Y'all, today is a MAJOR day for all of us at Closet Core Patterns and Core Fabrics. Not only are we launching our first lingerie collection featuring 4 new PDF patterns (whoo hoo!), but also a new online class (the first in three years, omg), pattern bundles, AND a complimentary fabric collection (including lingerie kits!) over at Core Fabrics. Bear with me while I work my way through everything because there is a LOT to talk about.
When we opened Core Fabrics last year, it was with this kind of big, holistic vision in mind. As you know by now, we love tackling more ambitious designs, and having a fabric store to support what we're doing at Closet Core means we can do the hard work of tracking down the right fabrics and specialty notions, and leave you to the fun part: sewing beautiful things. Over at Closet Core, we also wanted to shift our pattern production cycle to be more collection-focused, so we can design patterns more creatively, conceptually and cohesively.
We were extremely excited about designing a lingerie collection. Obviously, the last few years have really challenged and redefined our relationships to the clothing we wear. This change wasn’t just about leaving our business casual in the closet, or forsaking jeans for joggers. Speaking for myself, on a deeper level it was about figuring out what made me feel good during a really hard time. Since I wasn’t dressing for other people at all, I had to figure out what clothing gave me comfort and confidence when other people weren’t around to mirror or guide my perception of myself.
This was the fertile ground that lead to our Chez Moi lingerie collection. Chez Moi means "my home" in French, and we were interested in exploring what it means to be “at home” in your own body, and at peace in your own skin. We wanted to celebrate the comfort, confidence, freedom and self-love that comes when you dress for yourself, and only yourself. Lingerie, yes, but also... lounge-erie?
The Céline Bralette
This collection started with a super comfortable bra. Many of us have abandoned underwires in the last few years, so we challenged ourselves to design a bralette that felt great to wear while also offering a decent amount of support. The Céline Bralette is a soft cup triangle bralette with a dart for shaping, designed to work with resilient knit fabrics with excellent recovery such as cotton spandex, stretch mesh, and spandex blends. View A features a sheer insert along the neckline and a curved back band, finished with fold-over elastic. It can be made with colour-blocked fabrics, but we love this style using a mix of solid stretch jersey and sheer mesh or lace along the neckline. View B is a more minimalist style and can be made entirely with one type of fabric like stretch jersey or stretch mesh. It has a straight back band, a clean finish along the neckline and is finished with plush back elastic. For our 14-32 size range, we made a few tweaks to the pattern to create additional support for larger busts, such as a center front seam and a wider back band. Please note both size ranges come with two cup sizes. Sizes 0-20 can be made with an A/B or C/D cup, and sizes 14-2 can be made with a C/D or E/F cup.
This has fast become my favourite bra of all time. I find it supportive and comfortable enough to wear all day long, even though I’m a D cup. Of course, folks who need lots of support may find this style better for casual loungewear, but either way, we think it's a great everyday bralette and a wonderful introduction to bra-making. Of course, we did create a course that will help you along the way…. More on that in a minute!
The Anaïs Undies
To accompany our Celine Bralette, we have the Anaïs Undies! This pattern was designed to give you a lot of options, so you could make a whole wardrobe of undies depending on your needs. View A is a panelled style with no side seam, which means you can choose to play with colour blocking or material changes (we especially like stretch mesh or lace along the side panel for a lil’ peekaboo). It comes in a full coverage high waisted brief, or a low rise bikini style. View B is a very interesting design. It is a seamless style that is achieved by using a folded piece of mesh for the back panel. It is completely smooth under clothing (no VPL, yay) and has a more cheeky cut in a high or mid-rise. It can be made with a mix of mesh and jersey, but the back panel must be cut from mesh.
The cool thing about this pattern is that it can be made with a wide variety of elastics. For both views, we offer files with and without seam allowances, so you can use fold-over or plush back elastic for either style. I also love that it gives you so many rise options. I love a high rise myself, but if you prefer a low or mid-rise for undies, we have options for that as well.
Our Latest Online Class: Learn to Sew Lingerie
When we were designing these patterns I was super excited about the opportunity to get back to online teaching. We haven’t released a new class in a few years due to Covid headaches, and I was happy to have such a meaty subject to dig my teeth into. If you are nervous about sewing lingerie or just need a refresher on the basics, I think you’ll really love our new Learn to Sew Lingerie Class. I worked closely with Monserratt on our production team to develop the curriculum, and it’s SUCH a good introduction to sewing lingerie and bra-making. We get into the nitty-gritty and really walk you through everything you need to know, from identifying the best fabrics and elastics, to fitting and pattern alterations, to all the special construction techniques necessary to make durable undergarments, all using a standard sewing machine. I sew both views of the undies and bras from start to finish on camera, so you should feel very supported as you’re working on your own project.
Overall I think it’s a fabulous introduction to lingerie making, and you’ll definitely learn things and techniques to take with you for future projects. And of course, the course includes both PDF patterns so it’s a great value. If you’ve never taken one of our classes before, we hope you’ll try this one! We love making them and interacting with students, so if you ever need personal help we’re there to answer any questions you might have, from fitting to troubleshooting. The course is currently 20% off until Sunday, April 10th midnight est.
What if you want both patterns but don’t need the class? We have a bundle for that! You can get both patterns for 20% off when you bundle them together, or get all four for 25% off (you basically get 3 for the price of 4!)
When it comes to fabric for these patterns, everything we used for our Celine + Anais samples were made using carefully curated fabrics from Core Fabrics. We sourced a super soft organic cotton and tencel stretch jersey in 7 beautiful colours, along with a black stretch mesh made from recycled poly. You can buy those fabrics by the yard, but we suggest snagging one of three lingerie kits we created that include the fabric AND all the notions you need to make a matching bra+undies set. Each kit is a bit different depending on what view you're making, so be mindful of what option you choose. We also sell the notions kits separately if you want to use your own fabric.
