Patterns

Ivory Clover Boy Briefs

~ Michelle

This is a short but sweet post.

The House Morrighan Clover Boy Brief panty pattern is one of my favorite patterns. It just might be my favorite, narrowly beating out KwikSew 2286. Most of my makes are a full hipster with lace trim, but I decided to make one of my Clovers with a little more lace this time. I had a hard time finding Ivory cotton Lycra that wasn’t almost white. Clearly I did find some though.

Here you can see this is close. It’s not an exact match, but I’ve long given up finding cotton Lycra that matches exactly. I’m going for coordinating now.  That’s pretty close in color. The other ‘Ivory’ I bought was a lot more white.

Here’s that second pair I teased about earlier – the one with more lace.  These are darling! I added some narrow plush band elastic inside the waist because this is really stretchy stretch lace. I love this set!

I have a few more pairs planned, but I’m still waiting on elastics. Hopefully they’ll get here soon.

Happy creating!

Porcelynne’s Eve Cups Redesigned

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

Hello. I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. I had an odd after-affect from a cold. I had so much pain in my one hand, I could hardly do anything with it. It’s slowly improving, and I’m hoping to get back to normal soon.

I have many sewing plans so need my hand 100%! So, what have I been doing? I’ve been testing the re-designed Eve bra. 

Eve Classic Bra Bundled Pattern - image 1

Jennifer and I agreed the regular Eve cups did not fit me. So I tried the Vertical cups. They are part of the Eve Classic Bra pattern – which is now available. It has the regular cup, Vertical cups, and Demi cups.

Jennifer and I agreed that we were close, but think the Demi cups will be the best fit for me.

I’ve cut out my first pair and they were too small. I have the next size all sewn up and will be putting those into my fitting band right away.

Eve Classic Bra Cup

Let me tell you a few things that impressed me with the Eve cups.

I was using a 38 wire, but to help with side coverage, we made my cradle a 42 wire length. What amazed me over and over was how the cup fit into this cradle WITH NO ALTERATIONS!!!

Honestly, this was amazing to me. Stunning in fact. After the many years of so many alterations to get a cup to fit in a smaller cradle, this really did amaze me.

Jennifer has designed all these cups to fit into different cradles. For example, a D cup that would fit a 38 wire cradle, and a D cup that fits a 40 wire cradle, and one that fits a 42 wire cradle, and so on. The same for the E cup, and the F cup, and so on up and down the cup size range. All designed for each cup to fit different sizes of wires/cradles. All with no extra work on your part.

Here take a look:    Do you see where the cup joins the side seam? There isn’t a dart in the cup. There are no gatherings along the wire line. No, this cup is simply designed to fit into this size cradle.

That might not seem like a big deal when most patterns’ cups fit into the cradle – but that doesn’t work when you are an Omega! No, that means adjustments. But not with this pattern.

If you’re wondering, I could have used a cup that fit into a 38 cradle too – but I really don’t get enough side coverage and support with that.  

I don’t know of another bra-maker/designer who has done this for each cup size! There are hundreds of cups. I promised to tell you something else about the side of this bra. Do you see where that red line is? That’s where my wire ends. Normally, if the side of the bra was raised up this much higher than the wire, the side seam would be flopping over. Not here.

The reason is Jennifer had me sew a strip of channeling as close as I could beside the wire channeling, Then insert a piece of boning there. It worked perfectly. It gave me a little more side coverage which I need, and I can’t feel it there.

I am honestly very impressed with the redesigned Eve cup pattern. If you have problems fitting your bra cups into your frame like me, or even if you want an incredibly designed cup, really, give these a try.

Happy creating!

P.S. I’ll be back soon.

A New Shop and a Shop Re-Opening

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I’ve had a few people contact me asking me where to buy the Poppy pattern, and other House Morrighan patterns. I reached out to the owner to find out.

I knew there had been changes to Etsy, and I knew as a result a few shops are no longer on there. I don’t know if the changes are the reason House Morrighan was no longer on Etsy, but I knew they weren’t there. As well,  I didn’t know where her patterns could be purchased now.

