Sewing your own lingerie is very trendy right now! Whether it's panties, bralettes, boxers, period panties... there are tons of patterns and posts about it.

But sewing necessarily means having the right materials... while choosing the fabric is quite obvious, well... choosing elastic bands is much more complicated; and for good reason, there are many types! You might be tempted to think that an elastic is just an elastic, but no!… 

In this article, I invite you to discover the most commonly used elastic bands in lingerie. We will cover elastics used for panties (thongs, strings...), for bralettes and bras, and let's not forget the gentlemen with boxer/brief elastics.  

Let's get started!

What elastic bands are used in lingerie?

Several elastic bands are used in lingerie. Their purpose is to hold the underwear in place. Without elastic, you would have to keep pulling up your panties and there would be no support around the thighs... hence their importance in lingerie!
Let's look together at the most commonly used elastics: 

1. The classic lingerie elastic

This one has a soft, slightly fuzzy side that will be against the skin. The other side can be rougher or satin-like depending on the elastic. It is sewn flat. 

2. Fancy elastic 

There are several types of fancy elastics: picot, ruched, gathered... The most known and used are picot elastics which decorate the waist and thigh edges and are also very useful in bra making. They come in different widths, with more or less decorated edges depending on your taste. 

You will find many picot elastics in the shop in various colors to match your fabrics. 

3. Fold-over elastic or pre-folded elastic bias 

These elastics are meant to be sewn like bias tape, that is, folded over the raw edge of the fabric. They are often used in lingerie to finish the edge of lace or cut fabric. The most common ones are satin and have a fairly visible central line that helps fold the elastic over your fabric.  What I like about this type of elastic is that they come in several colors but also many fancy versions: with gold/silver lines, lurex... plenty to be creative!

4. Cavalier elastic

These elastics, like fold-over elastics, are meant to be placed folded over (hence the name 😊) the raw edges of fabrics. They are used like fold-over elastics, but are often a bit prettier because they usually have a small embroidered decoration. 

5. Strap elastic 

As the name suggests, these elastics are used to make straps! These elastics are of course used in lingerie, but they can also be used in clothing, especially to make thin straps for tops and tank tops.   

 6. Boxer elastic 

These elastics are wider and softer and are used to make the elastic waistbands of boxers or briefs. They come in several colors and can also be used in clothing, especially to make skirts.   

7. Laminette

Laminette is a thin rubber band. It comes in two forms: transparent and opaque (usually white). It is often used in swimwear because it resists heat and chlorine. The transparent one is also used in lingerie because it supports lace edges while remaining invisible. This laminette is also used to support knit fabrics (shoulders of t-shirts, sweatshirts...). 

Which elastic to use for making panties?

Their purpose is to tighten and hold the fabric edges around the thighs, but also around the waist so the bottom stays in place despite all our movements. 

To choose the width, consider the person you are sewing for: a child, an adult? but also a slim or fuller figure? Indeed, the width partly determines comfort. The width of the elastic is proportional to the size — in other words, the larger the size, the wider the elastic used.  However, it is important to refer to the person who will wear the underwear; a good tip is to look at their most comfortable commercial underwear and measure the elastics. This will give you an idea of what suits best. 

Simply put, for classic and picot elastics choose a width between 5 and 12mm; 10mm elastics suit most people. 

For elastic bias tape, there are several widths: generally 15, 19, 20, or 25 mm. Usually, all these sizes suit all body types, the only exception being for the waist, where a wider elastic bias will be more comfortable for fuller figures. If you use elastic bias to sew bra necklines, choose a narrower bias unless you want a "sporty" look. 

Finally, let's not forget the gentlemen and the famous boxer elastics. For adults and teens, choose a width between 3 cm and 4 cm. For small children, depending on their size, choose elastics between 2.5 cm and 3 cm wide.

How to sew elastics to make your panties?

To sew elastics, you need to choose an elastic stitch to maintain their stretchiness. The two most used stitches are zigzag and triple stitch. 

I invite you to join Charlotte Jaubert, instructor at Artesane, who explains how to sew elastics

- picot elastic at 0:50 in the video

- simple elastic at 7:00 in the video

- pre-folded bias at 10:03 in the video and 12:26 sewing in one go like for cavalier elastic

and the bonus at 14:14 with making the little lingerie bow that often hides the elastic joins. 

There you go, I hope this article has given you more knowledge about the elastics available for making lingerie. You will find a selection of elastics in the shop to make your underwear 😊 and I’m happy to offer you lots of new products! 

Get your needles ready!