Author: Michelle

An International Beauty

~ Michelle

I’ve made another Josey II. I have so many other bra plans, but this bra pattern fits me so well, I’m just sewing Josey all the time right now.

 Look how pretty this Josey is. I’m calling her my International Beauty bra because parts of her come from all over the world.

The oh-so-pretty Mirrored Embroidered Tulle Lace is from Emerald Erin’s Bra shop. Aren’t these gorgeous?   I have a confession here. I bought one of each of these. They were too pretty for me to resist. I still have enough of the black to make another bra! 

So my bra is one part Canadian. It’s also one part American. The frame is microduoplex from Bra Builders.And lastly, the finding kit I used was from B,Wear in Sweden. Truly, this Josey bra is an International Beauty.

Let’s go back to the tulle for a moment. I loved the bright floral design so much, I used a bit that would normally be scrap for the inner lower cup. It’s a pretty way to add a few more flowers in the cup.The rest of the cup is sheer cup lining. You can see the difference in the above photo.  

Lastly, I couldn’t resist using a single floral leaf that was in some scraps for the center front. A bow just didn’t seem right.Isn’t that adorable? I love it!

I have 3 more bra kits sitting on my cutting table, and I may just sew them all up using the Josey II. The new year might be the perfect time to try those other patterns I want to try.

Happy creating!

Smoke and Mirror Matches

~ Michelle

I really love my new Plum Pudding bra from the Bra Builders kit I received. It’s so lovely, I wanted to make something to match it right away. But this is a custom dyed kit. I wondered just what I would have that would match it.

I think you all know I love my cotton panties by now.

 Then I remembered some scraps I had from an order from Smoogie Fabrics (which sadly has closed).

This material coordinates perfectly with my new  bra.These are the House Morrighan Clover BoyBrief. I made this pair using the boyshort style leg.

The second pair I made were the same fabric, but a different section of that fabric. They look totally different. For this pair I used the brief leg opening.

I think they both look great with my new Plum Pudding Josey Bra.

I’m excited to work on a few more projects I’ve had planned.

Happy creating!

Smoke and Mirrors

~ Michelle

Bra Builders recently released their new seasonal colors, and I fell in love with more than one color. Just look at that first color – Burnished Copper. Oh! Gorgeous! However, my favorite would have to be the Plum Pudding. They describe it as a beautiful eggplant purple – rich and smoky. It’s so pretty!

Well, not only did I fall in love with a few of these colors, but I was accepted as one of Bra Builders’ Featured Artists, and had the priviledge of working with this beautiful Smoke and Mirrors tulle lace and some Plum Pudding micorduoplex!It was love at first sight.

When I saw this lace, I knew it would be perfect for an all-lace cup. The design throughout the lace, and the darker border on the lace make it perfect for this. I used the Josey II pattern for this bra.I am so happy with this bra. I love this bra kit. I adore these colors!I couldn’t resist using a little bit of the upper edge of the lace along the side of the bra.These rings and sliders are the Rainbow ones from Bodil’s Wear. They match the eggplant color in this so well.I have a few more matchy matchy to share with you in my next blog post.

Happy creating!

Matchy Matchy for Viola

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

The weather might be turning cooler here in Canada, but I won’t even think of that when I look at these pretty matching Viola Josey bra sets.The colors are so vibrant, I really wanted to pick that up in the panties. So I didn’t go with just one color. I love the pop of turquoise in the lace trim. I think it coordinates well with the turquoise elastics in the bra.

No basic black here.

For the second pair, I decided to match the purple color in the bra.These are adorable too.

  For both pairs of panties I used the House Morrighan Clover Boybrief. I think these sets will cheer up the coldest day!

Since sewing these, I decided my lovely new Viola bra needed a bow. So I’ve added an adorable lavender bow in the center of the bridge.

Happy creating!

The Prettiest Viola

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I had ordered a kit from B,Wear earlier this year. It is such a pretty kit, I had to use it now that I again have a well-fitting pattern.

Yes, this is another Josey II. I do plan so sew a few other patterns, but right now Josey is getting all the attention. 

