Modified Sweet Sixteen Again

I’m really happy with my modified Sweet Sixteen (Sw16). It’s very comfortable, and definitely supportive enough for around the house.The only thing I want to change on it is there isn’t enough depth at the center front to give any separation for me. I need to add to the pattern there.

So, I pulled out my modified pattern, and have added more depth to the center front.

Two more changes I’m going to make are to add channeling, and to gather and stabilize the center front.

I loved the powernet for the whole bralette, so will do that again.

Here’s my Twice Modified Sweet Sixteen.

I love the floral design. I think I’m going to start looking for patterned powernet.

You can see on the front where I gathered the center.

One thing I would do differently next time is to work on that tape sewn over the gathering to be centered. It’s slightly to one side because the seam folded over. I think next time after I sew the gathering stitches, I’d pin the center front open, then gather. Then I could sew the stabilizing tape right in the center.

Lastly, here’s the side view. Oh, I really love this power mesh.

I have lots more to show you, but we both have to wait. I’ve been testing some patterns, but can’t show anything until they’re released.

Happy creating!

A Modified Sweet Sixteen

I’ve been thinking of making a modified Sweet Sixteen (Sw16) bralette since last summer. Monica Bravo had a class in the Great Bra Sewing Bee about how she modified this pattern to be ‘more supportive’. I wanted to try some of her suggestions.

The first thing I wanted to do was change the cradle of my Sw16 to match the wire size I use. I’d been thinking about this hack for a couple of days, and I kept thinking the Watson cradle in my size might work perfectly for this.However, after looking at the two patterns, the cradles are different enough that I decided not to try it. So I hacked my Sw16 cradle, and redrew it.The next thing I had to do was put back the amount of space I’d removed from the frame. I added that to the back band. It’s looking much more like a bra pattern now, rather than a bralette pattern.

My pattern was ready, so it was time to test this out. I wanted a soft stretchy bralette, but when I saw this powernet, I decided to make the whole bra in it.Isn’t this powernet lovely? I bought it from B,Wear.

How did my experiment work out? Well, I have to say, it worked out rather well.Are you wondering the same thing I was wondering the whole time I was making it? Does it fit? Well, yes it does. The band is a touch too big – I have to fasten it on the tightest hook and eye. That’s and easy fix.

The cups fit as well, but I will need to add to the inner cup to get some  separation.

  However, despite those small issues, when I put it on, I didn’t take it off. It’s incredibly comfortable.

Happy creating!

Root Cast

Since my last post, I have to say that I have worn my new bra a few times, and it’s wearable. It’s not pinching all the time. I think the Flexi-wires are helping with that.

After my last post when I planned to work on my draft some more, things went in a different direction. I went to my sewing room planning to draft up a hybrid cradle. Then walked out again, It was time to do a root cast. No more getting close, or thinking I had the correct shape. Out came the masking tape. I was making a root cast.

I taped piece after piece after piece on myself. I wanted it at least four layers thick so when I removed it, it didn’t distort at all when pulled away from my skin. I got it. Now to test this against all the wires I have.

Here it is with the Orange 38 wire. This is the wire I thought was closest to my shape, and it’s not totally off. However, it’s not exactly the same either.This was so odd because when I traced my root with a wire and compared it to the different wire shapes, this was the closest in size and shape. Below is the photo I took of my root trace over the Orange wires.However, after wearing this wire, I can tell you it’s not the right wire for me.

Next up was the 38 XL wire from BMS. This is the wire I’ve been told more than once is the correct wire for me. However, like the Orange wire, I knew from wearing this wire that it wasn’t correct.   I didn’t have to see this wire-root comparison to know this wire wasn’t the right size or shape. I knew this wire pinched on the sides. Again, this is not the right wire for me.

