Booby Traps’ Dart Pattern and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

Recently I saw a Booby Traps pattern for sale and thought it was quite nice. There are some similarities to the Pin-Up Girls Classic pattern from what I could see – a lace upper cup and an one-piece lower cup.

btd

Seeing as I have a bit of a pattern addiction, I was thinking of picking one up. This one was a private sale, and not my size, so I went to visit their web site. After looking at the patterns, I checked to see if they shipped internationally. On the FAQ page it says:

Where do you ship to?

We ship within Australia and to New Zealand. 

Shipping outside these Countries is currently not available. 

Hmm. I’m never one to be deterred when I want something, so I sent them an email and asked if they mailed their patterns to Canada. The answer I got was: ‘Yes’. Great!

When I was sending off my initial email, I thought I’d throw out a hopeful idea just in case they didn’t post to Canada – I asked if they were going to introduce PDF patterns. Another yes! In fact, it was only weeks away at the time. That’s even better than shipping to Canada! For almost the same price I’d spend to buy a pattern and have it shipped, I could buy two PDF patterns.

I know. I said I don’t like PDF patterns, but a bra pattern is different. I’m not dealing with large pattern pieces, and there’s not usually much taping involved. I’m okay with a PDF bra pattern. However, I did just see a brilliant post by Sigrid on how to use a PDF pattern and not have to deal with a bunch of taping. You can read about it on her blog here. It’s really brilliant. I just may love PDF patterns again.

Back to bra patterns. The B003 wasn’t the pattern I chose to try. I chose the Dart bra.

dee_19714_products_hi_res_364_-_copy_3_2

20150529_104101_1

Isn’t that a beautiful bra? I love that lace in the second photo. It’s just incredible.

So, the first thing I had to do with my Dart bra pattern was grade it up. I’ve graded other patterns up, so that wasn’t too hard. The next thing was to make adjustments to the pattern to fit an Omega shape. Sigh. That’s harder. The good news there is I have lots of experience! A few years of it, in fact.

take-two-lots-of-pining

There are a lot of darts that aren’t part of the original pattern in this photo. The good thing about trying a test cup on over an existing bra is the wire line is there and the correct shape for me. That really helps me know where to take a little more away from the outside of the pattern.

After the third set of alterations, I was beginning to wonder if this bra will work for me. Then some inspiration hit. I’d make a pattern from my Shelley pattern that fits; I’d make it out of cut-and-sew foam and then just put a dart in it.

Comparison

Well, that didn’t work either.

I’m not one to give up easily, so, I even-more-carefully-than-the-first-time re-drew the graded-up pattern. That’s when I took a few minutes to play with my pup and got bit. Yup. Same hand I’ve been trying to get better now has one more hurting spot.  Did I sigh already?

I sewed up the cup (at this point, I think I was on tester cup six), and it looked good. I was ready to cut into my good lace.

looks-pretty-good

always-too-big-under-the-ar

I’m also hoping that the extra material there under the arm will be taken away with the elastic and gathering that is done there. That’s one area that’s always too big for me on patterns. I’d already put a dart in the pattern there, so didn’t want to shorten it anymore.

So, how is my Dart bra doing? Well, I’ll show you how far I got.

lace-not-long-enough

I tried three different non-stretch laces. This is my widest non-stretch lace. I don’t have a lace that will work for this pattern… in my size. I thought about aligning the upper edge of the cup with the top scallop of the lace rather than the bottom, but this cup was already going to sit low on me. Still not quite ready to give up, I checked Bra-Makers Supply and they only carry 5″ or 6″ non-stretch lace. I checked Etsy, but not much there – I found two. I didn’t love either of them.  I have to admit defeat – at least for now.

I think I’ll pack this pattern away. The only sewing accomplishment I’ve had this week was to put some flexible wires into some bras I’d made before, and now they’ll go from my to-be-repaired pile back into my lingerie drawer.

bras-with-new-wires

Let’s put my sewing week behind us and move onto the Bra-A-Week challenge! This is my last week hosting the challenge. I’ve had so much fun seeing all the incredible bras and lingerie being made by such talented creative people. Next week the challenge will be back in the hands of the ever-so-talented and capable Emerald Erin!

Our first submission comes from Amber. Amber made a Pin-Up-Girls with a downward hike, and the front made to look like a demi bra following instructions in Bra Makers Manual. She also added a nursing sling made from 15 denier- which she said she would not do again!

