Elysian Bodysuit with lace inserts hack | By Elodie @ElodieBlueberry

This blog post is by the guest Elodie from @Elodieblueberry showing how to create an Elysian Bodysuit with beautiful lace inserts. It's a lovely hack idea to give the Elysian a soft, subtle and feminine vibe, perfect for party season or gorgeous staple pieces in your wardrobe that feel a bit more luxe. Continue reading to find out more.

INTRO:

I am Elodie, a 37 year old woman, living in southern France! I have been passionate about sewing for years now, and I love to sew comfortable and feminine garments.

I am really passionate about sewing all types and variations of body suits! I had an instant crush on the Elysian Bodysuit pattern when it launched, and decided to sew it in the size 50, according to my measurements. I love the shape of the back, and also the beautiful style line/seam detail under the bust. The upper front bodice has two layers, so that it is very comfortable and allows me to wear it without bra. I'm also a huge fan of lace inserts in my handmade garments, so I wanted to share how to alter the pattern slightly to add in some beautiful lace pieces - doing so without changing the silhouette of the original pattern garment.

I will explain the alterations of the pattern so that you can insert lace in the back and in the lower part of the front bodice, as seen in the photo above.

Steps:

First, I cut the pieces of my pattern as follows:

Piece A: Cotton jersey (no alterations)

Piece B : I cut it in two separates pieces, one in lace, and the other one in cotton jersey, as explained below.

Piece C : I cut it in two separates pieces, one in lace, and the other one in cotton jersey, as explained below.

Piece D: Cotton jersey (no alterations)

Piece E: Cotton jersey (no alterations)

Piece G : Lace (no alterations)

Piece H : Cotton jersey (no alterations)

I bought the lace at mercerie extra.com

And the cotton jersey was gifted to me by @fairy factory. Fr (plain fabrics only).

I measured my lace and it was just the right length to be cut as the piece G.

Then I cut the pieces A, D and E and G in my cotton jersey.

For the piece B: I put my lace over my piece « B », just to be measure the way i want to cut the patterns, then I measure the lace the way i want it to appear, so that i can see where I have to draw a line.

Then I cut my B piece into two parts, the upper one for the lace (you will have to add seam allowances in the bottom of the piece, be careful not to forget it!), and the lower one will be cut in the cotton jersey (you will have to add the seam allowances to the upper part there).

For the piece C:

Then I want to put my lace in the back part, to figure out where I want to put the lace. The lace insert in the back will be cut in two pieces, because my lace doesn’t allow me to cut one piece on the fold.

I cut my piece into two parts. Again, when you will cut your lace and your cotton jersey, don’t forget to add the seam allowances (i added seam allowances in the middle of both my lace pieces, and also in the sides where i want to assemble it with my cotton piece, and i added seam allowances on the top of my cotton piece).

Now, every piece of the pattern has been cut, and we will recreate our original pieces in order to follow the instructions of the pattern.

First of all, I sew the back pieces of the lace right sides together in the middle, and then i assemble this triangle to my lower back piece, right sides together.

Then i want to recreate my piece B in one and only piece. I sew the bottom of the lace piece, with the top of the cotton jersey part, right sides together.