I still have a few projects left over from 2018 I want to get done. I decided these would be the first sewing projects I finished in 2019. As well, I have a free House Morrighan pattern hack for you this week. See the bottom of this post.
Clover Briefs
There was a pair of House Morrighan Clover Briefs that were mostly sewn sitting on my cutting table. They were waiting for the bands to be put on the legs. That was it. But Christmas came, and visiting, and New Year’s, and we went to the mountains. There were a lot of reasons I wasn’t sewing. Those Clover Briefs waited for me though.
These are adorable too. I made them in the reverse of the color block I made my first ones.
Although the bands for the waist and legs are easy, and do look nice, I still prefer lace trim for finishing my panties.
Here they are from the side.
And from the back.
Well, I can say, I definitely don’t like how the bands are flipping up in the photos. Good thing they don’t do that when they’re on me. I’ve got more to fill them out than my display.
Another Clover Boybrief for Em
Em loved this pattern too. So much so, she requested another pair. Instead of the Clover briefs, which I prefer, she asked for the boy-leg opening.
She also requested a color combo, and for them to be finished with bands. Em prefers bands to lace trim.
Here are Em’s Clovers in pink and ivory.
Oh, these are darling! When I was sewing them together, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the two colors, but seeing them on the display, they look great!
Here’s the side view.
And the back view.
Oh, they are sweet. And it’s nice to see panties that fit my display perfectly.
Just so you can see all the ways I’ve made the Clover boy briefs, here’s a collage of what I’ve done with the pattern.
Free Pattern Hack
House Morrighan has released a free pattern hack only for members of their House Morrighan Makers Facebook group. This pattern is for a nursing hack for the Poppy, Dahlia, or Abbie patterns. You will need one of those patterns first to use this hack. Just go to Facebook and join the group for the free pattern. It’s in the files.
Happy creating!
Yes. This was my favorite Challenge make.
How could I not want to sew something with a little silver and tan pup like mine? There are so many panels coming, but not until Spring. We all will have to wait for a little bit for this adorableness.
I keep going back to the 
Oh, I’m loving this too.
You can still see some kitties, but you can also see the black and grey material without the cats that I used for the back. It still gives some visual interest, but doesn’t take away from the front of the bag at all.
I really like the back of the bag too.
Don’t they look great? I’ve also used iridescent rivets.
That adds just a little more bling to the handbag. And this faux leather is lovely to cut. It’s very soft.
The Handmade tag had to be positioned just so one of the kitties was looking at it.
A lot more bright colors. All the fabrics I used to make Em’s Miss Maggie’s came from the 
Boxing Day isn’t only an Aussie tradition. It’s also a Canadian tradition, and one I thoroughly enjoy every year.
Don’t you love all these options? I do. Also, I really like the shape of these. For boyshorts, these actually work for me. There is some curve built in.
I made these up from some cotton Lycra I had in my stash. I also tested the pattern for Em in CL.
I really liked this pattern and knew I’d want to make more for myself. Em also requested more. So this style is a hit with both of us. It was time to have some fun with the pattern.
Here’s my Ruby bra. The same lace I used for this bra, and a previous Angie bra, was now being used to make the Clover Boybriefs.
I’ve used black and black cherry cotton Lycra for these, and rather than bands or elastic as the pattern calls for, I’m using black lace trim. I’m loving these panties!
Here they are from the back.
Oh, this is a lovely set. I need to hurry up and get all my gifts sewn up so I can finish a second pair for me, and for Em.
Here’s my pup. Isn’t he adorable? He’s wearing the new suede boots I made him just a few months ago. I can see by the photo that I was still in the process of organizing my sewing room. I’ll share more on that later in this post.
But I do think my cousin was onto a good idea. I’m going to try making the boots with fleece again, but backed with a heavier leather. I’d been using vinyl for the past few years, and I know it doesn’t last.
Those red cords? We call them the mittens of shame. Does anyone remember having a string of yarn running from one mitt through your sleeve, around your back, down the other sleeve and attached to the other mitt? I do. Because our pup lost his boots, he now has to have these fleece cords pinned onto his coat. They can’t come off his boots either because they’re sewn on under the Velcro. A boot may come off once in a while, but they’re not lost anymore.
In the photo above, you can see the set I made, the spare set that’s in process, and a few extras I cut out, but am not sewing just now. Those extras are ‘just in case’. If he gets a hole in a boot, I’ve got spares to replace the holey ones, and spares to replace those!
I was keeping some of my stash in Space Bags. Sadly, this is how they were being stored. Everything was folded, and safe, but it looks a mess.
A few more storage containers, and it’s almost perfectly organized. I think a couple more containers, and it will all be so nice looking.
Maybe next year. I can still close the doors on this and it looks neat.
It was a pleasant surprise to find I knew the other students. We’d all taken either the Beginner Bra-making class or Shelley class at Central last year. And of course, we’d all taken those classes with Jeanette of 
This is the manual we were given. It has the complete Drafting course in it, as well as a bunch of other great resources.
We also got a full set of Long wires, and a complete set of Classic patterns (all the sizes). There were sample packs of duoplex and power net, a notebook, a binder (shown above), a set of curves, and a bra kit with findings. All in a great bag. I’m pretty sure that was the best swag bag ever.
By the end of the first day, we’d all been measured and learned how to measure someone else by measuring one another – all under Jeanette’s instruction. We were almost ready for Day Two, but before that, we had homework to do.
Day Three built upon Day Two. We were starting our lower cup draft. Well, we needed our frame to be done correctly at this point, and the one I had with me in the class still wasn’t corrected. Things weren’t fitting together. Again, Jeanette pointed out what I’d done wrong on my frame. I was back to the drawing board. Literally. I’d had a little more practice drawing frames by Day Three after Day Two’s homework, so it went much more quickly. I was on track in no time. We finished the day with a draft of our lower cup, our upper cup, and lots of information on how to do adjustments if needed.
Something I’ve heard and read repeatedly is: To get accurate measurements you have to start with a well-fitting bra. It’s so true. Jeanette brought fitting bras with her, so we all started with a well-fitting bra to get our measurements. And it works!
On my drafted bra here, I added a couple of features just because I could. I gave this bra a Gothic arch, and a thinned band under the cups. This draft is for a Horizontal seam. This seaming is the basis for the ‘Heather’ bra. The Heather bra is actually a Wacoal bra. It’s the 
I thought it would be fun to see how the same lace can look very different used in different ways. I’ll be using black duoplex and power net for my newest bra.
I really do love this bra. It’s kind of funny, but my hubby is taking all the credit for this bra because he brought the lace back from Amsterdam. We all know there’s a little more to the bra than just lace. But he’s having fun taking credit.
It’s a very pretty pop of color.
Even though I used the same lace on both of these bras, they definitely look different. Do you have a preference? Let me know which one you like best.
These are a basic black cotton Lycra. And you can see the front opening.
The sling is a light blue. I chose that so it would show up better in these photos, and so it wouldn’t be a headache to sew black on black, on black, with black thread.
I altered the front pattern to be a front-opening panel. You can read how to do that 
And here they are from the back. (Again, lightened. The seams just wouldn’t show otherwise.)
My son also let me know when I made him his last pair of Michael’s that he didn’t like the band. He found the elastic too firm for his liking. Now to be fair, he’s a personal fitness trainer, so probably doing a little more movement while wearing his. So this time instead of elastic, I simply made a band out of the same cotton Lycra.
I’m sure he’ll find this more comfortable.
Here are the Michael underwear showing the front and mirrored inside front openings both opened showing the blue sling behind them.