Author: Michelle

Cashmerette Stanton Hoodie Dress

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been looking at the Cashmerette Stanton Hoodie dress. I think it would be a great dress for winter. Nice, comfortable, warm. What more could I want? But.

My only concern is it’s a very straight design, and I’m not. Yes, that’s a very straight dress.

So, I thought, I know what I’ll do. I’ll try it on my croquis. Sadly, the program I had for that is on a crashed computer.

Not to be deterred, I turned to an online photo editing tool. PicMonkey. I’ve used it in the past, and it worked well enough to ‘try on’ this dress.

Here’s my croquis wearing the line drawing of the dress. One thing about trying on clothes this way is it won’t account for any adjustments I make to the pattern. I won’t be using one size. I’ll be blending sizes together to get a better fit.

Here’s my croquis wearing the plum dress the model is wearing on the website.I’m still not sure about the shape for me, but it might be one of the most comfortable dresses I ever make. I definitely think it’s worth trying.

If you do want to make a Cashmerette pattern, one of the things they have that I think is great is their Size Calculator.

   You plug your measurements in, and it tells you what size or what sizes to make. For example, my pattern would consist of 3 different sizes and a Full bust Adjustment. That calculator does a lot of the work for me in telling me what sizes to use on the pattern.

Happy creating! 

 

Is it Salmon or Is It Coral

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Looking at this gorgeous color led me on an internet search of just what is the difference between Coral and Salmon.

 If you’re wondering just what color started me on this, it was the gorgeous color in this lace.

To be honest, I’m still not sure. I think it falls somewhere in-between the two colors. And I like them both too, but I decided this was closer to coral.

To match my lovely new coppery coral bra, I made (again) my two favorite panty patterns. I really do have other that I like too, so need to not limit myself. Hmm. I might need another set or two next month Just to break into some other patterns.

Here’s my KS2286.  I used a peachy colored elastic on the legs to match the copper of the cups and band, but I wanted the rest shades of coral.

   Oh, I still like my KS2286s. They have a bit of a ’80s vibe to them, they’re still adorable.

And my Clover Boyshorts. 

Oh, just as adorable!

Here’s the full set of matchy matchy.

Just lovely.

One of these days, I’m going to find some perfectly matchy copper!

Let me know if you think this is coral or salmon.  

Happy creating!

Another Autumn Josey II

~ Michelle

I wanted to make another beautiful Autumn toned bra, and I knew just the lace I wanted to use. I knew it would pair perfectly with the copper kits and finding from Bra Makers Supply too.Oh, it’s another love for this. The lace is so delicate and so pretty.Oh, those salmon/coral colors.

I had everything for this bra from a leftover kit, well everything except strap elastic. So I had to use beige, which doesn’t look quite so light and different in person.

  I’d made this Freja bra in a copper kit, and was thrilled I have enough power net, and duoplex to make a whole other bra. That was a very happy occurrence. Above is the Freja bra I made.

Back to the Josey II. Here’s the back. I do have to say, I prefer copper over beige. It’s a warmer richer color.

I’ve been looking for some cotton Lycra that will go well with this copper. So far I can tell you,  the ‘copper’ cotton Lycra I found doesn’t. Neither does ‘tan’ I found recently. Hopefully I’ll find a great match soon.

Happy creating!

Burnt Orange is a Lovely Color

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I love my new Josey in Burnt Orange with that gorgeous Autumn Glory lace. (See my previous post to find this bra kit.)

The colors are so rich and vibrant.

I had to make some matchy matchy to go with this lovely bra.

I pulled out my two favorite patterns, but I have to admit, one of them is out-ranking the other one now.

I started with my favorite of many years now – KwikSew 2286.

This looks like an adorable hipster, but it sits much higher on. 

Here’s my newest match.

I looked around, but I couldn’t find the color of lace I wanted, so I dyed this lace using Burnt Orange acid dye. It turned out perfectly!

