How to Make Knit Underwear

Once you practice, making underwear becomes easy.

Home sewers can take advantage of their sewing machines to create their own underwear, something that saves money and does not take long to do. Homemade knit underwear can be as comfortable as manufactured underwear and you can either buy new knit fabric or use an old T-shirt that's still in good shape. You can buy a pattern for underwear or take a pair that fits you well to create your own pattern.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Marker
• Pattern (optional)
• Single knit or old T-shirt
• Waistband elastic
• 1/4-inch elastic
• Pins
• Scissors
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Measure your hips if you're planning to buy a pattern. Underwear patterns use the hip measurement to size a good fit. If you're making underwear from an existing pair, cut them apart. Use a marker to identify the front and the back.

2. Obtain single-knit fabric of suitable weight for underwear. You can use all cotton, blends or synthetic fabrics. If you are using all cotton, wash and dry the fabric before cutting it out to shrink it and remove any chemicals manufacturers use on fabrics. When you purchase the elastic use the underwear kind, which is less stiff than ordinary elastic. Choose 1/4-inch elastic for the leg openings.

3. Lay the fabric on the work surface. If you are using a T-shirt, cut it apart and fold the side seams together. Lay the pattern on the fabric according to the pattern's directions. If you are using your own pattern, fold the front and back in half and lay them on the fold, and verify that you have placed the front and back lengthwise with the line of knitted stitches. You can double check by stretching the fabric sideways, where most of the stretch should be.

4. Pin the pattern to the fabric and cut with the scissors. If you use your own pattern, add a 1/4-inch seam allowance to all the parts. Mark the position where the crotch attaches to both the front and back of the underwear.

5. Sew the back of the crotch to the back of the underwear using a narrow zigzag stitch. When sewing knits on a standard sewing machine, a narrow zigzag stitch provides stretch for the items so that the seams will not pull out when the knit stretches. Pin the front and back together and sew the side seams. Sew the front of the crotch to the front of the underwear.

6. Cut the elastic for the leg openings and the waistband. You can use the length the pattern prescribes or estimate your own by using a measuring tape to measure your waist or hips and the circumference of your legs. You want to shorten the lengths of elastic by about an inch to provide support to hold the underwear in place.

7. Sew the seams of the elastic together to shape the waistband and the leg openings. Pin the elastic to the openings and stitch using a wider zigzag stitch. Remove the pins just before you sew the elastic beneath them to avoid needle breakage. Backstitch the elastic at the ends of the waist and leg bands to fully secure it to the underwear. Sewing machines go forward and backward and backstitching secures the seams so they don’t rip out. Trim any loose threads.

References

• Craft Stylish; How to Make Your Own Underwear; Cal Patch; May 19, 2009