommermode t-shirt and decided that a small project utilizing the scraps of the muslin (which came from the scraps of the Butterick Clash top) would make sense.

In flipping through my patterns, I found Stretch & Sew 2046. I’ve had this pattern since the early 80’s and just never got around to trying it.

There was barely enough fabric for the pattern pieces. Based upon my measurements, I cut a size 10 (37” waist, 46” hip) of the hipster (the style on the left) and sewed the pieces together, using 1” knit elastic for the waist and ¼” knit elastic for the legs. I chose knit elastic instead of lingerie elastic simply because it was already here. Ignoring the elastic lengths given on the pattern, I determined what I wanted them to be by placing the elastic around the appropriate places and added for seam allowances.

The result wasn’t bad for a first attempt, but not wearable and certainly not photo worthy. I had created granny panties! The fabric isn’t that stretchy, so it wasn’t due to a fabric and pattern mismatch.

Next, I cut a size 9 (34 ½” waist, 44” hip) out of some similar leftover fabric and tried again. This time it worked, but still not wearable. The elastic is too loose on the back leg. I think while attaching the elastic to the back, some additional elastic stretching has to occur. Dividing the fabric and elastic into quarters and then matching them up does not put enough stretch into the back leg. The ratio is off.

Another issue is the cut of the front leg. The pattern for the next pair will be updated with a higher front leg thanks to a French curve and a Sharpie.

The pattern instructions are written well, but you could skip them as the illustrations clearly show the construction steps.

Now, just because they came from fabric that normally would be discarded, these hipsters are not free. The elastic has to come from somewhere. However, after a few more attempts, I might actually end up with something that fits better than what I currently wear. And that, dear friends, is very appealing.