Ruffle-butt panties and making a slip without a slip pattern

What better to go under a fancy, frilly dress than rhumba panties?  And why pay the internet prices for them, anyway?  I mean, I have a supply of white poly/cotton batiste around here--I buy it either on sale or with a coupon and it averages out to about $1.50/yard.  And it only takes 3/4 yard to make bloomers.  Add my cheap lace and elastic to it, and making a pair might cost a whole $2, not including the $1 I spent on the pattern! And yes, it's McCalls 6345. 

I end up making lots of diaper covers to go under dresses.  It's not something you can buy at the store, and they look much better than having a diaper hanging out from underneath dresses!  Why not make 'em lacy and ruffly?

Most of these kinds of patterns (ruffly patterns, I mean!) have lines for ruffle placement on the pattern.  They help to line up the ruffles and get 'em straight.  I use the embroidery transfer paper to draw the lines on the fabric so I have that guide to pin the ruffles in place.  I really did this with lace so I wouldn't have to hem the ruffles.  I only hemmed the cut edges, and then after the ruffles were sewn down, I pinned all three ruffle edges and the beading edges in a straight line and sewed those down.

I also did the usual and added a bow to the front.  Really, I could have done without it, 'cause it's pretty obvious which side is front, but for pretty!

Now, really-o truly-o slip patterns are few and far between.  And buying them is kind of hard.  I can't find them much in stores anymore--it's like manufacturers have decided that nobody but old ladies wear slips anymore.  There isn't a current pattern, either, and the dress I'm working on needs one.  I have patterns for A-line slips for infants, (and for toddlers, too, truth be told, because they're in my vintage pattern collection) but I wanted something prettier! 

Any sundress or pinafore pattern can be repurposed as a slip.  And that's what I did with Simplicity 9784.  I traced out the correct size and then used a french curve to change the bodice from square to curved so that it would match the slip I'm planning for Bit.  I used beading lace for straps and put it around the top just for pretty. To make sure that it was obvious which side is front, I put bows where the straps meet the bodice.   And since it's lingerie lace, it's nice and soft to avoid the itchies!  I also fully lined the bodice, simply because I hate bias binding things.  I added lace to the bottom so it would match the panties and other slips, and as a final touch. a jinglebell was sewn in.  We are definitely going to be able to find Boo!  See, the week before Christmas, she learned how to crawl, say "Mama", pull herself up, and cruise around the furniture!  It's only a matter of time before she starts walking for real.  So the jinglebells were a definite yes.

This will match Bit's proposed slip, too.  The only difference is it doesn't have darts  and it's a lot smaller!  And just to show how full the crinolines will make the dress, here's all of the slips and crinolines together!

;) Looks like what might go under a ballgown!  One thing you do have to watch for is that the slip should be at least one inch shorter than the dress it's intended to go under.  Which, for me, means that I just have to make sure that the dress is longer than this! 

Bit's undies are currently pinned together on my sewing table, so I'll post in-progress pictures later today.  I tend to sew together everything I can before switching to the serger!