Author: Michelle

Wire Trace Results

~ Michelle ~ 9 Comments

A New Drafting Method

Something I’ve wanted to do for the past year is learn Porcelynne‘s method of drafting bras. It looks quite different from the BMS method I’ve learned and I was intrigued. 

Watching a few of Jennifer’s classes in the Great Bra Sewing Bee helped give me the push I needed to try this.

First things first, as I mentioned my last post, I needed to do a root trace to determine my wire size. Well, I actually didn’t think I really needed to do a root trace because I have all the wire sizes from BMS – they came with the Drafting course I took.  Still, I wanted the experience of doing a root trace with copper wire. And I’m very glad I did.

My Results

This is my copper wire root trace on laid over a 38 Extra Long wire from BMS. And in case you’re wondering, the copper wire is much longer than my root trace.This is pretty close. I’d say it would be an exact fit – except for the upper part of the wire. This would explain why I felt the 38 wires were pinching me.

Here’s the same copper wire trace over a 40 Long wire from BMS.My trace is smaller at the bottom, but it matches the width at the top of the wire.

So, it seems I am in-between wire sizes.

After asking for some help in the Support for Bare Essentials group, it was suggested I watch this video.

After realizing I could bend my wires, I tried gently bending one of my 38 wires. I really didn’t want it to snap while doing this, so gentle was the way to go.And I have my perfect wire! And I have a whole bunch of 38 Extra Long wires, so this will be very handy to do so I can still use them.

I was also given another great tip in the Support group: Emerald Erin carries wires that are a little wider at the top.

I printed out her wire chart for her Orange wires, and perfection! And without me bending anything.The next part of the course is to make a fitting band.

Happy creating!

Matching Sigrid Panties

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I gave my blog an bit of a makeover. Well, just a small one. I decided I’ve sewn a lot of things since I’d originally posted those photos, so I chose something newer. What do you think?Above is the one I’ve been using.And I chose this Watson for my new header. Do you have a preference?

Sigrid 

I wanted some matching panties for my new Jessica’s Twin bra. So I decided to make another pair of the new Sigrid panties.

For these, I only had a little bit of the burn-out mesh left over, and not even enough for the front of the panties. So, if you look closely, you’ll see a fairly well-matched seam down the front.

Here’s my new set:    Oh, this mesh!

I’m a little sad I don’t have any left. Well, one tiny little square that I can’t throw out. I’ll find something to do with it.

The sheer part looks white on my display, but I think it’ll look more like the bra when worn.    This is also the last of my lovely Café au lait beige. It’s a little darker than a lot of the beige cotton Lycras I’ve seen, and I like it too. The lace trim matches the cotton Lycra perfectly, and both are the same Café au lait as in the burn-out mesh.

Here’s the side view:

And lastly, the view from the back.

Such a pretty Angie and Sigrid set.

There are more fun things on my cutting table at the moment, and I look forward to sharing them with you as well.

Happy creating!

Angie’s Twin Two

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I made another Angie’s Twin. And I also broke into one of my very pretty bra kits.Oh, I like this. I also like the Angie’s Twin pattern. Other than a few adjustments for an Omega shape – smaller wires & frame, and a larger cup – I didn’t have to change anything on this pattern.

I have to say, I love this lace! There was very little left over. Not enough to do any other projects. This is so pretty, I’d love to have some more. Sadly, I only bought one kit, and I haven’t seen anymore in B,Wear‘s store.

The original kit came with sheer cup lining, white elastics, and the lace. And I’m sure it would have been lovely, but I wanted to play with all the colors in the lace.

I had a little bit of pink duoplex and power net left over from another bra. It was just enough for the straps and frame. As well, to continue pulling colors out of the lace, I went with some red elastics rather than the white. I love it.

Here’s the side view. There was just a tiny bit of lace left over to add to the sides. Just to add a bit more detail.

And the back.      All that red really pops here.

Lastly, a closer look at the side and front.  Oh, such pretty lace!I tried a couple of different bows on the front to see what color I liked the best. I decided, even though the pink blends in, it was the only one that didn’t seem to pull the attention away from the lace. I love it too.

I already have my next bra kit out and ready to sew another bra. And I’m testing a few more patterns, so will have more fun things to show you soon.

Happy creating!

Jessica’s Twin

~ Michelle

Here’s a little of the back story to my Jessica’s Twin I shared last week. 

