The Prettiest Josey Bra

January 14, 2023January 13, 2023 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

You’ve heard me say this many times before, but I loved this lace when I saw it. Do you all have the same problem? I can’t be the only one to fall in love over and over with laces.

But. I saw this lace and thought it was so beautiful. You can find it at B,Wear. The link is in the photo as well.It’s described as Light Beige with Pink Flowers. The above photo is on a pink background. Below it is on a darker background.Oh, it’s so delicate and so pretty.

I did something I’ve never done before. The same day I received the lace in the mail, I had the bra cut out and began to sew it up.I had some copper power net and I found it went perfectly with the leaf outlines in the lace.

Here’s my lovely new Josey bra. Because this is a stretch lace, I’ve lined the frame and the cups with an ivory sheer cup lining.Here you can just see a bit of the copper power net.Above is a bit more of a side view. Oh, I love this! The lace is so delicate and so pretty. And the back view. I really love copper power net and duoplex too. I wish I could find the perfect cotton Lycra to match copper though. Has anyone found that? Let me know.

One of these days I am going to try another bra pattern. (I do have one cut out to try. Really.) However, this time it was too hard to resist this lace. I used my TNT Josey pattern so I could sew this up right away.

Happy creating!

Prima Donna Inspired

January 7, 2023January 6, 2023 ~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have a favorite older RTW bra. The Prima Donna Milady. (I won’t show you the same photo again! I’ve been showing it to you for years.)

However, the Milady isn’t my only inspiration. The Prima Donna 2022 Madison collection has some gorgeous bras too.

This is their non-padded full cup seamless bra. This was my inspiration for my latest Josey. Although I do love how my Josey fits me, Booby Traps has a lovely darted bra that might look even more similar to this style.

I really loved my latest make – my 3/4 foam cup lined Josey.I really wanted to make it again, but in colors similar to the above Prima Donna. So I did.

Again, I decided to use the 3/4 foam lining, but I lowered it about 1/4-inch. I found both the upper edge of the foam and the cross cup seam were both hitting at the same place. I felt it would look better to sit either below that line or above it. Seeing as the Josey seam is above the apex as it is, I lowered the upper edge of the foam.

This foam-lace bra is so very comfortable, and it’s still a pretty lace bra. It’s the best of both worlds – foam cups and lace cups.I love this! I’m really happy with it.Here is one last photo of my new Josey Milady. Showing the inside of the bra, and the curve of the foam cup.I have to admit, I really love the leopard theme in Prima Donna’s collection. Here’s another inspiration from the same Madison collection.This one I think will be perfect for the Josey pattern, or the Shelly pattern, but I’m going to try copying this color combination on Lilypa’s new bra pattern – Lusamine.I love this style. I can’t wait to make my own bra using the colors of the Madison above.

Happy creating!

A Couple of Kitten Briefs

December 31, 2022October 25, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

My son and DIL love cats. They have two, and call them my grand-kitties.

I saw this gorgeous stretch rayon fabric and knew exactly what I wanted to make for my ‘kids’.

Isn’t that adorable for a couple of cat fans? They were both going to get undies with cats on them.

His

For my son I used the PUG Michael pattern. It’s similar to SAXX in that it has a cup for support and comfort.

I’ve made this pattern before and my son likes them.In the past I’ve made a front opening for these briefs, but I was thinking these would be more for sleepwear than daily wear. As a result I didn’t make the front opening this time. I think he’ll like them.

Hers

For my DIL I used the House Morrighan Clover Boys Brief.

I really like this pattern, and sadly it’s not on Etsy anymore. None of the House Morrighan patterns are. I don’t know where they can be found now.

Oh, both briefs are so cute.

They were both fun to sew, and the material is cute and so soft.

I don’t have a lot of experience sewing on this type of elastic waistband, and the first time I did a few years ago, it looked terrible! This time I did much better, with just one little pucker at the back on hers.

Happy creating!

A Christmassy Bra

December 24, 2022December 19, 2022 ~ Michelle

Sometimes I see a lace and love it right away. Okay, that actually happens a lot. It happened with this lace from B,Wear. In fact, I had this lace in my favorites for quite a while but it was out of stock. I’d asked to be notified when it was back in stock, and as soon as it was I went to buy some.I love the red and black check. For me, this spoke Christmas. So, I made a Christmassy Josey Milady bra.I’m just teasing. I couldn’t resist playing a little bit with some photo effects.

Here’s a better photo.Oh, this is pretty! I’ve added a 3/4s foam cup inside again. It’s my current favorite style, and I find it so very comfortable.I love this lace so much, I wanted to use it for the frame of the bra as well. Because this is a stretch lace, I’ve lined the frame with sheer cup lining. I didn’t line the cups as I was using foam inside. The back is solid red, but still Christmassy.

One last photo. Although I did mirror the plaid pattern along the upper cup, I didn’t even think of trying to match up the plaid on the rest of the bra! No, that would have been quite the feat to do that.

I have some red cotton Lycra on my cutting table ready to make some matchy matchy for this Christmassy bra.

I hope your holidays are filled with family and friends this year. Merry Christmas and happy creating!

A Matching Table Runner

December 17, 2022December 16, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I finished my tree skirt and love it! The panel is Christmas Splendor by Color Principle for Henry Glass.I love the colors and the pattern so much on this. I knew I wanted to find a matching table runner. And I did. And I was able to fit it into my sewing schedule and get it finished quickly too.

