Earlier this month, I mentioned that I will be fully diving into sewing lingerie and shared a few free bra sewing patterns I will be trying for #BRAugust this year. In addition to sewing bras, I also made a goal to sew the Coherence Panty and Arccos Undies sewing patterns by Sophie Hines this year. And I did it! In this post, I am sharing how the Coherence Panty and Arccos Undies fit, as well as some details on my construction of these underwear.

My body measurements

For reference, my measurements are as follows:

Waist = 25.5"

High Hip = 33"

Full Hip = 36.5"

To be specific, my high hip measurement is taken over the bony part of my hips (i.e. the crest of my pelvic bone). My full hip measurement is taken over the most fleshy part of my butt (i.e. fullest part of my glutes).

After comparing my body measurements with the size chart provided, I chose to cut both the Coherence Panty and the Arccos Undies in a size S.

Sewing my undies

top down view of my workspace with a sewing planner open and the coherence panty on the sewing machine

Fabric

My Arccos undies and Coherence Panty are made with a cotton-blend jersey knit with 50% stretch for the FRONT, BACK and OUTER CROTCH pieces. The INNER CROTCH is cut from an organic bamboo jersey that is a remnant from Sophie Hine's Euler Bralette kit.

The fold over elastic (FOE) I used is 7/8" wide.

Size cut & modifications

I made my Arccos undies and Coherence Panty in size S with no modifications

Construction modifications

While I made zero changes to the pattern, I made some changes to the construction technique suggested in the instructions. The pattern suggests using a 3-step zig-zag stitch for sewing. Since the 3-step zig-zag (aka multi-step zig-zag) does not work on my vintage Singer CM 17, I simply used a regular zig-zag stitch in a short width and short stitch length for the same function. Did it work? Absolutely!

Work in progress - sewing the Coherence Panty

When it comes to sewing the fold over elastic (FOE), Sophie also suggested sandwiching the fabric between the folded FOE and then sewing everything together in a single step. I found this method a little too finnicky, so I did this over a number of different steps.

Here's how I did it:

Note: RS = right side; WS = wrong sides; FOE = fold over elastic

Step 1: Sew the FOE together, RS together using straight stitches with a 3/8" seam allowance and trim corners as per pattern instruction

Step 2: Place FOE and fabric WS together, with the edge of the fabric aligned to the foldline of the FOE

Fold the seam of the short edge of the FOE open before pinning the FOE to the fabric

Step 3: Sew the fabric and FOE together using zig-zag stitches. Overlap the stitches at the start and end of the round.

Place the fabric facing up when sewing so you can make sure that the zig-zag stitches go over the edge of the fabric

Step 4: Fold the FOE towards the RS of the fabric and stitch in place

Use zig-zag stitches

Place the fabric RS facing up when sewing so you can ensure that the zig-zag stitches go over the edge of the FOE

How the Coherence Panty and Arccos Undies fit

The fit of these underwear is just as expected based on Sophie's modelled photos of the Coherence Panty and the Arccos Undies. Size S for both patterns fit my body just right without any bagging or excessive digging.

Difference in cut between Coherence and Arccos

While there is no major fitting issues with both the Coherence Panty and the Arccos Undies, there are some differences in fit due to the difference in style of these 2 underwear. Remember that:

Arccos = hiphugger

Coherence = cheekies

Personally, I prefer the front height of the Coherence and the back coverage of the Arccos. Here's how they fit on my body specifically:

Arccos: Front sits right below my hipbone, back portion almost fully covers my butt

Coherence: Front sits slightly above my hipbone, back portion covers about 3/4 of my butt

How the Coherence Panty fit - front view

My fit preference

Based on industry standard sizes, I have a larger hip than the average person with the size of my upper body. My full hips are... for the lack of a better word... full. Because of that, the cheekies style of the Coherence cuts into my buttocks a little more than I would like. Wearing jeans or a full skirt over the Coherence would be fine, but I won't get a streamlined silhouette with a close-fitting pencil skirt over the Coherence. So, if you have fuller buttocks and want to avoid an uneven silhouette, a cheekies style like the Coherence Panty may not be your top choice.

That said, both the Arccos and the Coherence feature a full coverage on the crotch so there's no annoying wedgie potential when I wear these underwear and do fun things like squat to unload the bottom rack of the dishwasher!

Working towards the "perfect" fit

I would definitely make the Arccos Undies again! Unfortunately, the Coherence Panty doesn't give me a fit that I will go for again. Perhaps there is a way to combine both patterns so I can have a front rise like the Coherence and a back coverage like the Arccos? You know I love to pattern hack! You can count on me to share the hacking tutorial when it happens. Hopefully, the combination of both the Arccos and the Coherence will allow me to have a "perfect" fit.

Pattern details

The Arccos Undies: a classic, hipperhugger style underwear

Price: USD 8 (PDF pattern)

Size range: 24" - 38" waist, 34" - 49" full hip

The Coherence Panty: a cheeky cut boyshort style underwear