As a result of leaving Print me Pretty, I have a large stash of fabric at home. I needed a new slip, so I decided to make one, using fabric from my stash.
In some ways, it’s not as good as one made from man-made fibres, but in other ways it’s better. It was quick and easy to make, using very little fabric, plus some narrow cotton lace I’ve had for years and fold-over elastic I bought for making Iris knickers.
Here’s how to make a waist slip
Measure round the fullest part of your hips. This (plus a seam allowance) is the minimum width of fabric you need. You don’t want it too much wider unless you always wear full skirts. I used the full width of a piece of 60″ (150cm) wide fabric, but it might be a bit too full.
Measure the length that you want your slip to be. You don’t need to add any seam allowances. Don’t forget that you will want it to be a bit shorter than your skirts or it may show as you move.
Cut your fabric to size.
Mark one long edge (the top) of your fabric into quarters. I used pins the first time, but they tended to get knocked out, so I put a couple of stitches in at each point.
Cut a piece of fold-over elastic slightly shorter than your waist measurement. (Fold-over elastic tends to be fairly light, so bear this in mind when measuring – you probably need it shorter than you would for normal elastic.) Mark this 1″ from one end, then divide the rest into 4.
Stitch the elastic to the top of the skirt. If you’ve made knickers, use the same method. If you haven’t used fold-over elastic before, follow these instructions:
- Place the elastic under the top of the slip, wrong sides together, with the top of the slip against the fold mark on the elastic. (You can use either the shiny side or the ‘rough’ side of the elastic as the right side. Patterned elastics usually have the pattern on the shiny side, so I’ve used that as the right side.)
- Put the edge of the slip against the 1″ marker pin, so you can use that short length of elastic to help you get started.
- Using a small zigzag stitch (I use 2.5 x 2.5 on my Janome machine) stitch the slip onto the elastic, stretching the elastic as you go, so that the markers on the slip and the elastic meet up. This will gather your fabric onto the elastic as you go.
- Fold the elastic over the raw edge of the slip and stitch again on the right side of the slip.
Stitch the side seam.
Press under a ¼” hem at the bottom of your slip.
Place your lace under the fold, so that it peeps out at the bottom of the slip. Stitch close to the edge of the slip, on the fold. 
Tada – one quick and easy slip.
You can use any lightweight fabric you have to hand. I used white because that’s what I had, but any colour will do, plain or patterned, although darker colours may not be suitable to wear with lighter clothes. Narrow lace suitable for sewing onto a hem is available in many colours, in cotton and manmade fibres, and is not usually very expensive. Fold-over elastic is available from many haberdashery stores in the high street (if you’re lucky enough to have a local shop!) or online.
