Life can be pretty hectic nowadays and all the impressions of real life plus life on-screen keep buzzing around in your brain when you could really do with a good night sleep … It doesn’t help to hardly ever have the surrounding calming dark, there is always some light on somewhere to prevent you to fall asleep. A well-fitting sleeping mask might do the trick and I will show you how to make this yourself!  It’s really not that hard to do and once the materials are in place it will take you an hour of your time, maybe a few hours if you don’t have much experience behind a sewing machine. T ..read more

Some years ago (2016 to be precise) I developed an easy-to-do-by-yourself Mini-course for panties : pre-drafted basic Master pattern included and ready to download PDF file. And now there is another one ready for the THONG! The Mini-Course THONG is now available in the Merckwaerdigh shop on Etsy among other mini-courses for bras! You can download each Mini-Course right after your payment and can work with the whole mini-course all by yourself, it’s that easy to follow! All the mini-courses are an easier version of a completely ‘starting from scratch’ course.  You don’t have to do all the ..read more

Did you come across a bra sewing pattern with a lovely cup but didn’t like the band that much (or the other way around)? Well, in many cases you can exchange the cups or band with another bra pattern. Or even with a pattern for a corset or bodysuit … endless possibilities! A FREE pdf file about this matter is available for download on the Merckwaerdigh FREE downloads page! Let me show you step by step what to consider in this process: The same bra size for both patterns! This might seem obvious but is easily overlooked when you get caught up in choosing between a lot of different designs. An u ..read more

Do you also get overwhelmed sometimes when working on a new bra or other lingerie? All these tiny details … it can be hard at times to get a grip on it. That’s why I’ve developed a practical guide to STRUCTURE a DIY lingerie project in 6 STEPS and it is now available in the Merckwaerdigh  shop on platform Etsy! But what is this new Lingerie Project Planner all about you might wonder? It is a whole new concept specially set up for the lingerie hobby seamstress, just to make the sewing life a bit easier. You can use it to try out a new pattern you bought or when you like to make some c ..read more

Sewing patterns for women are usually drafted for a full body height of 168cm. Sometimes an adjustment in height would be a good idea for taller or shorter women. I thought it would be a good idea to share some information about this in a FREE printable available to download for everybody. You might even find some more Free Downloads there that might interest you! Specially for a swim- or bodysuit the fabric should fit smoothly, that’s why stretch fabrics are being used for this. This stretchability also will cover a lot of other full body heights but when the difference is too much you might ..read more

Recently I’ve been checking all the Merckwaerdigh designs that have not been published as a sewing pattern yet. Back in the days I organised quite a lot of lingerie home-parties to sell my handmade lingerie. It was a lot of fun and I owe most of my lingerie-making skills to that period (in the past century, really feeling old mentioning this …). But also I was hardly as organised as I am now … Which shows in the collection of patterns from that time. They are not the neat gradually progressing ‘nest’ of sizes as I use for the sewing patterns in the Merckwaerdigh shop on the Etsy platform. So t ..read more

The seam allowance around bra sewing patterns is much more narrow than the seam allowance for clothes. Do you wonder why? Well, the outlines of bra patterns are mostly round, very round. Specially the cup parts and cut-out in the band are almost circle shaped. This will happen when you add a seam allowance : The cup : at the rounding that fits under the breast (where the underwires would be) the outline will get wider and longer in length. The band : at the round cut-out (where the cup has to be sewn in) the outline will get narrower and less in length. This can cause problems when you try to ..read more

Sewing swimwear is very simular to sewing lingerie. You can easily exchange most patterns for example. It’s mainly the materials that make the difference. I thought it would be a good idea to share some information about the ins and outs in a FREE printable available to download for everybody. You might even find some more Free Downloads there that might interest you! As for sewing swimwear first we should take a look at the differences between swimwear and beachwear. As it turns out the qualifications for fabrics in beachwear are less severe than the ones for daily swimming. Problem is; visu ..read more

Compared to the rather functional daily bras in the post-war era, modern bras tend look more fashionable.This is mainly because bras nowadays show much more décolleté  in the top part of the bra. To get this effect the straps are not placed at the center of the cup top edge but more towards the arm. Still the best support from a bra strap to keep the cups (and the breasts for that matter …) up instead of sagging down is to attach the strap in a straight line from above the nipple to halfway the shoulder. The more a strap is attached beside this imaginary line the less support it will prov ..read more

I’m a real ‘Busy Bee’ this Summer if I may say so! Just 2 months ago the digital DIY Bra Full-Course was released and now already another of the popular digital Mini-Courses is ready … This Mini-Course Slipdress is now available in the Merckwaerdigh  shop on platform Etsy! But what is this new Mini-Course all about you might wonder? It is a whole new concept where the slipdress Master pattern is devided into 5 sections, each addition creating a different type of garment : Bralette Crop top Top Tunica Slipdress If you don’t know anything about the previous mini-courses I can imagin ..read more