Fanny’s first blog:

It all started nearly 20 years ago. I was in the habit of buying those cheap little three-packs of undies from the department store that inevitably began to under-perform within weeks of purchase.

The first thing to always go was the stitching that would come away from the elastic leaving a gaping hole between fabric and elastic band. Looked awful and felt worse. Seem familiar?

Frustrated, I decided to spend money and get some decent undies, and bought a pair that looked like it might do the job. I paid $37. Remember, this was 20 years ago!

They were uncomfortable as hell.

I had made underwear in the past so I dusted off the trusty old Elna sewing machine and got cracking.

Finding the right fabric was biggest issue and it took quite a lot a trial and error to finally make a pair that felt right. I can remember them; they were lime green and navy striped, and 100% polyester!

This is when Levana Factory Shop in Levin came to the rescue. They had an amazing selection of gorgeous stretchy cotton that was just perfect. I ran some up and the first person I showed was my mum, who had taught me to sew in the first place. She promptly put in an order (my first ‘customer’, although no money changed hands).

My three sisters subsequently requested new undies also. My young nieces were not too keen on the full brief so they were instrumental in helping me with the hipster design. Now everyone had undies – or did they?

I also have three brothers who wanted to know where their undies were. Back to the Elna and once again, lots of trial and error. Being siblings they were particularly candid about the performance of each draft so I knew that by the time there were no more complaints, I had nailed it.