I shared with you the lovely laces and lingerie kits my husband brought me from Kantjeboord when he was in Amsterdam. That was such a treat! As I was looking at them, I thought I’d share how the kits differ from kits I’m used to buying.
Kit Differences
For the most part, I order from Bra-makers Supply. Their kits are what I like and what I’m used to using. Let me share with you how the BMS kits differ from the Kantjeboord kits my hubby brought me.
1
Firstly, BMS has a few options for kits. There are Bra kits (this kit includes bra findings), Trios (this doesn’t include findings), Quartets (this includes a choice of findings), and they have panty kits too. Kantjeboord has a lingerie kit and it includes findings for a bra and panties.
I was looking at the BMS website, and here’s what they offer when you purchase a Quartet:
You can choose the size of findings you want, and then there are four options for those findings depending on the pattern you’re making.
2
As I just mentioned, BMS offers Small and Large findings kits. You pick which size of findings you need based on your bra size. The Kantjeboord kits have one size of findings in their kits. What I have come to know as ‘Small’. I don’t know whether they have Large findings at all.
Here is a photo showing the larger elastic from a Large BMS findings kit and the smaller ones from the Kantjeboord kit. The elastics in the Kantjeboord kits are the same size as the upper band elastics in the Large BMS kits. The elastic is 1/2″or 13 mm; or this would be the size of bottom band elastics in a Small findings kit.
3
BMS kits have upper and lower band elastics of differing widths. The Kantjeboord has one size of elastic in their kits – and a lot of it. I’m thinking it must be used for the waist and leg openings of panties as well.
4
BMS has ‘firm’ and ‘soft’ elastics. Their findings kits usually contain ‘firm’ elastics, however, you can make up your own findings kit with ‘soft’ elastics by buying everything individually. The Kantjeboord elastics are all ‘soft’. The ‘soft’ and ‘firm’ refer to the amount of stretch from what I’ve been told.
5
Another difference with the findings is BMS has all one color for their findings kits. Kantjeboord has two colors in each of the three kits I have here. Purple and black were in the first, brown and purple in the second, and pink and silver in the third – all colors complimenting the lace in each kit. You could do this with supplies at BMS – make your own findings kit using different colors, but the pre-made kits are all one color.
6
Both kits have strap elastic included. You can see below an example of the second color in the Kantjeboord kits. Above the elastic was dark pink, but here the strap elastic is silver. The Kantjeboord elastic would be the same size as what is found in the Small findings kit from BMS – 1/2″ strap elastic.
7
BMS kits are for bras or bralettes primarily – they sell panty kits (and other kits) separately. The Kantjeboord kits are for bras and panties. The first thing I noticed when I opened the kits was there was a lot of lace. Two meters of lace in each Kantjeboord kit! That’s enough for a bra and panties. There is also a lot of elastic in the Kantjeboord kits, and cotton gusset material.
8
BMS kits have duoplex and power net in them. The Kantjeboord kit has some firm Lycra in the kit. Again, I’m thinking the Lycra must be for the bra cups, the bra back, and the panty too.
Below on the left is a Trio from BMS showing the duoplex and power net with the lace. On the right is the lace and Lycra from one of the kits from Kantjeboord. There’s more material in the Kantjeboord kit, again, I think to make a bra and panty.
9
BMS findings kits have either 2 x 2 hooks and eyes, or 3 x 3 hooks and eyes, depending the size of kit you order. They also have matching metal rings and sliders (again either Large or Small), a bow, and trim for the upper cup. The Kantjeboord kit has some sheer cup lining, cotton for the panty gusset, three bows, 2 x 2 hooks and eyes, smaller rings and sliders (some plastic ones) and some upper cup elastic.
Here’s the sheer cup lining and cotton for the gusset from the Kantjeboord kit.
And here are the hooks & eyes, rings and sliders, and bows from both kits. You can see in the darker pink from Kantjeboord, the rings and sliders are plastic.
You can also see the two colors used again in the Kantjeboord’s kits with the dark pink hooks and eyes, and the silver bows.
Lastly, here you can see the trim in the BMS kits, and that narrow upper cup elastic in the Kantjeboord’s kits.
The bag-full of upper cup elastic my hubby brought me home is a little wider than this one pictured above, but not much wider.
Both suppliers are wonderful, and all of us bra-makers would be lost without suppliers like them! Neither kit is right or wrong – they are just different.
I’m used to the kits from Bra-Makers Supply – I love duoplex and power net! However, I do like some of the differences I’ve found in the Kantjeboord kits. I like all that lace! I like the upper cup elastic, and the matching sheer cup lining.
Happy creating!
I’ve learned my lesson, and to cover this up, I’ve collaged over those straight edges.
No more straight lines. At least not visible ones.
There’s quite a difference in the quilt already. The before-class, and after-class photos are below.
