Halla Knotty Pants Take Three

I’ll be honest, it might actually be take four, or maybe even five. I think I’ve blocked a few of them out. But! I’ve finished them and they fit just how I want.

I didn’t want them to be tight. Oh my! No! I wanted them to skim over my hips and my thighs so I’d feel they flattered my figure. And I have that now.

I’ll try to get a couple of photos for you soon with me wearing them, but for now we’ll have to use the mannequin. I made a few more alterations. I added more length to the rise, and went up a size in the hip to get the results I wanted.

As well, I didn’t do the flirty little side opening. I love it, but it’s still winter here. We have a lot of snow on the ground. So I’ll save that fun feature for summer pants. So I now have a great basic pattern for knit pants, with a very fun optional side slit.

To deal the the difference between my hips and waist, I added back darts to the pants. There was just no way the waistband was going to go on smoothly otherwise.

I also used my coverstitch option on my serger for the first time. It worked well, but it’s very different from the other coverstitch machine I had. I had to downsize in our move, so traded that machine as my serger has both functions. It was a bit of a struggle, but I have a few RTW pairs of pants just waiting to be hemmed. I’ll get more practice in soon.

I have to admit, bra sewing is my passion. I don’t LOVE other clothing sewing as much. I’ll be getting more practice though. I’ve signed up for the Cashmerette Sloper School. Sewing up my sloper will be another March project.

Good thing I have a bralette to make for Em this month. I think I need to sew something for me too. Is bra-sewing withdrawal a thing?  

Happy creating!!

Ron Collins Class

I was looking through the calendar of classes offered by Central Sewing  and saw one I just had to take. Pattern Alterations and Body Measurements for the Right Fit.  The photo is from the Central website.

This was a great class, and Ron is just wonderful! He took us through a number of common adjustments, and also a few that weren’t in the course material but we either asked about, or he knew we needed.

One example of that was when he mentioned sloping shoulders and looked right at me. What? I didn’t know I had sloping shoulders. Turns out I do have one. Yeah, not both, just one. 

I came home and looked in the mirror. Yup. I do. Thankfully he covered that alteration.

Other alterations were FBA, SBA (small bust adjustment) which was something I’ve never done, flat seat, full butt, large arm. There were more too.

 The last part of the class was all of us measuring one another and writing down our measurements.

Armed with my measurements, knowing how much ease is in fitted, semi-fitted, and loose garments – all that was covered too. I’m feeling ready to work on my pants pattern again.

Ron even recommended a jeans pattern for me. Pull on style, which is exactly what I was wanting. I’ll be trying the Elenora jeans by Jalie soon. I’ll finish my Halla pants first. 

I’ll also be looking at the calendar again to see when Ron is back. I loved his class, and he’s a fantastic instructor. 

Happy creating!  

Halla Knotty Pants

Well, I’m working away on my 2024 sewing resolutions. I’ve finished one pair of pants. Do they fit? Yes, but I still want to make them fit a little looser and more flowy than they fit at present.

For my first pair I made the Halla Knotty Pants. Here’s a photo from their website. knotty pants for women

Don’t you love that knot feature? These pants really are a favorite of mine. I really love the little side slit that can be left open or tied at the ankle. It’s such a fun little detail – but I will admit it is much better suited to summer than winter!

Here are my Knottoy Pants. What I’ve learned so far for fitting pants is, I need to lengthen the rise, adjust for full thighs, and a sway back. But I’m getting there!

This material is a gorgeous 12 oz cotton Lycra from Funky Monkey fabrics. It’s a great winter weight fabric. Here’s the side view of the pants. You can see at the bottom I have them tied up. It was too cold to have them open. You do not want to know what the temperature has been like here!

Here’s a close up of the opening and the knot. It would work wonderfully in a drapey fabric, but as you can see it works in a CL as well.

   Lastly here is the back view. I do like these, but I really want a more flowy drapey look. So I’ll be working on making a few more adjustments to these – but not so much for fit. More for style this time.

Happy creating!

Cashmerette Montrose Woven Top

I mentioned in a recent post that I’m taking the TomKat Stitchery’s Pattern Fitting 101: Demystifying Fit Head to Toe digital course.

The first garment we sew is a woven top. We sew up a wearable muslin, make a few changes, and then sew up another top with whatever adjustments that were needed.

I chose Cashmerette patterns because they have C-H cup sizes included. Oh, I’m thankful for that! I’ve done Full Bust Adjustments before, and it so nice these patterns have already done that work.