Then I read some good news on her Instagram. She’s setting up her new website. More good news is you can purchase her patterns now by sending her a message on IG.

That’s great news! She’s still going to be selling her patterns – and I think they are wonderful patterns. In fact, I’m going to be teaching the Poppy bralette as a class soon.I’ll share more on this bralette soon.

So that’s the shop that’s re-opening, but there’s more exciting news. There’s a new shop in town. Well, not exactly in my town and maybe not in yours either. However, this new shop won’t be far from me. It’s a new shop in Canada!

Margie B Fine Lingerie Supplies. 

  I’m excited for this shop to open because it will be great for when I want to order one finding kit, or something else small. This way shipping won’t cost very much.

She’s going to be carrying all my favorite supplies too: bra kits with Duoplex, power net, lace, elastics, findings. She’s even carrying special kits from B, Wear. It’s very exciting!

If you’re wondering about some of her kits from B,Wear, well, you can double check but currently they’re exclusive to Margie B.  This kit for example. Lollipop. It’s darling and Margie B is the only one carrying it right now. Johanna is another lovely kit that is currently exclusive to Margie B.

If you are looking for duo kits and finding kits and don’t see them, she has them! Just send her a message. Both of these wonderful shops are still getting their websites finished.

Margie B is owned by a woman who’s taken all the professional classes that I’ve taken. In fact, we were in the same classes! I’m so excited for my colleague as she begins this new adventure and moves forward with her dream. And there’s more coming, but I can’t share that just yet.

One of the items I’m most excited about though is Margie B is going to carry flexible wires! And they’re really nice looking flexible wires too. Right now, no one in Canada sells flexi wires.

Here’s let me show you a pair of the wires I’m using now, and a pair of the new style of Flexi wires. Mine are on the right.They both just look like wires, right? Well, the ones on the right look a bit thinner. Let’s take a closer look. In the photo above are the wires I’ve been using. They work wonderfully. I have no problem with them, except there are no shops in Canada that carry these wires. In the past, I’ve had to order my wires from the US. So I had to deal with the exchange rate, expensive shipping, and then I was usually hit with duty when it arrived. Those wires would end up costing me more than twice what I was expecting to pay. It wasn’t fun.

Here are the new Flexi wires.Ooh, right away I think these look prettier. A more even shape throughout the wire.

Here’s one last close up.This photo is showing the ends that inserted into the channeling. The new wire is smoother, more of a continuous piece, and that will make that job of inserting them much easier. There were pliers involved in the past when inserting flexi wires.

One warning though, they are just a bit longer than the US-style of flexi wires. They are the same length as a standard long wire of the same size. So if you’ve been using the US-style of flexi wire, you’ll need to adjust your pattern. Ask me how I know.

So you can really see I’m excited about a new shop opening here in Canada, and one of my favorite pattern shops reopening. All the best to both House Morrighan, and  Margie B!

Happy creating!

Starry Nights Collection

~ Michelle

In December, Beverly Johnson sent out a request for testers to test a new pattern of hers. I knew we’d be moving, but I also knew if all I did for the next month or more was pack and unpack, I’d be miserable. I knew I needed a creative outlet too. So, I volunteered, and I’m really glad I did.

The Starry Nights Collection is a great lougewear/nightwear collection. It has three-length options, as well as a capri option.I made the full-length Luna option. I used a beautiful turquoise cotton Lycra, with some coordinating lace on the inner cups.

The cup option I made isn’t show, but was easy to do. Just use lace for the inner cups only on the Luna.My Luna is a bit big for me, but I’d rather have loose for sleeping than tight. However, my mind is full of ideas for how to change this up.

Another change I made was to do two spaghetti straps per side instead of the adjustable bra strap option.  

One idea I have came from the Monica Bravo’s class in the Great Bra Sewing Bee (now the International Bra Sewing Bee). She adapted her Sweet Sixteen bralette. I took notes during the bee, and plan to try some of the changes she made – like narrowing the cradle for a more supportive bralette.