I didn’t have enough of the black fabric to back the table runner like on the skirt below.So for the table runner, I chose a fun bright green snowflake print.

Here it is all set up on my dinning room table.And one last photo.

Happy Creating!

A Modified Josey

December 10, 2022December 2, 2022 ~ Michelle

For anyone who’s followed my blog for a while, you know my favorite RTW bra of all time. If you’re new to my blog, well, it’s the Prima Donna Milady.

Isn’t this pretty? It’s a lovely lace cup with a 3/4 inner foam cup. It’s comfortable, and gives great support and lift. But it never did fit me because the wires were too big.

It’s long been a desire of mine to clone it, but I just didn’t want to do all the work. By that I mean, clone a bra that doesn’t fit me, then do all the adjustments to modify it to fit me. It sounded like a lot of work I didn’t feel like doing.

Then I had an idea. Why not use my very well-fitting Josey bra pattern to make my own Milady. It turned out perfectly!I used this is from a lovely kit I found on BMS.I used the lace for the whole cup so it would look more similar style-wise to the PD Milady.I love how the lace details lined up on the cup pieces. Trust me, that was a happy accident. I didn’t have that much material for cutting them, so didn’t follow the Dogs on the pattern for cutting those cup pieces. What a happy occurrence. Yes, I’m very very happy with how this turned out. I’m sure there will be more Josey Miladys soon.

One last photo since the foam really doesn’t show in the photos. Here’s one I took a photo of the inside of the bra.Oops, I see the channeling popped out from under the upper band elastic. I guess I’m not quite done this bra yet.

Happy creating!

The Sahaara Wireless Bra Pattern

December 3, 2022November 25, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I was excited when the Sahaara wireless bra pattern became available. It reminded me of the Watson bra pattern, which is a pattern I think is charming. However, the Watson is not in my size range. The Sahaara is!

I was very excited to try it.

However, what really made me want to make this pattern was seeing one made up on the Nellie Joans website. Isn’t this stunning? Just beautiful.

I had to make my own version. Having sewn bras for a few years now, I had most of what I needed for this. I did order a few other supplies, like the lovely lingerie satin from Bodil’s.

I did use a different lace, but I think it has a similar enough look to it. I love this!This fabric combination is very elegant.

I found the pattern to fit well using my measurements. I didn’t have to change anything. I fall between two band sizes, so think next time I’ll make a half size version. I couldn’t resist. I’ve already purchased a soft tulle kit for this pattern.

I have two wonderful kits on my sewing table, so can’t wait to share more with you soon.

Happy creating!

My First Stanton Hoodie Dress

November 26, 2022November 24, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I really loved the look of the Stanton Hoodie Dress when I saw it. Since first seeing it, I’ve seen other hoodie dresses, but I don’t think they’re as nice.

I had this gorgeous cotton fleece I bought a few years ago from Fabricville. I’d been saving it to make a warm winter dress, and I knew I wanted it for my Stanton.I love this material! I think this makes a lovely Stanton hoodie dress too. I decided for this one (I have others planned already) that I wanted it all one color with a pop of color for the lining.I actually didn’t have enough fabric to make the hood lining and the pocket lining the same color. I was using up some scraps. But seeing as the pocked will be laying flat most of the time, we’ll be the only ones who know.

As you can see here. The lining on the pocket really doesn’t show, so no one will notice those two different lining colors.I love this material for this and I decided to use it for the cuffs and hem instead of ribbing.

Here’s one cuff:

And here’s the hem:I’m very happy with how my Stanton turned out. It’s going to be wonderful on those really cold -30C winter days! Well, actually, I don’t go out much on those days. It’ll be lovely on the -20C days. (smile)

My DIL Em came over to take a few pictures of me wearing my Stanton. She loves it. She’s planning on getting material for her, and dropping hints that her mom would love it too!

Happy creating!

Christmas Tree Skirt

November 19, 2022November 18, 2022 ~ Michelle

Two Christmases ago I found a gorgeous tree skirt panel and I loved it as soon as I saw it. My husband said to go ahead and get it so I could make it for next Christmas.

Well, the next Christmas it was packed away in a box somewhere. We’d just moved three weeks before. So although I did remember it, there was no way I was going to do anything about it. It was an easy project. Just cut out the panel, cut out a backing, and cut out the layer of batting.We don’t have our tree set up yet, but I did have this little tree so I could take a quick photo and show all of you just how pretty this panel is when sewn up.

I found a cute mistletoe fabric for the back.

Here are a few close ups. I love all these motifs. It’s called Christmas Spendor by Color Principle for Henry Glass.

I’ve found a matching table runner from the same collection. That will be my next Christmas project.

Happy creating!

Hooded Baby Towel

November 12, 2022November 5, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I was recently invited to a baby shower for a sweet little girl. I decided I’d make my TNT baby gift: a hooded towel I first saw on a Sewing With Nancy program.

It’s been a while since I’ve made one, but our weather just turned cold and I thought it would keep that sweet little baby warm.

I didn’t add ribbon this time, but have in the past.

Nancy’s book is no longer available, but it’s not a difficult project to sew. Just add equal folds towards the center and sew them in place. Then narrow the top of the facecloth for the hood by sewing from the side where the folded facecloth meets up towards the top at a bit of an angle. Lastly, sew the hood to the body of the towel.