I was asked to test Jessica’s Twin. I like the Angie pattern so much, I was happy to test this pattern. 

I’ve made a few Angie bras in the past, and I had bought Angie’s Twin. I’d even bought the Jessica pattern, but I hadn’t sewn it up yet.One of the reasons I hadn’t tried the Jessica pattern is I have to make adjustments to my bra cups so they’ll fit in a smaller frame. Omega: larger cups, with a smaller frame and wires.

I’d been told the best way to make these adjustments was in the seams of the bra’s cups. And the more seams a cup has the better. Take a little dart out here and there and hide them all in the seams. It’s a great solution.

But Jessica only has one cup seam. I needed to think of other places I could remove a little without changing the shape of the cup or removing too much volume, because I still need that volume.This is what I tried, and I have to say, I was pretty close. I still need to take in the underarm a little, but other than that, I got a great fit.

Here is the side view. You can see where I need to adjust the side cup. I have it pinned.Well, maybe it’s not so clear. Here’s a close up.You can see I just have a little bit folded under there. Probably 1/4″ x 2 removed from the underarm there and it will fit absolutely perfectly. Not bad for a first time testing the pattern. And isn’t that purple elastic so pretty with the navy?

To make the underarm smaller, I used this adjustment from Cloth Habit’s blog: This is a great adjustment when you don’t want the cup size to be smaller, but just the amount of fabric in the underarm area. This works perfectly!

And just to share one more time, here is my Jessica’s Twin.I really am happy with this. I didn’t think I could make a cup with only one seam work for me.

Happy creating!

Jessica’s Twin Two

~ Michelle

This is my second Jessica’s Twin by B,Wear. I’ll share more about my first one in my next post. I’ll also share the alterations I had to make.

Here’s my (altered for Omega) Jessica’s Twin. I love this! It’s a burn-out mesh over duoplex. And it’s so fun. I have a little bit left. Matching panties perhaps?

You’ve seen this material before. I used it for one of my submissions to the Bra-Makers Challenge. We needed something sheer, and this has some sheer areas.  On the bra for the BMS challenge, I used the burn-out mesh on it’s own. On this one, I’ve used it over power net. I wasn’t looking for sheer on this bra.It’s so fun! When I first started sewing bras, I experimented a little and I tried using Lycra and mesh over power net. It gives a wonderfully supportive feel. It adds support, but it isn’t too much like two layers of power net would feel. This isn’t too much. It feels a little more supportive.

And lastly, here’s the bra from the side.When I tried this on to see how the adjustments I’d made were, it fit so perfectly and was so comfortable, I didn’t want to take it off for photos. I did, but there was no way I was going to put on my old bra. I need to sew a few more too. I was down to a RTW stretch-cup bra when my size changed.

One more little note, I love the shape that both Angie and Jessica give. They both are so nice and rounded. For me, I feel like I look like I’m wearing a foam cup, but I’m not. They are so nice.

Jessica’s Twin was released this week, and will be featured in The Great Bra Sewing Bee where Bodil will teach a class on making Jessica’s Twin. 

Happy creating!

Testing New Patterns

~ Michelle

I’m starting to get my sewjo back! Oh, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Honestly, it’s been such a hard year for me. And losing my love for sewing only added to how hard it was.

But. I’m getting my desire to sew back and have had such fun testing a few new patterns.

You read about my testing Sigrid, B,Wear’s new panty pattern. I really do like the pattern! I’m going to make another pair because they are so comfortable.

And I think that’s the proof of a pattern to me – if I go back to it.

My favorite panty patterns of all time are:

Kwik Sew 2286 

You can only find this used now. It’s been discontinued. Although the description on Etsy calls this a bikini, it fits like a hipster on me. And this has been my TNT pattern.

My Self-Drafted PatternI used Beverly Johnson’s Craftsy class to draft these, and they’re similar to my Kwik Sew favorite.

House Morrighan’s Clover BoyBrief 

These have been the patterns I’ve gone back to again and again.

However, I do love to test a new pattern because I never know when I’ll find a new favorite – like Sigrid.

One of my recent tests was from House Morrighan. When House Morrighan sends me a new pattern to test, I get excited. Something I look for in patterns is how well the pieces fit together. That should be a given, but sadly it’s not. With so many patterns being PDF now, it seems not all seams line up. House Morrighan’s do! And I like that!