I decided to do something different with this bra. Instead of using duoplex/microduoplex or even lingerie satin for the cradle, I made a lace cradle and backed it with sheer cup lining. Making a lace cradle allowed me to have a pretty lace edge along the bottom of the bra.I love the colors in this lace, and the coordinating elastics all in turquoise. It’s so pretty. That lace edge makes it look like a bralette to me, but it’s a wired bra.To make a lace edge, you need to have a center seam in the cradle.  The band doesn’t have lace on it. I think I’d like to make one like that, but I used almost all the lace in the kit doing the cradle and cups.

This kit was called Viola, and I do hope B,Wear will carry it again. I looked to buy some more of the lace and couldn’t find any more.

They do have this lovely lace which is similar, but with a pink flower instead of a purple one.  Lastly, here’s the back. The B,Wear kit had both a black and a turquoise set of hooks and eyes included. I decided I can use the black on many other bras, but on this one the turquoise would coordinate perfectly. How could I pass that up?Isn’t that lovely? The constrast between the turquoise and the black is striking! This is another very happy make. 

I have one more kit I want to sew up right away, but I think Viola needs some matchy-matchy first.

Happy creating!

Sewing Plans

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I have a few projects sitting on my cutting table this week, but nothing that will be done in time to post on Saturday. So I thought I’d share a few of my plans with you.I saw this top online and loved it at first look. What I don’t love about it is it’s not natural fibers. I prefer that, so I thought, I can make my own version of this lovely top. If you love it too, there’s a link in the photo. (no affiliation)

I was thinking the Halla Agnes Swing Top would be perfect for the shape.

Use the sleeve option, add the color blocking and seam allowances. It wouldn’t be a hard adjustment to make.

So that’s one plan.

Another is the lovely new Cambia bra pattern.I first saw this bra during the Great Bra Sewing Bee, and simply fell in love. If you haven’t seen it done up, go and have a look. It’s gorgeous! 

I bought the pattern as soon as it came out. This will be one of the next patterns I try. I may try the Lamina or Labellum from Lilypa first so I know how her sizing fits me.

I’ll be back next week with some wonderful new makes to share.

Happy creating!

Using MicroDuoplex

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I have a couple of really beautiful bra kits with Microduoplex in them. I’ve heard often that it’s very hard to sew, so I ordered some plain white to practice sewing it.

I’d also read as many tips as I could about how to sew it. Those tips are things like: use tear-away paper underneath two layers, use a microtek needle, use So Fine thread, lengthen your stitch length, use a straight stitch plate.

I tried almost all of the suggestions – probably in the same order as above too. There were a lot of skipped stitches and sections where the stitches didn’t take at all the first few times. Believe it or not, this was sewn all the way across. You can see the skipped stitches, and where there are no stitches in the material at all.

I didn’t find the paper underneath did a thing. Nor was I finding any of the others tips helpful either. That is, until I decided I would buy a straight stitch plate for my machine. Once I had the straight stitch plate on, the microduoplex sewed so easily. It was amazing the difference it made.

It sewed so easily without any paper underneath, and without the longer stitch length. Let me tell you, while I was sewing, I thought that new stitch plate was completely worth the money I paid for it!Once I started sewing, I was excited to finish a bra. This one was only using  white mircoduoplex, and then a bit of lace left over.

 This is very pretty. I have to say, after trying the straight stitch plate for the cups, the bra came together quite easily.

I can see one problem with my photos though. The foam cups I’ve been using really don’t fit my size now. I’m going to cut out some new foam cups this week.

One bit of experimenting I did on this bra was to add some non-stretch lace to the strap elastic at the front. My thought was many high-end RTW bras use strap elastic only, but have a bit of embelishment on the front strap. I was thinking it’s more than just decoration – it’s to stabilize the straps.

I would have used a bit more lace, but I was down to scraps and that was all I had left. That lace was very well used.

If you haven’t tried microduoplex, I do encourage you to try it – but make sure you have a straight stitch plate! It really is a lovely material for our bra-making.

Happy creating!