Amber-bra-and-panty

And the upper cup is white duoplex, that has been printed with a rubber stamp and fabric markers. What a great idea! It’s so pretty.

Amber-bra

Isn’t that lovely? That makes me want to go out and buy fabric markers and stamps, Amber. Amber’s panties are drafted from Beverly Johnson’s Make and Fit Panties. What a lovely set, Amber.

Our next submission comes from Maddy. Maddy made a yellow lace Marlborough for her sister for her birthday. She says it fits her so well and she was super happy with it! Maddy was also pleased with the finish – she covered the side seams with left over underwire channeling to make everything clean and tidy. I know how that feels. There’s just something to making it as pretty on the inside as it can possibly be. That is so pretty, Maddy.

yellow-bra

Next from Maddy still is a pair of Ohhh Lulu Alice tap pants. Maddy bought a gorgeous torsolette a while ago, and although she loves it, couldn’t  justify buying the matching underwear. So she made my own! The colour match is almost perfect, and they’re actually super practical for wearing over the suspender straps.

tap-pants

Gorgeous, Maddy! You’ll have to subscribe to read about these on Maddy’s blog, Miss Maddy Sews, as she hasn’t posted about them yet. If you go right away, you might still be able to enter her give-away!

Happy creating!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

8 thoughts on “Booby Traps’ Dart Pattern and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

  1. I somehow think darted cup will not fit omega shape. At least this is what my logic on geometry thinks. For omega shape you need to reduce the cup length around the breast root, right? Usualy this is done in cup seams. more seams, the better. Darted cup is one seam only, that’s why reducing the length at breast root is very difficult. Michelle, would you post an article about what alterations you do for omega shape? I for one would realy enjoy that kind of post. Do no be upset this one didn’t come to be a finished bra. Best bras are not darted, at least this is my humble opinion. Shape is made out of seams, and not one dart! Bras you have made are proof of that!

    1. Yes, I agree the darted cup will not fit an omega shape. But it was so pretty, I wanted to try it. And you are right – the length around the root needs to be reduced in the cup – that’s it exactly. That’s a great idea to do a post on the alterations needed for an omega shape. Thank you!

  2. Lovely things this week! And I truly admire your perseverance on your new pattern- I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to make it work- I’m surprised that using your shelly and darting it didn’t work- but at the same time, I think with your omega shape, the more seaming and the more shaping that you can add to the cup, the better the fit will be! It’s hard to put all that shape into one dart.

    and of course a massive THANK YOU again for being my summer host! 🙂 You’re the best!! 🙂 🙂

    1. Aren’t the submissions lovely? There are some amazingly talented sewists/designers out there. I agree, I think with an omega shape, one dart won’t do it. But it was so pretty….

      I’m so glad I was able to help you out! It was fun. 🙂

  3. You’ve done such a hard work, Michelle! The darted pattern is beautiful, it’s a pitty you couldn’t find the right lace for it, after all the alterations you did! I’m curious about what method do you use for grading bra patterns… At the lingerie course I took, the teacher explained a really simple method (just adding a few millimeters here and there) but I think it works better for soft bras (at least, it has never produced good results for me when I tried it with an underwired bra pattern). I’d love to hear the suggestions of an expert! 😉

    There are some lovely submissions this week!. I love the printed duoplex from Amber, it’s so creative! Maddy’s lacy bra is gorgeous as always, and the tap pants match the torsolette beautifully. Lucky girl!
    You’ve done a great job hosting the bra-a-week 🙂 My summer journeys stopped me from sewing more, but now that I’m home I’m s excited to get back to the challenge!

    1. Sofia, I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful submissions to the Challenge. You do such lovely work too. How I grade up a pattern is by looking at the distance between each part.

      Next week I’ll show how I grade a pattern up. And I really don’t feel like an expert – just someone who has challenges fitting and had to learn through trial and error. 🙂

  4. Hi! I just ordered the dart pattern for download. It’s comes in a weird size and I think that I will have to have it printed professionally. Do you have the same issue?

    Karen

    1. Hi Karen,

      Yes, I had to take a USB with the pattern on it to Staples to get it printed. I didn’t have any of those sizes as options on my home computer. I hope you enjoy the Dart pattern. It’s lovely.

Comments are closed.