Something else I love about House Morrighan’s patterns is she understands we have curves. And she builds curves into her patterns. 

So when HM asks me to test a pattern, I get excited. I’ll have more to show you soon, but now I’ll show you the gorgeous fabric I used. Oh, I love this too! I might have to get some more of this material. It’s a cotton Lycra from Smoogie Fabics. It is SO pretty!

I haven’t been only testing House Morrighan patterns though. I have a lovely make to show you this coming week. That’s all I’m going to say for now. But you won’t have to wait very long. 

Happy creating!

Angie’s Twin

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

It was time. It was time for me to sew a bra again. I have have a couple of patterns I’ve bought over the last year, and I decided to start with one of those.

I started with Angie’s Twin.

I really loved my first Angie. I made this one a few years ago now. And sadly, my size has changed and she didn’t fit anymore.

If you haven’t sewn an Angie, I do recommend it. Those vertical seam give such great lift. And it has a really nice rounded shape.

I really loved this bra so much. So when I was going to make Angie’s Twin, I used Ivory duplex again to make her. Other than the size being different, I didn’t change a lot else. I used different neckline trim, and made the straps differently this time.

I kept telling myself I was only sewing this up to see how it would fit. It didn’t have to fit. And I had to give myself a pep talk the whole time sewing it. And guess what? It fits!

The band fits a bit more snugly than I’d like. But it fits really well. My hubby has learned so much while I’ve been sewing bras and learning about fitting. He even commented on how it went all the way back on the bridge. I was impressed by how much he’s learned too.Here’s Angie’s Twin from the side. I used some of the same tricks and tips I’d learned taking Jeanette’s classes to get my Omega cup into a smaller frame. I like how it’s looking. No wrinkles. It looks like it was made to fit together. And the back.

There was one other little tip I used to make the strap elastic non-stretch.I sewed non-stretch seam tape along the inside of the front of the strap elastic. That will reduce how much stretch it will have. It stabilizes it. So, rather than make a separate non-stretch strap for my Angie’s Twin, I’ve used strap elastic for the whole strap.

I’m very encouraged, and am already planning my next bra, and the one after that!

Speaking of bra patterns, have you seen this?This is on my list of things to sew.   

Happy creating!

The Sigrid Panty

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I saw a call go out to test the new Sigrid panty by Bodils Wear, and I thought I’d love to test a new pattern. Panties are usually a quick sew, and I love new patterns. It seemed like a perfect idea. The only problem I had was I got sick with a bad cold at the beginning of March, and then my son came home at the end of March with a bad cold. I guess they weren’t the same colds, because I got sick all over. 

(With a pandemic going on, I was constantly checking to see if I had a fever, or any of the other symptoms that were connected to it. Thankfully, I did not, and I am finally on the mend.)

The Sigrid panty was designed for Bodil’s daughter, who couldn’t find that perfect panty pattern. So she went to her mom and her mom drafted a pair for her. She loved them so much, the Sigrid pattern was born.

The Sigrid panty is a quick sew, with two styles. There’s one thing about this pattern that is very different from other panty patterns I’ve sewn. Although it uses stretch fabrics, it’s not meant to stretch when worn. Usually, when working with stretch, you make a pattern smaller than your actual measurements. But this isn’t the case with Sigrid. 

So my first impression was, these are going to be way too big! But they’re not. And they’re incredibly comfortable on too. Really. Incredibly. Comfortable.

I won’t make you wait any longer to see my newest make.These are my 2nd Sigrid panties. My first were the test pair, which I didn’t finish. The very big difference between my waist and hips made that pair unwearable. Whenever I’m testing a pattern, I make it as is the first time to see how things go together. Often that means things will not fit that first time though, but it gives me a good idea of the pattern.

This second pair fit perfectly, and I think they’re adorable. For this pair, I altered the pattern to fit me. On the Sigrid, my waist fell into a size 6, and my hips into a size 12! Those just don’t go together easily. So I made an 8 waist, and pulled the lace trim a little more when sewing it on to give it a bit of a gather. Not a lot, but just pulling it in a bit helped.

  The back of this panty has nice coverage too.You can see a bit of the gathering at the waist on the back more than you can on the front.

