Month: December 2014

That Just Didn’t Seem Right

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I bought another panty pattern, and this time I thought I was being so smart by buying one with three options in there. Kwik Sew 2100. It has a Bikini, Hipster and Brief option. Great!

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So I looked up my size, and then looked at the pattern. That can’t be right. At least that’s what I thought. I remember when I was just going to make panties again after not doing any for years, and my sewing pen pal, Naomi, warned me they’d look huge when I was cutting them out, but this?

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? You tell me. Do these look the same size?

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That smallest line showing to the right side of my traced Kwik Sew 2286 pattern isn’t even the size I need. I need a bigger size? As well, I’m looking at the Hipster pattern, and my KS 2286 doesn’t even come up to the Bikini line. The KS 2286 doesn’t list itself as a Hipster – simply a panty – but it compares really well to some RTW Hipsters I have – that’s why I like it so much.

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The above picture shows a little more clearly just where the sides of these two patterns are ending.

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This shows the cutting lines above the traced pattern piece. It’s not even the same height as the bikini option.

And one last photo:

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Here is the KS 2286 traced pattern over the traced KS 2100 traced and cut out. That’s quite a difference. Both patterns say they are designed for stretch knits. I think I’ll look at my 2286 pattern again.

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And wanting to play with the KS 2286 a little more,  I altered the pattern to a more asymmetrical front along these lines:

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Aren’t they adorable? So I changed my KS 2286 to look more like these.

I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and a joyous New Year!

Yet Another McCalls 6844

~ Michelle

When I first saw read about the McCalls 6844 and its high recommendations – rated best pattern of 2013 on Pattern Review – I knew I wanted to make one for myself. I didn’t think I’d make a second one, let alone a third one. And I’m not done yet.

Like the second cardigan I made, this one isn’t for me. This current one is a thank you for a good friend who did some work for my husband and me that I just don’t have the skills to do. She loved my cardigan, so I said I’d make her a cardigan too. It seemed like a fair trade to me.

I used the same material as I’d used for my first cardigan, but a different color this time. It’s a lovely soft Rayon/Bamboo knit. It’s just dreamy to feel – so soft.

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I didn’t do anything differently on this one. My friend is taller than me, so after measuring I didn’t have to shorten the sleeves, nothing. Everything was good as it was. Isn’t that the best?

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And the side view, showing the flounce so nicely. It really does have and give a lovely shape.

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Here’s the back. I love the rich deep color this cardigan has. It’s really lovely. My friend was thrilled too. She loved it.

Lastly, I had a bit of fun this past week. A good friend of the family is a producer, and every once in a while he calls on us to be in different projects he’s doing. Last year my husband and I had a lot of fun with parts in a movie. It was great fun to go to a theater for our own movie premiere. What fun. This past week we were called on again. However, I felt I’d been demoted quickly. First, I was going to be a Dr., and then a nurse. Well, I ended up as a patient.

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We did have fun though. Here I am with another good friend, who just happened to get the nurse’s role. This photo caused a bit of a stir on Facebook. All my friends who don’t know both of us, thought there must be something wrong with me. The texts started while I was still at the hospital. We put a caption on there saying, Look. We’re both smiling. All is good. We’re just acting.

Happy creating!

Some Matchy Matchy

~ Michelle

I do like matchy matchy. Maybe it’s an indicator of my age, but I do like things to match. So, now I have my first (two) great fitting bras, it was time to make something to match.

I couldn’t find any ivory cotton, but did stock up on black, red, beige and pink. So, going forward I’ll have a nice choice of basics from which to choose. My most recent Shelley bra was mostly black, but had some red and ivory in it as well. So I chose red and black for my panties.

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Here’s my first pair. It’s a modified Kwik Sew 2286, which is basically a hipster. I copied the lace inset from Kwik Sew 2908, but I prefer how the 2286 sews together – no seams showing on the inside. The crotch seams are hidden between two layers of material and then when the lace is sewn on – you don’t see an exposed seam. The 2908 has the front and crotch as one piece, and then the back is sewn to that. It looks similar on the outside, but on the inside you can see the seam very clearly. In the past, I’ve made 2908 and modified it to do the seams the same as the 2286.