The Montrose Top is so pretty. I’ve been looking at it for a while now, but tend to stay away from woven garments. But no more! I’m tackling that challenge.

Honestly, I think I fell in love with the lace here, but our first assignment was a woven top, and this does fit that.

My first attempt was too big in the neck and shoulders.

The rest of the top did fit. I merged different sizes for my upper chest, full bust, waist, and hips. Goodness, no wonder I stay away from sewing something so fitted as a woven. 

But I’m learning to fit me with this course using woven fabrics too.I love that little keyhole design on the back.   

Next I’ll show you the well-fitting Montrose.

Happy creating!

Faux Silk Tap Pants

I really loved the Tap Pants I made, but wanted to make a couple of changes. I wanted them really flowy, and wanted to take the waist in a bit more.

So I had some faux silk fabric I’d bought on sale and thought it would be perfect for testing some changes to the pattern. It was.These are very flowy and I don’t think I’ll need to make any other changes to the pattern. And, I can finally throw out that terribly worn slip. The one big difference between the culotte slip I had and this is the old RTW one didn’t have a front or back seam. 

However, after looking at what was available in RTW, I wasn’t finding anything I was happy with. Most of what is out there now are compressive style shorts. I wanted something much more comfortable than that.

These fit the bill perfectly.

Happy creating!

A Perfect Freja Bra

I’ve just had the best couple of days sewing. My niece wanted to learn to sew a bra but we live in different provinces. So we did video sewing. We’re already talking about what and when we’re going to sew next.

My niece sewed up a Classic pattern from BMS. I wasn’t interested in sewing the same pattern though. What I sewed up actually came from Bodil of B,Wear. She had suggested I try the Freja pattern from BMS. She thought it would be a good fit for me.

FREJA Bra PATTERN  A Pin Up Girls Original Pattern image 1I had tried the pattern once before and the cups were too small for me. I hadn’t gone back to the pattern. I decided it was time to try it again.

Here’s the first Freja I made.Oh, I loved the lace and the copper duoplex together. I was sad it didn’t fit perfectly. 

One of the reasons I wanted to re-try the Freja is one of my favorite RTW bras was the Fantasie Vivienne bra.  I loved the shaping of this bra, and the Freja is very close to the same shaping.

This time I went up a size in BCD and the cups are perfect!  Here’s my new Freja.I had this lovely pink kit from BMS so decided to use it for my second attempt of the Freja. It’s lovely!I could use the tip from Porcelynne on the side  here – to add another strip of channeling beside the wire channeling and add boning there. However, when I was wearing this it wasn’t bothering me that the wire is a little lower at the side.I’m really happy with how the Freja fits. Yes, there’s a little playing around I can do to help my Omega shape fit even better, but for an attempt I wasn’t sure would turn out better than the first time, I’m very happy.Next I’m thinking of making a pair of panties to match. 

It was wonderful to sew again. Wearing the splint, I’m slowly gaining movement in my thumb again. Thankfully, I can sew while wearing it.

Happy creating!

Making a Foam Lined Bra

I had been asked a few questions on how to make a foam lined bra. Here’s what I’ve been doing.

The first thing I do is take my pattern pieces and mark where the seam allowances are. Most of mine are where the designer put them, but all my bras are adjusted for an Omega shape. And yes, you can do this if you have an Omega shape.

You’ll have to ignore the orange markings on the bottom of this first photo if you’re following along to do this yourself. You DO NOT want to cut that part off. The rest of the seam allowances you do cut off.

Here’s another example. You can see on the bottom here I’m not cutting off the seam allowance on the bottom of the pattern. You will need that – that is the part that is sewn into the cup.

Once you have cut off the seam allowances on your pattern, you have a foam cup pattern pieces that fit you and will line up perfectly with your lace cupped bra.

Sew the foam cups together with a wide tight zig-zag stitch. Once you’ve sewn your foam cups together cover the upper edge of the foam with fold over elastic.You’ll want to sew both the foam and lace cups into the cradle at the same time.

The underarm elastic will fold over the foam, so it only gets one pass of sewing (the second one) when sewing on the elastics there. 

Your foam cup is fully attached to the cup. It is attached at the bridge, fully under the cup, and at the underarm. It does not move. The foam cup is loose under the lace at the top.    As well, you can change the shape of the upper edge of the foam, and have some fun with the foam not being exactly the same as the cup. The foam on the cup above follows the curve of the lace cup.

On this bra below, instead of following the curve of the outer cup, I gave the foam more of an up-swirl towards the underarm.I do my best to line up the vertical seams on the foam with the seams on the cup.

