I’m pretty sure I’ve used that title before, and will likely use it again. I really like my basics and I like the Shelley pattern by Bra-Makers Supply. Here’s my most recent Shelley:

I need to make some proper-fitting foam inserts for photos. I don’t like all the wrinkles! However, as a bra, this is my best yet. I love it. It’s kind of funny because I saw this lace on the Bra-Makers Supply (BMS) web site, and ordered it right away. When I got it, I was putting it with my other laces, and lo and behold, there was another order I’d placed before for the same lace. Yup. I know I like it when I do that. It wasn’t the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last. I did that with a Merckwaerdigh lace as well.  It’s good to know I really like it.

For this Shelley, I did what I did for the last couple of bras I made. Rather than making alterations to the cup to make the larger cup fit into the smaller cradle (Omega shape), I went in-between the sizes. The cup corresponds to a 42 wire, the cradle I need is a 38. I used the 40 cradle. The wire still fits. In fact, BMS say with their patterns you can go up or down a wire size if you need. That makes it perfect for me. The fewer alterations, the better because one alteration leads to another and another.

I thinned the area under the cup even though I used the larger elastic. You can see that here:

Beverly, The Fairy Bra Mother, did a very informative blog on how to do this and I’ve been doing it since. You can read her wonderful instructions here.

I also lowered the bridge, adjusted for a flat spot I have and added a vertical dart to the pattern to take out a little excess under the arm.

It’s so wonderful to have learned to do this, and from now on I can have perfectly fitting bras. That is tremendous!

Another sparkly idea that came from Beverly was to add some Swarovski crystals to the bra. Pure brilliance. So, I added a little bling to the bra too. This bra has bows and crystals.

I attached these sparkling little delights on the bridge just above a ‘floating’ piece of lace. I say it’s floating because I only sewed the sides of it into the seams of the cup and cradle. I used the Swarovski Hotfix Crystal Tool to attach the crystals and love the result. The only change I’d make here is one that will make it a bit easier for me – attach the crystals before inserting the under wires. However, as much as the tool seemed to want to wobble a bit, the end result looks nice and straight.

The back is quite basic.

There is a small pucker where the hooks and eyes meet the band, but it’s not the very large wrinkle showing in the photo. That was just me not catching that the band wasn’t on Catherine (my dress form) perfectly straight. I was fighting a cold and forgot to check to see if the band fit properly into the hooks and eyes. I think there’s a 1/16″ little tuck there because I  didn’t want any edges sticking out.

Now, for matching panties.

You’d never have known it by following my blog, but I do love matching bra and panty sets. For a long time I was on a quest to find cotton because I love my cotton panties. Once I found my source at BMS, I was working on getting my bra fit down. All the materials for my bras and panties come from BMS except the elastic lace I used on the waist bands – that came from Frog Feathers on Etsy.

Here’s the first pair of panties I did:

I love these. Nice soft cotton and matching pretty lace. Who could ask for more? I used my favorite Kwik Sew 2286 pattern and altered it. I did go up a size because the cotton just didn’t have the same stretch as some other knits I’d used in the past. The alteration I made was a simple one. Rather than cutting the front on the fold, I traced the whole front out and then cut off the one side of the front. I added a seam allowance to both sides creating two new pattern parts.

I did run into a bit of a snag not having thought it all through enough. When I was adding the lace to the waist band, I realized I didn’t want to cut off the scalloped part at the top of the lace. So I just ended the elastic lace where the other lace started. Next time I will add the elastic lace to the band before sewing these two parts together.

Having that little blip happen helped me with my second set of panties though. Here’s my second pair:

Yup. I love these too. It’s the same base pattern, but on this one I traced the front out and laid my lace over it. I wanted the scalloped edge at the top. So with the lace on top of the pattern, I drew a line where the lace ended. Then I traced that part again and added a seam allowance. For this set, I added the back waist elastic first. That wasn’t going to work for the font though. For the front I added a bit of left over upper band elastic. It’s hidden behind the top of the scallops.

Here it is from the inside. I didn’t want to leave the front without any elastic, even though the lace is a stretch lace.

Here they are, my two new matching panties.

Happy creating!