A few months back when I was working on my wire trace, I bent a BMS 38 XL wire out to my correct size.So, of course I needed to see how this wire would compare to my root trace. This is about as good as it gets. My only hesitation with this is I’ve heard the wires aren’t always as stable (can break) with washing and wearing after they’ve been bent. I had to bend it a fair amount. So, although this is an option, I still had one other wire to try.

Here’s the Flexi-wire.Hmm. About the same as the bent wire above, but I don’t have to bend anything. It will flex and take my shape.

I did try the 38 Flexi-wire too, but it’s just a bit too short for me, but as you can see, the 40 Flexi-wire is the better fit.If you’re interested in reading more about bending wires, and what can happen, Jennifer (Porcelynne) mentions that in her recent blog post.  

Now to take that root trace, and draft a cradle for exactly my shape.

Happy creating!

Wire Woes Still

I’m still having issues with my wires! Still. I can’t even begin to tell you how frustrating this is. As I’m sitting here thinking about it, I remember my mom telling me she couldn’t wear a bra with wires – they always hurt her. I guess I know what I inherited from mom.

I’ll never forget when I did my moulage (back in 2014), I took one look and thought that’s my mom’s body! Yes, I’m really understanding why my mom couldn’t wear underwired bras.

However, I’m not ready to give up yet. 

 My pretty new summery bra hurts. It doesn’t hurt all over. Just in one little place. You all know what an uncomfortable bra feels like – it only needs to hurt in one place.

It feels like the wires are pinching me at the top of the channeling.Right there where the pink arrow is pointing.

I took out the Orange 38 wires. I don’t think the are wide enough at the top. They’re close in shape, but not quite a match for me.

I didn’t close the channeling on this bra so I could test the wires. I tried the Orange wires for a day and knew they were not going to work. Now I’m wearing Flexi-wires, but my bra is still pinching there. Because Flexi-wires have so much flex, I’m thinking it’s the cradle now. I made this cradle to fit a 38 Orange wire.

Thinking about this, I think I need to alter my cradle. A cradle that fits a 38 wire is the right size for the bottom of my cradle, but I think I need a cradle that fits a 40 wire for the top.

When I was first looking at wires with my root trace, I could see the 40 wire fit the top of my trace. 

Here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll make a copy of two cradles – one that fits a 38 wire and one that fits a 40 wire. Then I’ll use the bottom of the 38-sized cradle and the top of the 40-sized one, smoothing out the line between the two pattern sizes.  Above is a cradle that fits a 38 wire drawn in pencil. Then the pink is the cradle that fits a 40 wire. The darker dotted line is the blending of the two.

I’m off to draft a new cradle.

Happy creating!

Something a Little Different

I didn’t get to any sewing this week. To be completely honest, my husband had 2 surgeries in the past 3 weeks, and I was utterly exhausted afterwards. I didn’t realize how much I was carrying it. He’s fine. He’s better than ever, and so thankful he was able to have the surgeries. So all is good there.

I wasn’t sewing most of this time. I wasn’t doing a lot of anything other than watching videos. However, I did watch one video, and I found it very helpful for something I’ve wanted to cross off my to-do list.

It’s been five years now that I’ve had this sweet little preemie Cabbage Patch doll. She’s adorable, and I got her because I too was a preemie baby.The first thing I did after I got her was curl her hair. Then I made her a sweet little slip dress with some pantaloons underneath.   

I’ve been very happy with her transformations, but there was one thing I still wanted to change. My eyes have some brown in them but overall they’re green. I wanted my preemie baby to have green eyes too.

This past week a video started playing after one I had watched. It was an artist re-doing the eyes and make up on a doll. He said he used watercolor pencil crayons. I stopped the video right away and went to my sewing room. Yes, I still had a tin of watercolor crayons with my fabric markers. I was going to redo my doll’s eyes.

I didn’t take off her eye color first, for a couple of reasons. I don’t know that I could re-draw the eyes well enough to satisfy me. And as I mentioned, I have some brown in my eyes as well. So I decided to ‘enhance’ the eyes, rather than re-do them completely. Here are the eyes in a side-by-side photo.  Yes, they’re a little bit brighter and lighter. She’s just perfect to me now.

