MYOG – 1.5 Ounce Briefs
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I just finished making my first pair of Boxer/Briefs. I call them that since the legs are longer than on my true briefs. They look a little like a bathing suit. Enough like a bathing suit that I might take a picture wearing them and post it.
I made this pair to check my pattern to see how they fit. They are 8" long on the outside of the legs. No fly and cord elastic in the waist band. The sewing part was easy. For this pair I used some Patagonia Silk Weight yardage that I bought from Outdoor Wilderness Fabric.
They call it "Wickway Pique" (Name Brand – ask). It is $5.25 a running yard and comes in a lot of different colors.
I am a size medium and the Briefs weigh 1.5 ounces. The size "M" took 0.43 sq yards of material. They fit nice and if you wanted something cheap but Silk Weight Capilene you could go for a pair of these.
The weight for a pair of the briefs using this pattern and my scrap #2 wool would come to about 4 ounces.
I was asked this question on my Blog so I thought I would post my reply here also.
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"I'm trying to tell, the pattern you worked up, do you have the seam running just along the outside of the legs? Aka is your cut pattern somewhat hourglass shaped?"
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You are correct about the hour-glass shape. The seams are on the "outside" side of the legs. I tried to sew a hem on the leg openings but it didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped. Sewing around a curve is not a strong point of mine. I also did not leave enough of a "hem" allowance to pin it. On the next pair I will try and cut the material so there is no curve at that part.
Making the pattern in "one piece" really made it easy to sew. To make a pattern to fit you I would suggest that you take a pair of your briefs or boxers that you like the fit of and put them on. Decide how long you want the outer sides to be and write that length down. Then measure around your legs at that point for the leg opening and write that down. This would be different for almost everyone. The leg opening has no elastic as I wanted a boxer type leg opening. Also easier since there is no elastic to sew on the material. Measure your waist size, write that down also. Measure from the middle of your waist to your crouch and write that down.
Divide your waist size and leg opening in half. Draw out your pattern using my photo as a guide. Add 1" seam allowance on all outside edges but leave 2 inches at the waist. This extra for the waist is so you have enough room for the draw cord elastic or what ever you use. If you know how to sew elastic – I don't – then use elastic if you want. The width at the crouch or the center part of the "hour-glass" was an estimate but you can see it is, more or less the same, as that area on the white briefs in the photo.
Before you sew anything pin the side seams and try them on. My first pair was to tight so I added 1 inch to each side. You can see in a photo where I added extra to each side on the pattern. Except for the waist all hems are 1/4 to 3/8 inches folded twice to hide the raw edge of the fabric. I fold and pin the hems to make it easier to control the fabric.
If you use the Capilene material it has some stretch in it so if you get close it should be OK. If you can sew then you should be able to go from here. If you don't sew then get some really cheap fabric and practice with it first.
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