You see, that’s a full coverage back. What the pattern shows is definitely not quite what you get. Still, these have been a favorite of mine for years now.

My other favorite is a newer pattern – at least in comparison. It’s a few years old now. It’s not quite a hipster either. It’s a labelled a boy brief, but it’s got curves. It’s the Clover by House Morrighan.

This pattern is edging out KS as my favorite. It’s more modern, and I think I’m preferring it over the other style.

Oh, I think these are cute.

You can see these have full coverage too, but they sit a little lower over the leg.

Both of these turned out perfectly, and match so well with my Burnt Orange Josey bra.

  That is some perfectly matching matchy matchy.

Happy creating!

Thinking About Autumn

~ Michelle

I’ve started to think about Autumn. The weather is still lovely and hot most days, so it’s not that making me think about the change of season. But I am thinking about it.

I have a few lovely summery kits that have been waiting for me to sew up, but I think they’ll wait a while longer. I’m thinking fall colors.

The first of my fall lingerie wardrobe is a gorgeous kit I bought at Bra Builders last year.

Do you know I don’t have a favorite color? I don’t. There were colors I didn’t like though. Yellow and orange come to mind right away, and I remember when that changed. It changed years ago for yellow, but just last year I started to really like orange. Don’t ask me why. I don’t have any idea. I just started to really like the color orange, and wanted orange in my wardrobe.

So when I saw this lovely lace, I knew I had to make a bra with this beautiful it. Bra Builders is still carrying this lace too. You can find it here. Oh, I love it.

Here’s my gorgeous new fall Josey II. Yes, I love this. It’s such a rich deep color. The color is one of their Legacy colors: Burnished Copper. I think it pairs with lace beautifully.

Here’s the back.

This kit is micro duoplex, and I had no trouble sewing with it at all. It’s so soft too. Still, no stretch, but soft.  

There’s one thing I love more than anything else about this bra. I love how the different base colors affect the look of the lace. The upper cup has black sheer cup lining, and it looks quite dark. However, the power bar has micro duoplex, and looks completely different. 

Here’s a closer look a the same lace but looking like two different colors.     Oops, I see some threads I missed snipping. (smile)

I have some gorgeous orange cotton Lycra to make some panties next.

Happy creating!

Willowdale Take Two

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

I was very impressed with my first attempt of the Willowdale pattern, so I decided to make another one right away. This time, with a narrower bridge.

This one fits perfectly!

Isn’t this the most lovely material? This comes from B,Wear.

   Oh, I really love this! This fabric is is very similar to duoplex, but is a bit firmer. The lace actually comes in three colors. Pink, blue, and a mint green. Oh, they are all so pretty!

It would have been a dream come true if there had been matching power net too! However, I had some light pink in my stash that I was happy with. White would have worked as well, but I preferred the pink.

 I have a bee kit all cut out, so time to do some sewing again.

Happy creating!

A Satin Watson

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

B,Wear recently asked for testers to try out some of their fabrics and show what could be made from them. I jumped on that. I love testing patterns and fabrics.

B,Wear sent me the most lovely Italian Stretch Satin. This is very hard to get a true picture of the color. It’s more a lavender-gray with light blue polka dots.

Here’s the photo from B, Wear’s website.

Here it looks blue. Trust me, it’s really a lavender-gray – not quite full on lavender, but not gray either.

It is so easy to sew. It’s not slippery or hard to sew at all.

My DIL saw it and, well, she’s been hinting she wants another bralette or two for a few months. She even went so far as to tell me she ‘needs’ one. So I told her she could have one with this fabric. She was so excited. 

Here’s the lovely Watson I made for Em. Sadly, it’s a bit too small in the band. I have just enough satin to make her another one, but don’t think I’ll have enough for the cradle and cups.

Em wanted black elastics with this, and I think the little picots peeking out are darling. I would have loved a light blue elastic to match the dots. I did use light blue thread as a complement to those the dots.