I’m off to play with my draft. Happy creating!

A Custom Watson

I recently made a lovely Watson bra for a friend. She loves it but she also wanted a little more coverage. I showed her a photo of the longline style.Yes. A longline is what she wanted.

However, she also needed a little more coverage on the side. It was time to use some of those skills I learned in the professional classes I took. It was very exciting to know just how to change the pattern.

The bra turned out very well.Isn’t this pretty? I don’t usually wear white, but I really do like this.

Here’s the side view with the higher underarm and side. I can’t wait to see it on her. I know she’s going to be a lot happier with more coverage.

Happy creating!

Angie’s Twin Two

I made another Angie’s Twin. And I also broke into one of my very pretty bra kits.Oh, I like this. I also like the Angie’s Twin pattern. Other than a few adjustments for an Omega shape – smaller wires & frame, and a larger cup – I didn’t have to change anything on this pattern.

I have to say, I love this lace! There was very little left over. Not enough to do any other projects. This is so pretty, I’d love to have some more. Sadly, I only bought one kit, and I haven’t seen anymore in B,Wear‘s store.

The original kit came with sheer cup lining, white elastics, and the lace. And I’m sure it would have been lovely, but I wanted to play with all the colors in the lace.

I had a little bit of pink duoplex and power net left over from another bra. It was just enough for the straps and frame. As well, to continue pulling colors out of the lace, I went with some red elastics rather than the white. I love it.

Here’s the side view. There was just a tiny bit of lace left over to add to the sides. Just to add a bit more detail.

And the back.      All that red really pops here.

Lastly, a closer look at the side and front.  Oh, such pretty lace!I tried a couple of different bows on the front to see what color I liked the best. I decided, even though the pink blends in, it was the only one that didn’t seem to pull the attention away from the lace. I love it too.

I already have my next bra kit out and ready to sew another bra. And I’m testing a few more patterns, so will have more fun things to show you soon.

Happy creating!

Jessica’s Twin Two

This is my second Jessica’s Twin by B,Wear. I’ll share more about my first one in my next post. I’ll also share the alterations I had to make.

Here’s my (altered for Omega) Jessica’s Twin. I love this! It’s a burn-out mesh over duoplex. And it’s so fun. I have a little bit left. Matching panties perhaps?

You’ve seen this material before. I used it for one of my submissions to the Bra-Makers Challenge. We needed something sheer, and this has some sheer areas.  On the bra for the BMS challenge, I used the burn-out mesh on it’s own. On this one, I’ve used it over power net. I wasn’t looking for sheer on this bra.It’s so fun! When I first started sewing bras, I experimented a little and I tried using Lycra and mesh over power net. It gives a wonderfully supportive feel. It adds support, but it isn’t too much like two layers of power net would feel. This isn’t too much. It feels a little more supportive.

And lastly, here’s the bra from the side.When I tried this on to see how the adjustments I’d made were, it fit so perfectly and was so comfortable, I didn’t want to take it off for photos. I did, but there was no way I was going to put on my old bra. I need to sew a few more too. I was down to a RTW stretch-cup bra when my size changed.

One more little note, I love the shape that both Angie and Jessica give. They both are so nice and rounded. For me, I feel like I look like I’m wearing a foam cup, but I’m not. They are so nice.

Jessica’s Twin was released this week, and will be featured in The Great Bra Sewing Bee where Bodil will teach a class on making Jessica’s Twin. 

Happy creating!

Angie’s Twin

It was time. It was time for me to sew a bra again. I have have a couple of patterns I’ve bought over the last year, and I decided to start with one of those.

I started with Angie’s Twin.

I really loved my first Angie. I made this one a few years ago now. And sadly, my size has changed and she didn’t fit anymore.