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And the set pinned on Catherine. They look long, more like a high cut here, but I’ve made them before and they are a hipster. My only disappointment is I’m not in love with this as a set. The lace is the same on the panty as the bra, but it doesn’t pull together quite as much as I’d wanted. I don’t think there is enough red in the bra to pull it off. However, it’ll still be a second choice option for me.

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Here’s the second pair I made. I like this one a lot better. I think it pulls together with the bra without any problem.

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Here it is pinned onto Catherine. That looks like a set. That’s much better. I really am happy with this set. This will be my first choice to wear.

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Here are both panties with my bra. It’s very fun to have my first set. The materials are from both Bra Makers Supply, and Merckwaerdigh‘s Etsy store. The panties are mostly cotton from BMS with that little accent of lace/Lycra from Merckwaerdigh’s.

Next I’m going to have to play with my pattern to make an asymmetrical pair – and I think I’ll go with the black & Lycra for that one.

Happy creating!

Fits Like A Dream

~ Michelle

My newest bra fits like a dream, but she isn’t peaches and cream.

For the better part of the last two years I’ve only worn my own bras. I did purchase a couple of bras too, but to be honest, the ones I made fit better – and they weren’t fitting perfectly. Because I was so used to wearing what I’d made, I thought I’d still wear my not-perfectly-fitting bras, but oh no. Once I had one that fit so well, I found the others just weren’t as comfortable. I have a list of things to sew, but one bra just wasn’t enough. So sewing another bra went to the top of my sewing list.

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Here’s my latest (and perfectly fitting) Pin Up Girls Shelley. And she fits like a dream.

I love that little pop of color on the power bar and bridge. That’s just fun. And I’m all about lace. So this bra is bringing together lace and a bit of fun and I’m thrilled.

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Here’s a better view of the power bar. Oh, I love that. This is such a beautiful pattern. There are so many fun things to do with it. Although the power bar looks like Lycra, it has the support of duoplex under it. I did the same on the bridge. The Lycra and lace are from an older fabric set I bought from Merckwaerdigh‘s store a few years ago. Everything else is from Bra Makers Supply.

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Here you can see the Sewy Rebecca I’d done with this material. You can also see I made the wrong size. I still have this bra in the bra drawer – it’s too pretty to throw away or cut up. Back to the material,  I don’t have a lot left, so I got creative in the placement of what I did use on the bra. I wanted to save some for panties. Yup, now that I have my bra fit down, I’m going to start making matching bra and panty sets.

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And the back of my bra. I did the 3 x 3 hook and eye closure again. I’m getting better at getting it done up and undone, and it really does make it more comfortable. Who knew?

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Here’s part of my stash for panties. That’s some gorgeous cotton/spandex from Bra Makers Supply, and my bit of Lycra left over from the kit from Merckwaerdigh, and some black lace for trim. I also found some pictures online for inspiration. I’m thinking of changing up my panties from the basic pattern I have now. I really love things that are asymmetrical, and love that I found some fun panties with just that look.

One of the best aspects of this journey I’ve been on with trying to find the perfect fit for my bras is the freedom I now feel in altering patterns. I used to feel they were somehow beyond my grasp and I wouldn’t think of altering them. I have no such fear now!

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And lastly, I’m trying to decide what color bows I want on my new bra. I’m leaning towards the red, or maybe red and black together …

I still have some fitting issues to plan for when starting out, but I did the same thing on this bra – I went up a cradle size from my wire size. This takes care of most of my cup alterations as it’s only one size different than the cup size I’m using. Is that clear?

Let me explain that a bit more. The Omega shape needs a larger cup size than wire. Let’s say I need a 38 wire, but my cup corresponds to a 42 wire. I’m meeting the two half way in between. By using the 40 cradle, the 38 wire will still fit, and so will the 42 cup. This one change eliminated a lot of alterations.

However, I still made a few. I thinned the bra under the cup  little more this time, so I ended up trimming my elastic under the channeling. I lowered the bridge 1/2″ again, and on this bra I adjusted for a flat spot I have. And I put in a vertical dart in the underarm area. I don’t think there are any other alterations I would even want to make on this bra.

Ah… a perfectly fitting bra feels so good.

Happy creating!