Review | Lucky Sew and Sew handmade lingerie

I ‘met’ Carly, one-half of Lucky Sew and Sew through a facebook group when I was looking for some gorgeous gifts to include in my Mothers Day Wishlist. Lucky Sew and Sew make absolutely gorgeous handmade lingerie, based on original vintage patterns and fashions with the modern women in mind.

Carly was kind enough to offer to send me a custom made set of my own to review. I picked the Savannah Bralette and high waisted knickers. I’ve never had custom made lingerie before, so I was so excited to try it on when it arrived.  The bralette is made from leopard print soft jersey and fully lined with black jersey. It has adjustable straps and a traditional hook and eye closure. The bra fits so so well.. I was seriously impressed! After 15 months of living in nursing bras, it’s amazing to have something that looks so pretty and makes me feel a little more feminine {plus it’s easy to nurse in too!}.  The knickers are gorgeous – high waisted which are really flattering. The fabric is really soft and stretchy so you feel as good as you look! The quality of the lingerie is fantastic too. I can’t get over how great they look and feel.

I caught up with Carly to ask her a few questions about Lucky Sew and Sew….

Tell us a little about Lucky Sew and sew – when did it begin and what made you start making lingerie?
The idea for Lucky Sew and Sew started in late 2013 as a joint adventure for myself and my Mum. My Mum and I love sewing and creating things, and we both happen to love lingerie. We have struggled to find lingerie in the shops that fits well and was in the styles that we wanted. It seemed to be a natural progression from sewing our own clothes to try and sew our own lingerie. It was extremeley satisfying to be able to create the lingerie that we dreamed of, and when we started to talk about it, our friends and family loved it too. We released our first collection in April 2014 – I can’t beleive it was 2 years ago!
What does the process of making lingerie look like?
Making lingerie is a lengthy process, but one I adore! It usually starts with inspiration from somewhere (a vintage item/a vintage sewing pattern/an old photo/or just something that’s popped into my head!), which I will sketch out in my sketch book. I will then draft a pattern for the new item to my size and sew up a tester called a muslin in plain fabric just to make sure all the peices fit together properly. Once i’ve made any tweaks to the muslin and pattern, I will sew up a wearable sample in similar fabrics to what I want to use for the final peice. I will wear the sample and see how it feels and looks. Again, I will make any tweaks needed to the fit and look. I will then grade the pattern into all of the different sizes. I source fabrics for the peices and notions such as elastics and laces. I will then sew up a final sample peice in the final fabrics. Like I said, a long process, but it’s so satisfying to see the final product!
What is your favourite set of lingerie that you sell?
My favourite set is the Satin and Tulle Marie Antoinette set. The shape of that particular bra with the cut our feature is my absolute favourite bra of all time! I drafted that bra from an original vintiage bra from the 60’s that I have in my collection, and tweaked it from there. I love the engineering of vintage bras and how they didn’t use underwiring or padding, yet still managed to be supportive and give a great shape – which is everything I hope our bras do!
Where do you see Lucky Sew and Sew going? Is it something you would like to expand the business?
Right now we have just delved into something new and released our first swimwear collection. Since we started making lingerie our friends and family have been asking us about swimwear and we finally found the time to develope the idea. I have been hoarding vintage swimwear sewing patterns for an age, and I took a lot of inspiration from the 70’s. I wanted to make swimwear that was comfortable, fashionable and practical, with a bit of something unexpected thrown in too. \par
We have a few new projects in the pipelines at the moment – laces, embroidery, expanding our bridal knicker range, and (the one i’m most excited about!) nursing bras. I REALLY cannot wait to finish up the samples for the nursing bras, as I am currently breaftfeeding my daughter and it’s something that is close to my heart. I find new projects so exciting!
In the future, I would love to maybe stock a few small boutiques and independant shops. It would be interesting to broaden the horizon and see where it can take us!\par
Tell us a little about a typical day for you
I am usually woken up at around 6.30 by my 3 year old son who has decided it’s time to get up. I coax him into my room for a cuddle then nurse my daughter in bed tucked up (love those morning cuddles). We then get up and have breakfast. Whilst the kids are occupied eating I check emails and social media, write a to-do-list and try and focus on what needs to be done today. I drop my son off at pre-school at 9.15 then head to do some errands. Normally I pop to the post office, the fabric shop if I need any threads etc, grab whatever I need from the shops and then head home. I’m lucky sometimes and my daughter will take a short nap so I can have a short burst of sewing, but that’s not always the case, so I instead try and do the housework whilst she plays around my feet. I pick my son up at 12.15 and head home for lunch. The afternoons normally involve playing with the children – I can’t really work whilst they are both at home and need entertaining! My husband is home at 5 and we all eat dinner together. Then it’s bath and bed time at 6.30 for the kids. My husband and I then workout together and then jump in the shower. Then it’s time for work! I will sew until bedtime at around 10.30/11 before I fall into bed exhausted and my daughter wakes me up to nurse – no rest for the wicked!

You can see the Lucky Sew and Sew shop here as well as Carly’s blog here.

I was sent these items free of charge in exchange for a review… all thoughts and opinions are my own