Most of our pattern bundles are available only in the Closet Core Shop, otherwise it gets too confusing. We made one exception, however. If you only want the lingerie kit and patterns (ie. no other patterns from the collection and no course) and don't want to do two checkouts, you can get Anais+Celine as an add-on with the lingerie fabric kit at Core Fabrics; you'll see it as an option under the Add to Cart button.
The Simone Slip + Camisole
Next up is the slip and robe pattern in this collection. Again, we wanted to design garments that feel wonderful to wear and make you feel comfortable and at home in your own skin. What better way to do that than with a gorgeous slinky slip?! The Simone Slipdress + Camisole is our first bias-cut pattern and I think it’s a good introduction to sewing on the bias since the design is relatively simple. The beauty of a bias cut garment (which simply means the pieces are cut on a 45 degree diagonal instead of the straight grain) is that it skims the curves of the body in a really beautiful way. Bias-cut garments feel insanely good to wear; they have a lot of natural stretch due to the bias, and they just hang very differently than traditionally cut garments.
This design has a deep V neckline which we designed to work with our Celine Bralette - if you don’t want to go braless, you can layer the bralette underneath and it all works together. You can also add an optional lace panel if you want more coverage. This pattern comes in three lengths: a classic camisole, a mini slip, and a midi slip dress. We wanted it to be as functional as possible, so we also gave you two really gorgeous back options. One is cut straight across the back with rouleau straps that is high enough to conceal a bra band. The second option features an alluring low back that is tied with adjustable straps. This design works beautifully as a really luxurious nightgown, but I think it would also be a stunning dress if you don’t mind going braless. Either way, we think you’ll find Simone fills a lot of functions in your wardrobe as a camisole/tank, loungewear, nightgown, slip dress, or even as a conventional “slip” to wear under other unlined dresses.
For this pattern, fabric choice is really important. You want to look for either drapey fabrics like silk crepe, viscose or rayon challis (bias newbs should avoid slippery fabrics like charmeuse and satin since they are tricky to work with) or lightweight woven fabrics with an open weave like linen or double gauze. If you love the fabrics we used, everything can be found at Core Fabrics. We are not stocking lace for this pattern at the moment, but you can use any panelled lace, whether stretch or rigid.
The Veronik Robe
Our Véronik Robe is the secret superstar of this collection. We wanted to tackle the humble robe and bring something new and different to the table by integrating some gorgeous and unexpected design details. Obviously, it coordinates perfectly with all the other designs in this collection and works super well as a luxurious layer for home, but we were also interested in making it work for out in the world as well. Is there anything more glamorous than underwear as outerwear? To do that, we created a dramatic, voluminous sleeve in two lengths. It works equally well in a crisper woven like linen or cotton, or drapier fabrics like viscose, silk or rayon challis.
We especially love this pattern as a canvas for really show-stopping prints. The overall visual effect is just so stunning; I have officially stolen our black and white sample and have been wearing it layered over my regular clothes since it’s such an easy way to make a "lewk" happen without trying that hard. I also love the roomy angled pockets, and best of all, the two collar options. We have a classic band collar, but also introduced an interesting notched collar. It’s a bit more complicated to sew, but it adds some architectural interest and works especially well with more structured fabrics. In a similar vein, we could have just added a belt sash and called it a day, but we also created an option where the sash loops into openings integrated into the side seam so you get this really interesting volume in the back. Basically, this is our elevated take on a garment that people don’t normally think that much about. Take a basic, and make it fashun.
I’m dying to see this pattern in very structured wovens like canvas or jacquard - it would become such a wild statement piece! For our samples, we used our new Core Collection linen (the dreamiest linen weight ever!) in addition to our exclusive collection of floral rayon challis prints.
Again, we have a bundle for Simone + Véronik at the Closet Core shop. You can get both patterns for 20% off when you bundle them together, or get all four for 25% off (you basically get 3 for the price of 4!)
Still with me? I told you I had a lot to say! We’ve been working our butts off on all of this for the last 6 months and we’re so happy to finally get it all out in the world. Just a reminder of what we’ve released today:
- The Céline Bralette + Anaïs Undies in PDF format, available on their own, in a 2 pattern bundle at 20% off, or included with enrollment in our latest online class, Learn to Sew Lingerie, also 20% off until Sunday, April 10th midnight est.
- The Simone Slip + Véronik Robe in PDF format, available individually or in a 2 pattern bundle for 20% off.
- All four patterns in our Collection Bundle for 25% off.
- From Core Fabrics, lingerie kits for Celine + Anais that include everything you need to make a complete bra and undies set, either just the notions, or including fabric + mesh.
- A curated collection of fabrics chosen specifically for the slip and robe that range from drapey solids, to watercolour and floral prints.
For the time being, this collection will be available in PDF format only. We were recently forced to switch printers for our tissue and it simply didn't work out for us to go to print with these patterns. Otherwise, please let us know if you have any questions or comments about Chez Moi!
P.S. A note on the names we used: We often name our patterns after members of the sewing community, but since this is a romantic lingerie collection we had a sort of internal French theme going on. We decided to name our bralette after our incredible designer and patternmaker Céline, and the robe after the new lead of our pattern production team, Véronik. We rounded it out with names from two of my French heroes: Anaïs Nin, who wrote so beautifully about female desire and sexuality, and Simone de Beauvoir, the great feminist philosopher. I think all of these people embody the spirit of this collection, which is one of self-love, confidence and freedom!
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