Sewing Underwear for Men Gerald 3885 by Jalie

Sewing Underwear for Boys and Men 

Recently I’d been asked to repair a pair of knit boxers for one of our grown boys.  Apparently they cost $35!!!! so I couldn’t wait to see them!  OMG they were quite something, with strategic smooth seams, soft silky knit fabric, no “fly”, and cover-stitched hems. Here’s a pic of the $35 pair. Time for me to be sewing underwear for these guys!

I checked on the Jalie website and sure enough, there was Gerald #3885 in the same style, and 27 sizes are included. 

Jalie’s Description of Gerald 3885

A versatile pattern that can be used as underwear, for swim trunks and as leggings. Encased elastic at waist and three length options: briefs, mid-thigh shorts and long johns / leggings. It has two contoured pouch options (with horizontal fly (B) or seamless (A)) and clever seam placement for fit and comfort.

RECOMMENDED FABRIC; Knit with 50% stretch in the width AND length and good recovery (cotton spandex, nylon/spandex, stretch fleece for the long johns).

My Take on Sewing Underwear for the Guys

1. First I printed off the pattern and taped the pieces together.  I had the repaired underwear of one son here as a guide for sizing, and chose to print off just a few sizes at what I guessed would be close to make my tracing easier.  His older brother is a couple of sizes larger.  
2. After printing, I traced off sizes “Z” and “BB”, in the boxer brief length, view “A”, dug into my bin of knit scraps and pulled out a chunk of ITY in a paisley print that was large enough for both pairs. (What is ITY fabric? The initials stand for interlock twist yarn and that little twist feature helps this fabric be cool, elastic and feel soft to the touch. It is a fabric that is easy to work with and the fabric does a great job when used for tops, dresses, and underwear, lol.)I wrote an article about ITY fabric, click here to read it.
3. Cutting out was quick and easy, and I made sure to keep the pieces of the 2 sizes separate after cutting.
4. Construction was a breeze, I used my serger for all the seams, then cover-stitched over the serged seams so they’d be flat.  Some seams were cover-stitched with the good side up and some with the wrong side up.  These were experiments, and the feedback I get from the guys will determine which is the most comfortable.
5. I like the enclosed elastic feature, as it makes the waist very smooth against the skin.
6. The hems were fuse basted, then triple cover-stitched.

These were gifted yesterday for Christmas 2020 and I admit to being a bit nervous about how they’d react, but no worries.  They guys were appreciative and promised to let me know about sizing and fit.  I’d like to make more, so am looking forward to their feedback.

Here’s the link to Jalie’s website where you can purchase this pattern.