Another idea came from FB ads. Right around the same time Beverly sent out her tester call, I started seeing ads from Montelle Intimates. I was so surprised because the cups on this is the same style as the Starry Nights Collection’s.      There’s a link in the photo (from their web page) that will take you right to this lovely chemise.

Seeing this got me really excited for possibilities for the new Starry Nights Collection. In fact, the day after I finished my Luna, I dreamt all night about making changes, and I woke ready to forget unpacking some more and wanting to get back to my sewing room!

Happy creating!

Jessica’s Twin

~ Michelle

Here’s a little of the back story to my Jessica’s Twin I shared last week. 

I was asked to test Jessica’s Twin. I like the Angie pattern so much, I was happy to test this pattern. 

I’ve made a few Angie bras in the past, and I had bought Angie’s Twin. I’d even bought the Jessica pattern, but I hadn’t sewn it up yet.One of the reasons I hadn’t tried the Jessica pattern is I have to make adjustments to my bra cups so they’ll fit in a smaller frame. Omega: larger cups, with a smaller frame and wires.

I’d been told the best way to make these adjustments was in the seams of the bra’s cups. And the more seams a cup has the better. Take a little dart out here and there and hide them all in the seams. It’s a great solution.

But Jessica only has one cup seam. I needed to think of other places I could remove a little without changing the shape of the cup or removing too much volume, because I still need that volume.This is what I tried, and I have to say, I was pretty close. I still need to take in the underarm a little, but other than that, I got a great fit.

Here is the side view. You can see where I need to adjust the side cup. I have it pinned.Well, maybe it’s not so clear. Here’s a close up.You can see I just have a little bit folded under there. Probably 1/4″ x 2 removed from the underarm there and it will fit absolutely perfectly. Not bad for a first time testing the pattern. And isn’t that purple elastic so pretty with the navy?

To make the underarm smaller, I used this adjustment from Cloth Habit’s blog: This is a great adjustment when you don’t want the cup size to be smaller, but just the amount of fabric in the underarm area. This works perfectly!

And just to share one more time, here is my Jessica’s Twin.I really am happy with this. I didn’t think I could make a cup with only one seam work for me.

Happy creating!

Jessica’s Twin Two

~ Michelle

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!

Testing New Patterns

~ Michelle

I’m starting to get my sewjo back! Oh, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Honestly, it’s been such a hard year for me. And losing my love for sewing only added to how hard it was.

But. I’m getting my desire to sew back and have had such fun testing a few new patterns.

You read about my testing Sigrid, B,Wear’s new panty pattern. I really do like the pattern! I’m going to make another pair because they are so comfortable.

And I think that’s the proof of a pattern to me – if I go back to it.

My favorite panty patterns of all time are:

Kwik Sew 2286 

You can only find this used now. It’s been discontinued. Although the description on Etsy calls this a bikini, it fits like a hipster on me. And this has been my TNT pattern.

My Self-Drafted PatternI used Beverly Johnson’s Craftsy class to draft these, and they’re similar to my Kwik Sew favorite.

House Morrighan’s Clover BoyBrief 

These have been the patterns I’ve gone back to again and again.

However, I do love to test a new pattern because I never know when I’ll find a new favorite – like Sigrid.

One of my recent tests was from House Morrighan. When House Morrighan sends me a new pattern to test, I get excited. Something I look for in patterns is how well the pieces fit together. That should be a given, but sadly it’s not. With so many patterns being PDF now, it seems not all seams line up. House Morrighan’s do! And I like that!

Something else I love about House Morrighan’s patterns is she understands we have curves. And she builds curves into her patterns. 

So when HM asks me to test a pattern, I get excited. I’ll have more to show you soon, but now I’ll show you the gorgeous fabric I used. Oh, I love this too! I might have to get some more of this material. It’s a cotton Lycra from Smoogie Fabics. It is SO pretty!

