The body-shaping slip: a woman’s best friend!

For our latest woman magazine we made a beautiful vibrant blue dress from techno jersey. This firm interlock knit combines viscose, polyamide and elastane to form a dense heavyweight yet breathable fabric. It’s very easy to sew and if you’re in a hurry you can even skip any seam finishes because it doesn’t fray.

The dress is unlined and our model is wearing a body-shaping full slip underneath it. This slip is truly a woman’s best friend as it smooths the tummy, lifts the bottom and shapes the bust. It is sewn from lightweight, silky viscose single jersey and is not only flattering but very comfortable to wear. You can sew it with a regular sewing machine or a serger.

The body of the slip consists of two layers; the inner layer is cut slightly narrower than the outer layer to provide the supporting and shaping effect. The layers are joined together with horizontal rows of three-step zigzag stitch just under the bust and below the hips then Framilon® clear elastic tape is stitched along the bottom hem to ensure that it stays in place. Framilon® tape comes in several widths and thicknesses and can be used for various purposes including gathering and stabilizing. For this design we are using it as a stabilizer so we’ve used a slightly thicker tape than we would for creating gathers. 

The shoulder straps are threaded through rings and sliders (bra accessories) so they are adjustable and we also stitched Framilon® to the wrong side of the straps which keeps them securely on your shoulders and gives them just the right amount of stretch.

You’ll find the patterns for both the slip and the dress in our latest OTTOBRE woman magazine, Autumn/Winter 5/2014. 

You can browse the magazine here and order single issues or subscribe to the magazine via our website.