This past weekend was The Great Bra Sewing Bee. And I have to say, it was great. I was so impressed with how well it was organized, the quality of instructors, and the great content. There was something for everyone – from beginner to experienced bra-makers.

I think my favorite classes were the Fit Clinics. There were 3 of them, and each had 3 or 4 women who had signed up to sew a bra, and then have the fit evaluated.. Suggestions were then given in the clinic to correct the fit. Not surprisingly, it seemed most of the women had issues with small band/large cups.

I don’t know if I learned anything in those, but much of what I had learned in Jeanette’s Fitting class was re-enforced and affirmed. Jeanette presented a class in the Bee too.

However, I did learn a couple of things.

I didn’t know some bra patterns splay the wire, and some don’t. Hmm. This got me thinking about wires again. I’m still not 100% happy with how my wires are fitting. So, out came my wires for me to look at. And I dragged my hubby along too.

First we did a root trace. This is something I’d been planning to do for a long time. You can read about how to do this in Porcelynne’s blog post here.

What did I find out? Well, if I splay the wire, a 38 works perfectly for me. If I don’t, the 38 wire pinches and I need a 40 wire. So I’ve realized I need to know if a pattern splays the wire or not before I will know which wire size to use.

After watching Jennifer’s (Porcelynne) bra sloper class, I decided to sign up for her drafting class. This is completely different from what I’ve learned so far, and I love learning new things.Yes, This is new territory for me, but I’ve heard such great reviews of this method. It’s time for me to try it. I’ll let you know all about it. You can see more for yourself here.

 Something else I really enjoyed about the Bee was hearing from bra-makers all over the world. There were presenters from New Zealand, Sweden, the USA, Canada, and I’m sure many more. Really, all over the world. I loved that. Normally going to a conference means more local speakers, but this being online there were no travel restrictions to hinder anyone.

That no travel restriction allowed me to watch Bodil of B’Wear sew up her Jessica’s Twin pattern. I’ve want to learn some things from Bodil too.

I enjoyed Monica’s Fit Clinic too. You many know Monica from Bravo Bella. My experiences in bra-making have been primarily from using Bra-Makers Supply patterns, and learning Beverly Johnson’s methods. It was very interesting to hear a different method, and I found it very refreshing.

That was something else I appreciated about the Bee – the presenters weren’t all of one mind. There were different approaches, and all were respected. I loved that!

Let me give you one small example of the presenters not all being of one mind on a matter. Monica uses Flexi-Wires, and Porcelynne has had her own wires made, which are not flexible. And both were referenced by other presenters. Neither is wrong. Both are supportive. I really loved that approach!

Lily of Lilypa Designs was there too. One of the things Lily said that I really appreciated was there is more than one way to make a bra – just as there’s more than one route to take to drive home. In the end, we make a bra. There is much wisdom in that statement.

To top the whole Bee off, I won a prize. I won a pattern from Studio Costura. What a treat for me!  I chose the Eva panty.

Aren’t they darling?

  If you missed the Bee, and are still interested, you can still sign up for extended access here. It gives you all the same resources and videos. The only thing you’ll miss is being able to ask questions live. However, many of the presenters did to feel free to contact them after the Bee if you had questions.

Happy creating!