Bianca Underwear

Bianca Underwear

Difficulty Level = Beginner

The Bianca Underwear is the perfect complement to the Bianca Bra. Pair it with the Bianca Bra for a matching set or make them to be a stand-alone garment – you’re going to love them! It doesn’t matter if you call them panties, underwear or pants, the Bianca Underwear is guaranteed to be your go to staple for your foundation garment in everyday wear. Add a little ribbon and picot elastic and they’ll be the undergarments you barely know are there.

Our Facebook group is a great place to get help, share your tips and creations! We are a friendly bunch, and we love to help and see what you have made.

Please read the full instructions before getting started.

Wash, dry, and press your fabric before starting your project. A bit of prep now prevents shrinking and means your garment will stay the same size you made it.

Never leave a child or baby unattended or allow to sleep in a garment made from one of our patterns with ties, snaps, buttons, or anything they could remove, choke on, or get caught on. Always use caution if you are unsure. We love our patterns, but we love your bundles of joy more!

Size Range

Womens XXS-5XL

Size Chart

This pattern is drafted to the sizes listed below. If you are between sizes, choose the larger size and adjust the pattern to remove the extra width to achieve the intended fit.

Finished Measurements (Inches)

• Sizing – Sizing varies in different countries and stores, so please measure your model before picking your size. The ready-to-wear size your model normally fits into may be different from our size chart.
• Selecting your Size – If your measurements fall into different sizes, use the layers feature to print those sizes. Then, grade between the sizes by drawing a smooth line from the size for your waist measurement to the size for your hip measurement. Continue to the edge of the leg using your hip measurement size.
• Height Adjustment – This underwear is designed for a height of 5 foot 6 inches. If you are taller/shorter you may also find that you need to make personal fit adjustments for your tummy, crotch depth, sway back, and or bum.
• Muslin –To ensure you get the best fit, I recommend you sew a muslin first to check the fit.  A Muslin is a test version of the pattern in an inexpensive fabric.  Check the fabric recommendations and use a fabric with the same properties as your final one.  
  • • Use an inexpensive lycra knit fabric similar in weight and stretch to the final fabric you plan to use.
    • Baste all the pieces together using a ⅜ inch seam allowance.
    • Try on. If you are happy with the fit, continue to your final garment.
    • If you feel the fit needs adjusting for your personal shape, turn the muslin inside out and try on again. Adjust the seams with pins/clips until you are happy and then baste the seams.
    • Trim your new seam allowances to ⅜ of an inch and pull out your basting stitches. 
    • These resulting pieces are your pattern pieces instead of the original pattern pieces. Continue to sew your final garment.
    • Make sure to keep your adjusted pattern pieces in case you wish to make more!
• If you get stuck with fitting, see our favorite resources on our Pinterest Sewing Fitting Advice board.

• Your fabric needs to be a stretch/knit fabric. It can be any weight; however, best results and fit will be achieved with a medium weight fabric such as jersey, or cotton lycra (CL). 
• Both 4-way stretch (stretches both horizontally and vertically) and 2-way stretch fabrics will work. For 2-way stretch fabrics, take care to place the pattern pieces as indicated for the grainline so the stretch is doing the correct direction. 
• Your fabric will need to have at least 40% stretch to get the fit as it’s designed. To check how much stretch your fabric has, take a piece of fabric, and pull along its stretch. If it allows you to stretch it at least 40% longer than its original length, then it has at least 40% stretch. I.e. A 2-inch piece of fabric (unstretched) should be able to be stretched to 2.8 inches.
• The stretch recovery of your fabric is just as important as the stretch percentage. This will ensure your underwear maintains its shape and fit for as long as possible and not become baggy. To test the stretch recovery (elasticity), simply check that when you stretch your piece of fabric it returns to its original size. 

Fabric Requirements 60 inches / 150 cm (in YARDS)

* If you are using a narrower fabric, a directional print, or a fabric with nap you may need more.
** Make sure to wash, dry, and press all fabrics before cutting out in case they shrink.

You will also need:

• OPTIONAL Decorative bow – 1x small lingerie satin bow 
• ⅜ inch wide Picot Elastic – See cutting chart below for quantities.
• Thread to match

Tools needed are sewing machine, scissors, pins or clips, ruler, and a needle. A serger/overlocker is optional but not required.

Settings

The pattern is a separate download. Choose either the US letter paper, A4 paper, or A0 paper size based on the printer you wish to use. If you are in the US or Canada then your printer will likely use US letter paper. Other regions normally use A4 paper. Some people prefer to print their patterns at a print shop: A0 is best in this case.

Print at 100%.

On the second page, you will find a 1-inch and a 3-inch square test box. Print this page first, on its own, and measure these squares.

