Sewing your own lingerie is very trendy right now! Whether panties, bralettes, boxers, rule panties... there are many patterns and posts about it.

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

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

 Let's go!

What elastics are used in lingerie?

Several elastics 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 thigh... hence their importance in lingerie!
Let's look together at the most commonly used elastics: 

1. Classic lingerie elastic

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

2. The so-called fancy elastic 

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

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

3. Foldable elastic or pre-folded elastic bias tape 

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 woven fabric cut raw. The most common ones are satin and have a fairly visible central line that will allow you to fold the elastic over your fabric.  What I appreciate about this type of elastic is that they come in several colors on the one hand, but there are also many fancy ones: with gold/silver lines, in lurex... in short, plenty to be creative!

4. The cavalier elastic

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

5. The elastic for straps 

As their name indicates, 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. The boxer elastic 

These elastics that are wider and softer 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. The laminette 

The laminette is a thin rubber strip. It comes in two forms: transparent and non-transparent (most often white). It is often used in swimsuits because it resists heat and chlorine. The transparent one is also used in lingerie because it supports lace edges while remaining invisible. It is also this laminette that is used to support knit fabrics (shoulders of t-shirts, sweatshirts...). 

Which elastic to use to make panties?

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

To choose the width, refer to the person you are sewing for: a child, an adult? but also a slim or overweight person? 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 observe their most comfortable commercial underwear and measure the elastics. This will give you an idea of what suits you best. 

To keep it simple, for classic and picot elastics choose a size between 5 and 12mm; 10mm elastics suit the majority. 

For elastic bias, there are several widths: generally 15, 19, 20 or 25 mm. Generally, all these sizes suit all body types, the only exception being for the waist, a wider elastic bias will be more comfortable in case of overweight. If you use elastic bias to sew the bra neckline, choose a thinner bias, unless you want a "sporty" look. 

Finally, let’s not forget the gentlemen and the famous elastics for boxers. For adults and teens, choose a width between 3 cm and 4 cm. For small children, and depending on their size, take elastics with a width between 2.5 cm and 3 cm.

How to apply elastics to make your panties?

To sew elastics, you will need to choose an elastic stitch to maintain their elasticity. The two most used stitches are zigzag stitches but also the triple stitch. 

I invite you to join Charlotte Jaubert, teacher at Artesane, who explains how to apply elastics

- picot elastic at 0:50 in the video

- simple at 7:00 in the video

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

and the bonus at 14:14 with the making of the little lingerie bow which most often hides the elastic joints. 

Here, 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 am delighted to offer you lots of new products! 

Get your needles ready!