We moved mid-December, so I had a big sewing blitz in late October and early November knowing everything was going to get packed up.
Fortunately, the previous owner of our new the house moved out a week before we were to move in. That gave me to time to do some cleaning, sorting, and unpacking in the new house. After the kitchen, my sewing room was my top priority. It was mostly set up days after our move.
I’ll warn you. I’m not all unpacked and sorted yet. But I was able to sew. (smile)
First off is my Singer treadle machine, rather laden down with things still needing to be sorted. Next to that is my Rocketeer. Then piled beside those are a bunch of books that are still unpacked, some storage, and then my cutting table. You can see the fabric left over from my latest project.
My sewing table butts up against my cutting table making a U-shaped work area.
Behind the sewing/work area are my storage rack, a small sewing table, and a storage cupboard.
Beside the storage cupboard is my yet-to-be-packed bookcase.
Lastly, I have two closet doors, but the closet space runs the full length of the wall between the doors. It’s wonderful to have all that space!
I still need to do some organizing, but at least I’m set up enough to do some sewing.
Happy New Year, and happy creating!
There was a Fitting binder, and a bra and finding kit in my bag (not shown). As well as the great canvas tote. For students who hadn’t taken the Drafting course, they got a few more goodies like sample packs of Duoplex and Power Net, as well as a set of Pin-Up Girls patterns. I had all those already.
On Day Two we were starting to learn what changes to make for different alterations – all using those little tiny bra pattern pieces. It was really great to have these, and to have them to keep as a reference.
You can see here in this example, it wasn’t a complicated adjustment – just lengthening the band. Having the samples makes it much neater to look and see any of the adjustments – much better than me freehand drawing these examples.
Overall, I have to say it was a great class, and gave us all some fabulous tools to take and use going forward.
And below no pins are needed to hold the channeling in place. The channeling will stay. It’s a little thing, but it really does help.
Did you notice on the package it says ‘wash-away’? That’s right. I can leave it right there after I sew on the channeling, and it will wash away in the laundry. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I use the guide on the foot to guide me along the curve of the channeling. I can sew nice and close to the edge of the channeling. And I don’t have to worry about not enough room for the wires.
I move my needle to be where I want it and away I sew. This gives a nice, neat, close-to-the-edge finish to the channeling.
I hope these little tips are helpful.
What fun! I couldn’t wait to open it.
Once the outer box is opened, it’s still a mystery as it’s wrapped up in tissue paper and sealed with a foil heart. I loved this. It’s a lovely presentation. And it only got better for me.
Doesn’t that all look pretty? Let’s unpack and take a closer look at just what was in the box.
And if you’re not sure what one of the items is exactly, there’s a note outlining everything.
This is perfect for me. I love cotton panties! I can’t wait to sew this up. But do you see the bottom of the note? There’s one more item included in the Mystery Box – a new pattern.
Don’t you love all these options? I do. Also, I really like the shape of these. For boyshorts, these actually work for me. There is some curve built in.
I made these up from some cotton Lycra I had in my stash. I also tested the pattern for Em in CL.
I really liked this pattern and knew I’d want to make more for myself. Em also requested more. So this style is a hit with both of us. It was time to have some fun with the pattern.
Here’s my Ruby bra. The same lace I used for this bra, and a previous Angie bra, was now being used to make the Clover Boybriefs.
I’ve used black and black cherry cotton Lycra for these, and rather than bands or elastic as the pattern calls for, I’m using black lace trim. I’m loving these panties!
Here they are from the back.
Oh, this is a lovely set. I need to hurry up and get all my gifts sewn up so I can finish a second pair for me, and for Em.
It was a pleasant surprise to find I knew the other students. We’d all taken either the Beginner Bra-making class or Shelley class at Central last year. And of course, we’d all taken those classes with Jeanette of 
This is the manual we were given. It has the complete Drafting course in it, as well as a bunch of other great resources.
We also got a full set of Long wires, and a complete set of Classic patterns (all the sizes). There were sample packs of duoplex and power net, a notebook, a binder (shown above), a set of curves, and a bra kit with findings. All in a great bag. I’m pretty sure that was the best swag bag ever.
By the end of the first day, we’d all been measured and learned how to measure someone else by measuring one another – all under Jeanette’s instruction. We were almost ready for Day Two, but before that, we had homework to do.
Day Three built upon Day Two. We were starting our lower cup draft. Well, we needed our frame to be done correctly at this point, and the one I had with me in the class still wasn’t corrected. Things weren’t fitting together. Again, Jeanette pointed out what I’d done wrong on my frame. I was back to the drawing board. Literally. I’d had a little more practice drawing frames by Day Three after Day Two’s homework, so it went much more quickly. I was on track in no time. We finished the day with a draft of our lower cup, our upper cup, and lots of information on how to do adjustments if needed.
Something I’ve heard and read repeatedly is: To get accurate measurements you have to start with a well-fitting bra. It’s so true. Jeanette brought fitting bras with her, so we all started with a well-fitting bra to get our measurements. And it works!
On my drafted bra here, I added a couple of features just because I could. I gave this bra a Gothic arch, and a thinned band under the cups. This draft is for a Horizontal seam. This seaming is the basis for the ‘Heather’ bra. The Heather bra is actually a Wacoal bra. It’s the 
These are a basic black cotton Lycra. And you can see the front opening.
The sling is a light blue. I chose that so it would show up better in these photos, and so it wouldn’t be a headache to sew black on black, on black, with black thread.
I altered the front pattern to be a front-opening panel. You can read how to do that 
And here they are from the back. (Again, lightened. The seams just wouldn’t show otherwise.)
My son also let me know when I made him his last pair of Michael’s that he didn’t like the band. He found the elastic too firm for his liking. Now to be fair, he’s a personal fitness trainer, so probably doing a little more movement while wearing his. So this time instead of elastic, I simply made a band out of the same cotton Lycra.
I’m sure he’ll find this more comfortable.
Here are the Michael underwear showing the front and mirrored inside front openings both opened showing the blue sling behind them.
I’ve been using a knob for a few years now – almost since I started sewing bras. It’s a wooden ball, elevated, and on a base. It’s a great, very specialized, pressing tool for bra-making. I got this one from Bra-Makers Supply. You can find them 
This was from the old store location, and it showed one of the walls. Do you see down there on the left?
Knobs! And they came in different sizes! Larger sizes! Unfortunately, Beverly said she was no longer able to get the other sizes. So, I have been looking for a wooden finial to make a larger knob since I saw this photo.
I found 
I found this on 
My first thought is, ‘That looks huge!’ However, when sewing the cup seams together, they’re still relatively flat. A larger pressing surface is going to be great!
The cup dwarfs the knob.
The knob fills a lot more of the cup. What a difference this will make!
I have to tell you, it works wonderfully! I was using it on my most recent bra – 
This Ruby fit everywhere, but was a little small in the cups.
For this Ruby, I’ve used some gorgeous lace I bought from Merckwaerdigh, duoplex and power net from Bra-Makers Supply, and some amazing strap elastic I bought in a destash group.
It’s so pretty! I think I’m going to save the rest of this lace for another bra rather than use it up on panties. It’s just too pretty.
One of the things I like about the Ruby pattern is the underarm is nice and short. I don’t have to take it in.
Ooh, I love that strap elastic. It’s very firm, and I like the detail on it.
This is also a nice close-up of that lovely strap elastic.
Hmm. I’ll keep thinking.
A small black bow with a pearl for the center front, and two small black bows without pearls for the straps.