Do you like the lace trim I used for the leg openings? I looked everywhere in my stash for black lace trim, and it seems I don’t have any. But I did have this great animal print. It was too wide as it was for the leg openings, so I cut it in half! I pulled out my pinking rotary cutter, and I love it. I’ve cut lace before, but always where there was a clear line in the pattern. I’ll have to see how well this wears to see if I do it again.If it does run a bit, the three-step zigzag will help it not fray too much. 

Lastly, there was one aspect of this pattern that I really appreciated. The seams all lined up so well. I loved that! I’ve used my fair share of PDF patterns, and more than a few of them didn’t line up perfectly. I can handle that. Cut a little off here, or stretch to make sides or seams meet. But that wasn’t needed here. They lined up perfectly – so much so, it stood out to me. Well done!

I hope you try Sigrid, and like her as much as I do.

Happy creating!

March BMS Challenge

~ Michelle

Underwear has not been around forever. The first underwear you might recall might be what is affectionately known as “granny panties”. This month, we celebrate 100 years of underwear! Whether you make thongs, g-strings, granny panties or even underwear for men, the choice is yours!

I decided this year I wouldn’t do the whole BMS Challenge, but would pick and choose the ones that appealed more to me. However, I’m already feeling a little regret that I didn’t do the February Challenge.

The February Challenge was to make a baby doll nightgown using one of the PUG patterns as a base. My first thought was I wasn’t interested. But over the last few weeks, I’ve seen so many baby doll nighties being sold in retail. Way to be on-trend, BMS!

My Challenge Entry

My March challenge entry is fitting perfectly with my personal needs as well. As much as I love using lace on my panties, lace doesn’t stand up well, or long. It was time for some new panties.

This time though, instead of being all matchy-matchy, I’m going with my feelings and just being happy playing with colors.

Here’s my first pair of panties. Just a cute neutral. This is a dark beige with some adorable animal print trim. I really love the lace trim I’ve used at the leg openings. I just love a scalloped lace trim.

Next was another beige, but this time with a little more color play. I think these are so fun, and I love the lace trim at the waist.

Oh, that’s pretty. I got this from BMS.

Next I used some lovely CL I got in one of Bodil’s Mystery Boxes.

Isn’t that a gorgeous knit? I really like these. I didn’t have any narrow trim, so I followed the design in the lace and cut it in half to use for the legs.Here’s a close-up of the lace at the waist. You can see the line going through the design. It made it very easy to cut and use for the legs. I’d probably put the scallops on the inside next time though. It was a challenge to match them at the seams this way.

Lastly, I had a little of that lovely CL print left over, and there was no way I wanted to throw it away. One last pair of panties it was.For these ones, it was a basic grey heather for the back and white lace trim at the legs and waist.

These are my own self-drafted panties, but I did get my inspiration for them from Rad Patterns.

I hope to be back with another post in a few weeks. Until then, as always,

Happy creating!

My Final Professional Course

~ Michelle

Hey all you creative people! I hope you’re all well, and keeping your distance from everyone. While the world is wondering what to do while everyone is self-isolating, we can sew!

I had a little something to share, so thought I’d write. And I have something to share next week too, but I’m not quite ready to start blogging again weekly

So. This past week was the final professional class Jeanette was holding at Central Sewing in Edmonton. This was the Bra Style Changes and Cloning class.

Jeanette Spornitz is BACK! Now that you know how to sew a bra, join Jeanette from Sew Uplifting as she teaches you to take your great fitting bra and turn it into a gorgeous style that you would find online or in a boutique. She will show you a couple of ways of drafting to make whatever style of bra you are looking for. If you have a bra you love and can’t find, she will also show you how to clone the bra to make another that you will love while leaving your bra in one piece. This workshop is a must for those who have taken her Beginner Bra class before- expand your knowledge with Jeanette and become a bra making expert!

Doesn’t that sound fabulous? Don’t feel bad if you think you’d love to take this class and can’t because I missed it too.

Yup. I’ve been waiting for this class in particular for three years, and I got sick. I’ve had a cold for two weeks, and kept hoping and resting as much as I could so I’d be better for the class. And it didn’t happen.

As terrible as that was, there was some good news. I paid for the class, so I have the materials. And some wonderful bra-making friends I’ve made along the way who were in the class have offered to help me catch up on what I missed. Really, bra-makers are the best.

I’ll be back next week with a few makes I’ve been working on. Until then, Happy creating!