I haven’t been only testing House Morrighan patterns though. I have a lovely make to show you this coming week. That’s all I’m going to say for now. But you won’t have to wait very long. 

Happy creating!

Angie’s Twin

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

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!

May BMS Challenge – Spots and Stripes

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

The May Bra-Makers Supply Challenge is Spots and Stripes.

Here’s a challenge that will have you seeing spots before your eyes. Actually, you’ll be seeing spots, dots, lines and stripes. Let’s challenge our thinking about these pattern basics and create garments with dots and stripes. That’s any kind of dot or any kind of stripes, in any kind of intimate apparel. The trick is to use them together in the same garment.

My Entry

For my entry this month, I had a hard time deciding between the two possible projects – panties or tankini.

However, looking ahead just a little in the BMS Challenges for the year helped me make my decision. The July Challenge is Swimwear. Hmm. I just made a swimsuit. If I make a swimsuit now, and again in July for the Challenge, well, I don’t need that many swimsuits. I decided to save my tankini make for July.

Panties it is.

Front Feature Panties

Here is my entry using my own drafted panty pattern.I think these are adorable! In fact, I like them so much, I went on to cut out five more variations! I’ll show you those after I show you the side and back view of this first pair.

Here’s the side view. Oh, I love polka dots. Polka dots and lace take the love to a whole new level.And the back view.

Variations on a Theme

I really did think these were adorable, so made a second pair but reversed the prints. I changed the lace trim I used too. This is my favorite lace trim, and sadly, I can’t find it anymore. The vendor I purchased this from is no longer selling it.I used up the last of the stripes, and that inspired me to make a pair in the last of the black with white polka dots. These are so cute.I have two more pair of white with black polka dot panties all cut out, but somehow with a whole rack of thread, I didn’t have any white thread.

Those last two will have to wait.

Happy creating!

A Black Cherry Angie

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I really love the shape and lift some of these new patterns give, like the Angie, Ruby, Jessica, and the new Amethyst.This is the new Amethyst pattern.

These patterns are all lovely additions to our bra-sewing pattern collections. I  had planned to make another Angie and Ruby as I know they both fit wonderfully. I also want to try the new Jessica and Amethyst patterns too. All the while, I’ve been testing patterns for House Morrighan. I am having such a fun time!

On top of all these great patterns to be excited about, there were the lovely new kits my husband brought home from Amsterdam. I had to break into a kit, and see what I could  make with one.

Angie

   Angie was the first bra I wanted to make again. Here’s my latest Angie. This is with black cherry duoplex, and some of the lovely lace from Kantjeboord.I thought of a few ways to use lace on the Angie. I’ve seen people use it laid horizontally across the lower part of the cups. I’ve seen people use lace on every other cup piece, and on every cup piece. None of those were what I wanted to do for this one. I didn’t think any of those options would showcase this lace the way I wanted. So I decided to cut out the floral part of the lace, and applique it onto the cups. A little Misty Fuse to hold things in place, a small zigzag, and they look lovely.

Here’s a close up of the cup.Yes, this lace goes beautifully with the black cherry duoplex. I really like this! You can also see I’ve added a strap tab to this Angie. I like the strap tab addition and will likely continue to use one.

My inspiration for this came from wanting to use this lace, use this pattern, and my desire to make this more supportive by using duoplex. In the back of my mind, I remembered a blog post from The Lingerie Addict showing the most beautiful Japanese bras. Here’s one from the internet:This is not my bra, and not my photo. It is beautiful though, and shows you can use lace in different ways than just on the upper cup. If you want to see the most stunning lingerie, go look at the post I linked above. The bras are amazing.

With that memory in the back of my mind, I thought I can do applique on my bra as well. I think mine is lovely too.

Here’s the bra from the side:    You can see here, although the front is black cherry, I’ve used black for the back band and all the elastics.

And the back of the bra: The band has a downward hike to it.

I love how this came together.

As much fun as I’m having sewing bras and lingerie right now, I have to get busy sewing Christmas gifts. I won’t be showing any of those until after Christmas though.

Happy creating!