This still needs a backing, some basic quilting done to it, and the edges bound. I’m not quite sure when I’ll have this finished, but I’m loving it already and look forward to working on it more.
Unfortunately, the band on this is just a little bit too tight for Em. She could use one size larger for the band. She still took it home with her though. She thought it was so pretty.
I really love how neat it is on the inside.
Below is a photo showing the inside of a bra. It’s showing the Gothic arch, but it also shows the elastics I use along my upper cup.
I first used this elastic when making the Sewy Rebecca pattern. I really liked how the upper cup fit this way, so I do this for all my lace-cupped bras.
It’s very narrow, and fine. I’ve checked everywhere for it. I have a little left from a grab bag I bought years ago from Merckwaerdigh’s now-closed Ebay store. Seeing as I use it all the time, I don’t want to run out. So I’ve been looking. All I have left in that grab bag are colors I’m not so thrilled about using.
I wonder how long all this will last?
The second lace he brought me is this one:
He also picked out three kits with me. He kept holding them up and asking me if I liked them. Well, silly. I liked them all. And he spoiled me even a little more than I asked. I asked for two kits, and he said he was there, so we should get three.
It’s so pretty.
And the third kit is a coral pink and grey lace with coral Lycra – with pink sheer cup lining. Oh my!
They’re all so lovely! My hubby did really well.
These are my Hipster draft. I made these from black cotton Lycra, and two laces. The multi-colored lace is very light-weight, so that is backed with CL, but the pink/mauve lace is a firmer lace and is on its own with no backing. Because it’s firmer, I didn’t add elastic to the waist at the front either.
I fully meant to finish the back of the panty the same as the front, with both laces. However, I sewed these up on my trip to the mountains and didn’t remember to either: a) cut the lace out and pack it, or b) pack it. So these will only have the one lace on the back.
For this Poppy, I made a smaller band and larger cup size than the first two. This one fits me perfectly.
Poppy is an easy sew, with generous sizing. And it’s really comfortable and although this one is stretch lace and power mesh, it’s still supportive.
I really wondered how I would like two laces together, but I really like this. And only having one lace on the back of the panty? Well seeing it from the back with the bralette, it works much better this way!
Oh! These are lovely.
The Panache is in-between these two patterns, but is a bit closer in shape to the Betty. If you haven’t taken Beverly Johnson’s panty class on Craftsy and aren’t comfortable drafting your own pattern, either of these patterns would get you close.
Although these come up to the form’s waist, they’re hipsters on me.
Lastly, I added seam allowances to those new seams, and traced off my new pattern pieces.
I was so excited to bring my sewing machine with me! I’ve never taken it on a trip before. Probably because, as I said, we usually only get away for a couple of days.
Believe it or not, that table looked a lot worse at the time I wrote this – with all my hubby’s work piled all over it. We got it cleared off enough for me to do some sewing.
Although I do plan to sew and get some work done, I know we’ll also spend some time outdoors.
It all worked very well.
When I was sewing the lace panel onto the front of the panty, I realized I hadn’t brought any elastic for the inside of the waist. On a soft lace like this, it needs some support at the waist. Without elastic, I had to think of an alternative. A strip of cotton Lycra worked just fine.
Here they are with my Angie. First, the basic pair with Angie.
And here’s the lace panel with Angie. I only took the front photo for these as the sides and back are basically the same.
Yes, that cream is really close to ivory. I’m so happy with both of these sets.
I love this. It looks like a painting!
I was glad I brought an indoor activity when the air quality became so poor.
The Angie pattern doesn’t have an upper cup like so many bra patterns. In fact, I can’t think of another pattern that doesn’t have an upper cup. There are four pattern pieces to the cups, but none of them are upper or lower. The cup is completely different due to it being all vertical seams.
These Lavender and Lace bras are lovely, but back to Angie for this post.
I was also happy with the adjustments I made to the cup to make this fit me and make it fit in the frame so neatly. No more puckering on the cups! I’m not going to get tired of that any time soon.
If a bra I’ve made has a bow on it, you know I’m happy with it! It’s bow-worthy.
Recognize this? I just used this gorgeous cotton Lycra to make my 
I think it’s adorable! However, it’s a smidge small in the cups.
I need to gather the elastic under the arm more. I’m very shallow there, and have to make that adjustment on almost every bra I sew.
Look at this nice deep back.
This photo shows the side seam and the under-bust seam. Both are enclosed. It’s a very nice feature. The only seam not enclosed is the center front.
Do you see that nice wide elastic at the bottom edge? That’s 3/4″/19 mm elastic. Another supportive feature of this bralette.
This looks the same on the outside, but the inside is lovely soft cotton Lycra.
Soft, comfortable, and those lovely enclosed seams. It’s really nice.
What a cute set!