Seamless Clover Boybrief

~ Michelle

If you remeber last week I was planning to try a boyshort pattern with the fusible elastic. I looked through my patterns, and chose my favorite one. The House Morrighan Clover pattern.

The reason this is my favorite ‘boybrief’ pattern is there are curves built into the shape of the pattern. A lot of boyshort patterns don’t suit a curvy shape. And if you’re wondering, by curvy I mean actual curves. I’m not using it to refer to plus size. This pattern starts at a size 6.

So I chose my favorite pattern. Then I thought how the gusset was too narrow on the last trial. So on this one, I added 1/2″ to the sides of one of the gusset pieces. The other I left as it usually is.  

This way, when I fold over the larger gusset, it will enclose the sides and make a nice neat finish – and not be too narrow.

I also added 1/2″ to the leg openings. I didn’t want a shorter boyshort. I guess if you want a cheekier look don’t add the 1/2″.

Here are my seamless Clover boybriefs.   Oh, I do like these.  

These turned our perfectly!

One fusible elastic user beware: You can’t see the front when turning it over and ironing it. Check before you iron! I got a pucker.

That little pucker? It’s fused in place. I learned my lesson to really make sure this was bonded from the first pair I made. Now I’ve learned to check before I fold over the material and fuse it again. Other than that, these really turned out perfectly. 

Happy creating!

Still Playing with Fusible Elastic

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I loved trying the new fusible elastic on my most recent pair of panties. I’d purchased a whole role of the HeatnBond, so decided to have some more fun with that.  Yes, 10 yards of it will last me a while.

Here’s a stock photo showing how it’s used.I may do a whole panty using the fusible elastic, but for my next one, I wanted to see how it was around the leg opening.

One issue I might experience is I usually pull the lace around the lower leg  curve of the back of the panty. I don’t want things riding up or moving around, and just a little tension there really does keep everything in place. I won’t be able to add that tension with the fusible elastic.

    I think these are almost as equally adorable as my first pair. Hmm. I don’t love how narrow this gusset is. That’s something to change on my next try.

And I’ll share a warning – this tape doesn’t love curves at all. After struggling a bit to add it to one side, I ended up tearing off short strips along the second side.  It does give a very neat finish, but sadly, just what I was thinking would happen happened. The back doesn’t hug the way it usually does.You can see the difference in the photo below. The lace being applied with a little tension makes a big difference.This is the same pattern, same size. It’s the same fabric even. So the only difference is the tension that’s been applied.

I was thinking about it and I think this fusible elastic would be best used on a boyshort pattern. 

Look at this boyshort from BMS. These leg openings are pretty straight.   This fusible elastic would be best used on a pattern like this. I think I’ll look through my patterns and see which boyshort patterns I have that will work well with this type of elastic.

Happy creating!

Seamless Panties

~ Michelle

I don’t know how many of you watched The Great Bra Sewing Bee this August. I loved it! In fact, I’m going to make sure I have the whole year’s access next year.

There was one class I was watching, and I had to rewind the class. What did I just see? It was the Panty Drafting Based on Inspiration Images class with Angela Gough.

At one point in her class, she used a stretch adhesive tape on the edge of her panty. She ironed it, and folded it over and ironed it again! No seams! No sewing! 

What? I’ve never seen anything like that before.

I sent off a message to Bodil of B,Wear, and I asked her what this magical tape was. She said she was already looking for it because at the time the video was released it was only available at the Sewing Chest in the UK.

    Well, Bodil got some in and sent me a sample with an order. I couldn’t wait to try it.I pulled out one of my favorite panty patterns – Kwik Sew 2286.

I didn’t have enough for the whole panty. I actually didn’t have enough for the whole waistband. But that was okay. I had also purchased some HeatnBond Ultra to test. I used them both on these panties.I used the Fusible Iron-on elastic sample Bodil sent on the back of the panties and it bonded perfectly. I used the HeatnBond on the front, and it didn’t bond perfectly. I had to redo it because after handling the panties it was coming undone.

    After a second press with a hot iron, it seems to have bonded now.I’m very happy with my new seamless panties. I can’t wait to have more fun this way.

Happy creating!