I hope this blog post has answered all the questions you’ve had, but if you have others please let me know.

Happy creating!

Prima Donna Inspired

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have a favorite older RTW bra. The Prima Donna Milady. (I won’t show you the same photo again! I’ve been showing it to you for years.)

However, the Milady isn’t my only inspiration. The Prima Donna 2022 Madison collection has some gorgeous bras too.

This is their non-padded full cup seamless bra. This was my inspiration for my latest Josey. Although I do love how my Josey fits me, Booby Traps has a lovely darted bra that might look even more similar to this style. 

 I really loved my latest make – my 3/4 foam cup lined Josey.I really wanted to make it again, but in colors similar to the above Prima Donna. So I did.

Again, I decided to use the 3/4 foam lining, but I lowered it about 1/4-inch. I found both the upper edge of the foam and the cross cup seam were both hitting at the same place. I felt it would look better to sit either below that line or above it. Seeing as the Josey seam is above the apex as it is, I lowered the upper edge of the foam.

This foam-lace bra is so very comfortable, and it’s still a pretty lace bra. It’s the best of both worlds – foam cups and lace cups.I love this! I’m really happy with it.Here is one last photo of my new Josey Milady. Showing the inside of the bra, and the curve of the foam cup.I have to admit, I really love the leopard theme in Prima Donna’s collection. Here’s another inspiration from the same Madison collection.This one I think will be perfect for the Josey pattern, or the Shelly pattern, but I’m going to try copying this color combination on Lilypa’s new bra pattern – Lusamine.I love this style. I can’t wait to make my own bra using the colors of the Madison above.

Happy creating!       

No Sewing This Week

I haven’t been sewing this week, nor last week. In fact, much of my summer sewing was all geared to getting ready for teaching classes. Yes, I’ve started holding bra sewing classes.

The whole time the Bra Bee was on I was sewing 22 fitting bras. The rest of the summer was spent finishing those bras and getting ready.

Twenty two bras! I learned to sew them assembly-line style.

My classes are at the same store where I took my professional classes: Central Sewing Machines.

However, I’m not at the same location. I’m teaching at the West End store.It’s a treat it is to teach in this store. They just had their grand opening at the end of June. It’s a beautiful new facility. One of the best features is the classroom is on the main floor. First thing when you enter the store, there’s a mannequin advertising the bra and panty classes wearing the tiniest bra and panty set.

At the back of the store is the classroom. The classroom was all set up and ready for us! We had our fittings there behind the screen.

I’m starting the classes with the PUG Classic pattern. It a basic pattern, so a good place for beginners to start.Four women signed up, and I was happy they all left with well-fitting bras.One woman was really having a problem with her fit. No matter what we did,  her bra wasn’t fitting. After two attempts with alterations both times,  and the end of the class nearing I suggested flexi-wires. Once we put the flexi-wires in her bra it fit her perfectly. It was amazing the difference the wires made in her bra fitting. 

Another woman was also having wire troubles. We shortened a wire for her, but it’s a lot of work to cut them, file them, and then put the heat shrink tubing on them. We also tried the flexi-wires for her. They fit into her bra perfectly, and she was happy with how comfortable her bra was.

I’m already looking forward to the next class!

Happy creating!

Cashmerette Stanton Hoodie Dress

I’ve been looking at the Cashmerette Stanton Hoodie dress. I think it would be a great dress for winter. Nice, comfortable, warm. What more could I want? But.

My only concern is it’s a very straight design, and I’m not. Yes, that’s a very straight dress.

So, I thought, I know what I’ll do. I’ll try it on my croquis. Sadly, the program I had for that is on a crashed computer.

Not to be deterred, I turned to an online photo editing tool. PicMonkey. I’ve used it in the past, and it worked well enough to ‘try on’ this dress.

Here’s my croquis wearing the line drawing of the dress. One thing about trying on clothes this way is it won’t account for any adjustments I make to the pattern. I won’t be using one size. I’ll be blending sizes together to get a better fit.

Here’s my croquis wearing the plum dress the model is wearing on the website.I’m still not sure about the shape for me, but it might be one of the most comfortable dresses I ever make. I definitely think it’s worth trying.

If you do want to make a Cashmerette pattern, one of the things they have that I think is great is their Size Calculator.

   You plug your measurements in, and it tells you what size or what sizes to make. For example, my pattern would consist of 3 different sizes and a Full bust Adjustment. That calculator does a lot of the work for me in telling me what sizes to use on the pattern.

Happy creating!