Wardrobe by Me Love Yourself Hipster and Carma Camisole

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If you are looking for a comfortable underwear pattern that offers full bum coverage with lace elastic, fold over elastic, bands, or hemmed legs, I highly recommend the new Love Yourself Hipsters affiliate (worn pictures at the bottom).  I found the Carma Camisole  super easy and fast to sew and fit.
I have never made my own underwear or camisoles before, but I didn't think about that when I volunteered to test the new Love Yourself Hipster and Carma Camisole for Wardrobe by Me.  I like the shape of the underwear and thought if I was going to try to sew some it might as well be one that I liked how it was drafted.  As a tester I received the patterns for free.  I offer my full and honest review here.





PDF Pattern Features for both the Hipsters and Camisole
  • Size chart with body and garment measurements
  • Layers
  • No trim pages
  • Line drawings
  • illustrations for assembly (instructions are not geared towards a beginning sewer)
  • professional quality drafting (I love sewing WBM patterns because they are true to the measurements chart and all of the pieces fit)
Pattern Features Carma Camisole
  • Two lengths (hip or just above the knee)
  • Finish the top with Lace Elastic or Fold over Elastic
  • Straps can be made out of Lace Elastic or the Strap piece

First things first, I don't fit in Wardrobe by Me's size chart neatly.  My bust is 36" (size 8) my waist is 30" (size 10) and my hips are 44.5" (nearly size 16).  Honestly, my pear shape is my reason for sewing.  Normally what fits my bust won't go over my hips (or rides up all of the time like all of my store bought camisoles). When I sew for myself I can fix that problem.
So how did I choose what size to sew?  I picked my bust size for the starting point of the Carma Camisole and then blended out with my French curve to the 16 for my hips then continued down to the hemline at the size 16.  I hope you can see my personal size drawn in pencil over the pattern.  I use my French curve to help get a nice smooth line that sews up nicely.  This is an adjustment that is super simple and I do for every pattern designer except Sewaholic.


I first made the camisole length Carma to pair with my Love Yourself Hipsters.  I used a thin Rayon Spandex from Cali Fabrics that I've had in my stash for a while.  I don't like it for shirts, because it shows my bra lines, but figured I'd love the softness and drape for a camisole.  I used lingerie elastic  that I bought at Joann's Fabrics with a coupon.  The pack had two widths and I used the 3/8" for the top trim of the cami and 5/8" for the straps.

I broke out my new elastic presser foot for my coverstitch machine and quickly learned to remove all of the tension on the foot, because I wasn't trying to gather the top of the cami I just needed a tiny bit of pull on the elastic while I was sewing.  It did a great job of holding the elastic up against the edge, so I will use it again.

If you use elastic to finish the edge I suggest you turn the front (between the bust points) elastic up (turning the seam under) before attaching the side and back elastic over the front.  I just couldn't get it to turn up nicely when I left it turned down the first time and had to unpick and fix it.


The second Carma Camisole is made with leopard print Double Brushed Poly I got from a Vinegar and Honey mystery box last year.  I don't know that I have ever worn an animal print, so it sat in my stash for a year with no plans.  I actually love the colors with my hair, so maybe the other half of the piece will become a scarf or some other little accessory.

I did the same size as the navy camisole, but this time I used Fold Over Elastic and the strap piece from the pattern.  I really loved sewing with Fold Over Elastic (first time using it), because I could attach it with my coverstitch in one pass.  My machine is a dream to sew with and never skips stitches, so all I had to do was make sure that the top of the fabric was pressed into the fold of the elastic.  Here is a blog post just about Fold Over Elastic.





I didn't measure my elastic I just gently stretched it by feel as I was sewing.  I only needed a yard of FOE to finish the top edge of the camisole.  I really loved how easy that is and not having to worry about precisely quartering and stretching a band around.  I have a feeling I'll be using a lot more elastic in the future.

Pattern Features Love Yourself Hipsters
  • Lace Elastic waist, Fold Over Elastic Waist, or Band at the Waist
  • Hemmed (with our without elastic at the edge) or Fold Over Elastic leg opening
  • Boycut or narrow crotch
  • Multiple rise options (Low, Mid or High)


Last is the Love Yourself Hipsters.  I am going out on a limb here and trying to practice body positivity and daring to share worn pictures (I do exercise, but will never be super skinny and I'm definitely not a swimsuit or underwear model.)

I picked the medium rise size 16 boy-cut legs.  I really loved the bum coverage that the hipsters offered.  I used a rayon spandex fabric I got as a scrap.  I finished the top with Fold Over Elastic from Joann's and the legs are just turned under with my coverstitch.  I used Maxi-Lock stretch thread in the looper and it gave them the perfect amount of give.  They stay put when I wear them and don't ride up. 
I cut my own elastic measurement for the waist, because I didn't want the elastic to dig into my waist.  Mine is significantly larger than the elastic chart.  I just held elastic around my waist and stretched it to get the tightness I wanted.  If I had done the elastic finish for the legs I would probably have done the same.  The nice part about sewing is that you don't have to have things fit in ways you don't want.

Wardrobe by Me has a great blog post about everything that went into creating the love yourself underwear patterns here.

I love how this looks together and will actually try the Hipsters for my swimming suit this summer.



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