Sew Chic Valentine Slip Sewing Pattern Review
I’ll be honest–perhaps too much so–I adore lace. All things lace. I just feel pretty and feminine and graceful in lace. For reference, my wedding dress featured TWO lace fabrics that overlayed. I LOVE lace. In no surprise, I wanted to make a lace adorned slip for myself to wear under all these dresses I make. I hate store bought ones, they’re made of fabric that ladders, are stifling hot, and are just kinda ugly. But what if I made my own? Then I could put all the lace on it I want and make it out of a light sturdy fabric. Alas, there was no pattern that I could get behind for YEARS. Then I stumbled on Sew Chic’s Valentine Slip pattern. It was love at first sight and I knew I desperately needed this in my life.
The pattern comes in two styles, I opted for the one with the lace and not the pieced bodice. It’s marked as a beginner level pattern, and it is indeed so long as you’re okay working with finicky thin knit fabrics. It’s based on standard street sizes, not “Big 4” sizing, and goes to a size 18.
As to if the finished slip looked like the envelope example, I could hardly tell them apart save for fabric choices. The instructions for this pattern are amazing! Included is a template for a full bust adjustment with detailed steps for making one with the template. This means you don’t have to figure out a lot of technical things like how much to extend, where to make the curves line up, and where to put the markings. It’s a brain- and time-saver.
I loved sewing this slip, from cut to finish was less than 5 hours; not too shabby considering I did a full bust adjustment and flatlined the lace too.
Fabric Used:
4-way stretch 9″ lace (which I needed that full 9″ for the new size of the bust), if you are larger than a B, you’ll need wider lace than the 7.5″ this calls for. I flatlined the lace with 4-way stretch mesh to the back of the lace for more durability. The body of the slip is nylon tricot.
Pattern alterations and design changes:
I made the bust adjustment first and foremost. I then cut 6″ off the hem and added my 9″ lace over top of the hem because it’s double scalloped and I wanted that look. I also topstitched all my seams down, which caused a few “bubbles” that don’t affect the fit.
Conclusion:
This make has my little heart singing. I couldn’t have asked for a better pattern to sew for the slip I’ve been dreaming of for eons. It’s like Laura (the pattern’s designer) read my mind and made this just for me and my desires. I hope others take this short project on to make their own pretty slips!