If you haven’t sewn an Angie, I do recommend it. Those vertical seam give such great lift. And it has a really nice rounded shape.

I really loved this bra so much. So when I was going to make Angie’s Twin, I used Ivory duplex again to make her. Other than the size being different, I didn’t change a lot else. I used different neckline trim, and made the straps differently this time.

I kept telling myself I was only sewing this up to see how it would fit. It didn’t have to fit. And I had to give myself a pep talk the whole time sewing it. And guess what? It fits!

The band fits a bit more snugly than I’d like. But it fits really well. My hubby has learned so much while I’ve been sewing bras and learning about fitting. He even commented on how it went all the way back on the bridge. I was impressed by how much he’s learned too.Here’s Angie’s Twin from the side. I used some of the same tricks and tips I’d learned taking Jeanette’s classes to get my Omega cup into a smaller frame. I like how it’s looking. No wrinkles. It looks like it was made to fit together. And the back.

There was one other little tip I used to make the strap elastic non-stretch.I sewed non-stretch seam tape along the inside of the front of the strap elastic. That will reduce how much stretch it will have. It stabilizes it. So, rather than make a separate non-stretch strap for my Angie’s Twin, I’ve used strap elastic for the whole strap.

I’m very encouraged, and am already planning my next bra, and the one after that!

Speaking of bra patterns, have you seen this?This is on my list of things to sew.   

Happy creating!

June BMS Challenge – Blushing Bridal

June BMS Challelnge– Blushing Bridal – June is the time for brides and we share the joy of an upcoming wedding of one of our own staff members by challenging you (and us) to create garment suitable for a wedding trousseau. You can make any garment suitable for a bride’s trousseau or honeymoon. Oh, this is going to be so romantic!

This post is combining two things – the June BMS Challenge and a New Ruby pattern for me.

I knew when I took the Fitting Course at the end of April that my bra wasn’t fitting perfectly. In fact, one of the things I learned is I needed a few new adjustments to make my patterns fit.

A couple of these adjustments I knew – the ones for adjusting for an Omega shape. There were a new ones too. The new adjustments weren’t the only changes. My size had changed. I was down half a cup size, down a band size, and down a wire size. I was so glad to take the Fitting Course. On top of learning all the wonderful things I learned, I got measured again and I needed that.

So, between needing a new bra myself, and the challenge, it seemed a perfect time to make a new bra with all the changes, and make it fit the challenge.

My New Blushing Ruby

This turned out to be very pretty. Of course, there are still a few changes I want to make, but this fits so well. All the adjustments I learned are making this my best fitting bra yet.

A couple of the changes I made.

You already know I made a half a cup size smaller, and band size smaller, and a wire size smaller. I also made all my usual adjustments for being an Omega shape – small darts along all the bottom cup seams, smaller frame size than cup size. I also lowered my bridge, and raised the bottom of the bridge, and widened the bottom of the bridge too. And added the Gothic arch.

I’ve moved the strap placement over on this pattern. One of the things I love about the Ruby pattern is I don’t have to pull so very much all along the underarm with my elastic. Just a little pulling and it fits well.  Here’s the side view. Look how nicely the cup is fitting into the frame. Oh, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’ll never get tired of seeing how nicely the cups fit in after taking that class with Jeanette.

Something you can’t see here is there are two more adjustments right there in that photo – both to help with the wire fitting more comfortably.

Lastly, here’s the back, and one more adjustment.    The final adjustment I made was to move the straps in on the back.

Panties to Match

Continuing on the Blushing pink theme, I made some cotton Lycra panties to match my new Blushing Ruby bra.Seeing as the bra has white in the lace, I thought white lace trim would be perfect for these panties.These are my self-drafted Hipster panties, and you might notice the side seam is forward a little. That’s just so all my side seams aren’t hitting all at the same place.    And the back.

Here’s my new Blushing Ruby and panty set.It’s been a long time since I was a bride, but I love my new blushing bridal set.

Happy creating!