If there is one material in my entire shop that I can get lost in admiring, it’s this Beige Magnolia Statement lace.
…beige?
Yes. Beige may not be the most exciting color (at all), but it’s the only color I could imagine this lace being. It is delicate and light, one of the softest that I have in my whole collection, but a fine craftsmanship that lets you know it won’t falter under pressure. Not a ditsy floral, this lace features one magnificent bloom overtaking the entire height of the lace and repeating over and over. I needed to find a proper project for this lace, one that gave it the space it deserved!
And so enters the Noelle bralette. As far as bralettes go, this one takes up some space; it’s practically a halter top, with a racerback and wide bottom band. I decided on a navy blue mesh lining to really make the beige lace pop.
The pattern calls for pretty tall laces, but I made a few adjustments for the materials I planned on using.
For the front of the bralette, I simply aligned my lace along the bottom and then cut it as high as it would go. I stitched the darts on the lace and also the ones on the mesh, then stitched the lace piece in place on the mesh. From there, I treated the front lining and lace as one piece.
For the back, I was inspired by the back of this bralette (pictured above) that I found on Pinterest, and I adjusted my back pattern piece to have a sharp, triangular shape. I cut two mirrored pieces from the lace (do not forget to add seam allowance!) and sewed them together at the center to create the back piece. To keep the back piece looking as light and nearly invisible as possible, I finished the edges with 4mm narrow beige elastic, stitching with a narrow zigzag and the slightest bit of tension (although, in hindsight, I don’t think the tension was necessary).
This pattern is one that I make all the time and wear constantly, and one step that I add for extra support is to sew on underband elastic between the top part and bottom band. With this step, and with finishing the bottom edge of the bralette, make sure you are keeping a close eye on all of your fabric layers. Between the weightless lace and feather-soft mesh, it’s easy for them to shift out of place while sewing, resulting in unattractive tucks and pinches.
The layout of the lace pieces that I used for the bralette left me with enough of an edge to use for the panties. The Thursday Thong is a super quick, super simple pair of panties to make, and uses hardly any fabric! (It gives you hardly any coverage, of course!)
If I were to make this set again, I would probably go down a size on the bralette and then sew my elastics on with less tension. The end result fits me well, but not as form-fitting as I usually prefer. Plus, this set truly requires modeled photos to get the full effect of the lace back and to smooth the fabric; it unfortunately doesn’t have much flatlay appeal!
Nevertheless, I still find myself going back to wear it over and over. It’s a comfortable everyday set that has a certain elegance to it and really sets a tone for my day whenever I wear it.
As always, if you’ve been inspired to create this set, or to use this incredible lace to make another gorgeous creation, you can find the Beige Magnolia and Navy Blue lingerie kit in the shop now!