Once you are happy that the test box is accurate, print the rest of the pattern pages.

Please follow this video for information and assistance on assembling this pattern.

Also, please note that some Rebecca Page patterns and projects also come with cut files and a printable design page which you can use to plan your project if you wish. These are provided in a separate section below to avoid any confusion! 

Cut each of the pieces according to the directions on the pattern piece. Seam allowances are all included so just cut them as is.

Cutting Charts – Use the cutting chart below for the elastic lengths (in INCHES)

Cutting Checklist: 

• Front – Cut 1 on fold
• Back – Cut 1 on fold
• Gusset:
  • Fabric – Cut 1 on fold
  • Lining – Cut 1 on fold

NOTE – To cut fabric on the fold, fold your fabric over parallel to the selvage edges. Align the pattern piece so it is on the fold of the fabric. Cut around the edges, leaving the fold. If you have folded your fabric correctly the fold will be parallel to the two edges of the fabric that are finished. The raw edges (e.g. the ones you could pick at and threads would come off) will be at a right angle to your fold.

Tips for Sewing with Knit Fabrics

Using a serger is not a necessity to sew with knit fabrics! Here are a few tips to get the best results on a regular sewing machine:

• Use a ball point needle of a size appropriate to your fabric when working with knits – The ball point needle has a slightly rounded tip and will prevent damaging the fibre. Use ball point pins or clips and, if you can’t, use regular pins into the seam allowance and you should be just fine.
• Use a stretch stitch – You can use either a short and narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch (lightning bolt stitch) for construction. Test on a scrap of fabric to find which stitch and tension settings work best for you. You don’t want the fabric to pucker under your stitches.
• Your machine might have many fancy stretch stitches and you are welcome to play with them, but often the basic zigzag or stretch stitch are just right.
• Use a walking foot – Using a walking-foot is not a necessity but it is highly recommended when working on a stretchy knit. The walking-foot helps to prevent one layer of fabric from stretching out while sewing. Both layers of fabrics are fed at the same time under your needle.
• Reduce your presser foot tension – Some machines will allow you to change your presser foot tension. Check your manual to see how to reduce your presser foot tension. Reducing tension will prevent your fabric from stretching while it goes through the machine.
• Use a ball point twin-needle (double needle) for top stitching – Using a twin-needle will give you a regular double line of straight stitches on the right side and a short and stretchy zigzag on the wrong side. Alternatively, if you don’t own a twin needle, you can use a medium size zigzag stitch for hemming and topstitching. I like to lengthen my stitch a little when top stitching with the twin needle. Test on a scrap of fabric to find what works best for you.
• Finishing the seams – Because knits don’t fray, it isn’t strictly necessary to finish your seams. That being said, you will achieve a more polished and durable look if you do an overcasting or zigzag stitch on your raw edges.

Here is an example of some of the stitches you could use.
From left to right: Ballpoint twin-needle, narrow zigzag, stretch stitch (lightning bolt), overcasting. 

⅜ inch seam allowance included – Basting ¼ inch – Topstitching zig zag 3.5 x 2.0 mm

Sewing –

1. GUSSET – Layer the Gusset Lining right side up, Back right side up and Main Gusset wrong side up then pin. Stitch all three layers together along the bottom edge. Turn the Gussets wrong sides together and press. Move the Gusset Lining out of the way and pin the Front piece to the Main Gusset with the right sides together. Roll the Back down towards the bottom. Flip Gusset Lining over the Back and pin the Gusset Lining to the Front and Main Gusset. Stitch all three layers together. Turn right side out and press flat.
2. SIDE SEAM – With the right sides together, pin the Front to the Back side seams, sew and press seams to the back. Repeat on other side seam.
3. LEG ELASTIC – Overlap the leg elastic ½ inch, sew to form a circle.  Place elastic on right side of leg opening, do not stretch along gusset and front, and stretch slightly along the back.  Baste elastic, turn to wrong side of pants, pin and sew using zig zag stitch.
4. WAIST ELASTIC – Overlap the leg elastic ½ inch and stitch together to form a circle. Quarter the elastic and the top edge of the pants. With right side together, pin elastic to the waist matching the quarter points. Slightly stretch the elastic between the quarter points and pin. Baste the elastic, then turn it to the wrong side, pin and sew using a zig zag stitch. OPTIONAL- Add a ribbon bow to the waist at the center front of the Pants.

Congratulations, your Bianca Underwear is done. Enjoy! 

We would love to hear how you got on and see photos of your finished project!

Join us at our Facebook Group, tag us on Instagram, or use the hashtag #rpbiancaunderwear.

Thank you for using a Rebecca Page pattern.

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