 I loved using this light blue thread to match. This was a happy solution because lavender thread didn’t quite match. It was too purple. Gray didn’t match either – it was too gray with not enough purple in it.

Em isn’t big in any way. She’s very petite. So she didn’t need me to line the cups. This satin only has a little stretch in one direction, so if using it for bra cups, I’d line it for me, but I didn’t for Em.

     Happy creating!

Bees on Black

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I bought the most adorable bra kit – last year. I bought it before the International Bra Sewing Bee, thinking how fun it would be to make a bee bra.

Bees on Black Bra Kit Black Beauty Bra image 2Isn’t this charming? This is from Emerald Erin’s bra shop. She has it in black, and Latte. Bees on Latte Bra Kit Black Beauty Bra image 1 I love them both. But bought the black one.

I decided to try a little something different with this bra. It’s something I heard on last year’s Bee – some Omega’s are fuller in the center front than on the side. Well, that fits me (pardon the pun). I’m always adding to the center front.

The suggestion was to use one size larger for the inner cup, and one size smaller for the power bar, blending the lines.

I decided to try this with my latest Josey.  Do you ever just love something you’re doing? I loved sewing this bra together. I love the sheer fabric with these adorable bees!I love this. I’m super tempted to buy more of this so I can make it again.

Do you see that pretty hardware on the straps? This is a very old finding kit I bought from Mrs Weaver’s Finest Unmentionables (now closed).

Here’s a closer look at those sliders.They have a bit of a more rounded shape. I love them.

I think my favorite part of this bra is how sheer it is. I really do love this bra. It was a very fun make just in time for the Bee this year.

Happy creating!

Willowdale Take One

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Have you seen the new Willowdale bra pattern? Cashmerette released it this past month.

 

I like Cashmerette patterns, but honestly when I first looked the pattern, I thought I already have a couple of patterns that are similar in style. I wasn’t thinking I’d buy it.

However, it wasn’t long before all I was hearing were great reviews of this pattern. What started to win me over was when another woman who is an Omega shape said she didn’t have to make any changes and it fit so well.

Then I saw this:

Oh! I love this! 

A dear sewing friend also raved about it. I was won over. I decided I wanted to try it.

Aa well, after hearing all those great reviews, I decided to cut into a ‘good’ kit to make it. 

This is some of the platinum duoplex and findings from a BMS kit, and some gorgeous lace from Kantje boord.

I did make a few alterations for my Omega shape, and was very impressed with how well everything still fit together. Unfortunately, even though I did alter the bridge, it was still a bit too wide. The cups fit perfectly though.

I’m actually thinking of cutting it down the middle of the bridge and putting a seam there. It would be perfectly wearable, and I can decide it’s a design feature. Are you ‘going’ to the International Bra Sewing Bee? Jennifer, from Porcelynne will be doing a sew-along of the Willowdale. I’m planning to take that in.

Happy creating!

Freja Take One

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I’m back! It feels so good to be sewing pretties and blogging again.

I have one of the new patterns BMS recently released. The Freja pattern.  It is a really nice pattern. It came together easily, and fits well for a first attempt. I’ve been wearing it, so it’s fitting well enough.This is made from a copper bra kit I had. Oh, I love this color, and I’m rather loving this bra too.

I made my usual alterations for Omega. I’m using a 4.25 cradle, with a 5.25 cup. I removed some of the excess along the wire line at each seam. Overall, I’m really happy with this.

I love the shape of the lace, and the look of the whole bra. This copper color is such a gorgeous color.

Not too much to see here at the back. It’s a tad too long. I’m wearing it on the middle hook and eye, and could probably wear it on the tighest one.

It’s also a tad small in the inner cup. I can adjust both of these easily.

It really showed that I haven’t been sewing for a while when I sat down and started to sew. I broke three needles right off the bat. It didn’t take too much longer for me to get my sewjo back though, and not break any more needles.

   Happy creating!