Author: Michelle

BMS Challenge – November

~ Michelle

I originally wasn’t going to make the November BMS Challenge – Support Your Man. Men need support too. Show them some love this November by making men’s underwear and see how creative you can get.My son loves his SAXX, and said he preferred them over the Michael Men’s Underwear pattern. He said he did wear the ones I gave him, but would prefer I bought him the real ones.

So. I wasn’t planning on sewing him any briefs this year. However, I read a comment (somewhere I can’t find now) regarding the Men’s underwear pattern. It was saying you could either do the front opening on the underwear OR the sling, but not both.

Right away I was thinking, ‘That’s not right.” I knew you could do both because my son has a pair that has both the front opening and the sling! I had him send me a picture of the front and inside. Let me just say, I’m a brave woman. That pair of SAXX is over four-years-old! He sent the pictures, and that underwear looked like it was over four-years-old.

However, it helped me see what I wanted to see.

Michael Underwear

Here are the Michael Men’s Underwear with a sling and front opening. I’ve lightened this photo to show the detail a little better.These are a basic black cotton Lycra. And you can see the front opening.

Here they are from the inside.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.

The key to making these underwear with a sling and front opening is that front piece. The pattern says to cut one. However, as you can see below, I’m not using just one piece – I’m using two pieces.I altered the front pattern to be a front-opening panel. And I cut two front panels.  Then one piece is flipped so it becomes a mirror of the other. The two pieces are basted together, making sure there’s an opening on each side, and on opposite sides. Then they can be used as one piece. After basting them, I add the sling just as I would normally add it according to the pattern.

Here are my son’s Michael’s from the side.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.

One last image.   Here are the Michael underwear showing the front and mirrored inside front openings both opened showing the blue sling behind them.

I hope my son likes these ones better than the last ones I made him.

Happy creating!

House Morrighan Viola French Knickers

~ Michelle

I tested the most recent pattern by House Morrighan – the Viola French Knickers.

These are a really quick sew, and they are darling on. They’re designed for stretch knits, so it was cotton Lycra for me.

The first thing I did before making these was to plan what I wanted to have them match. Well, I wanted them to match my Poppy, and Dahlia, and Abbie. Hmm. That didn’t get me very far, so I just decided to make a pair in some cotton Lycra I had in my stash – just to see how they were going to fit before I started planning matching sets.

Here’s my first test of the Viola French Knickers. They are darling! I didn’t finish the hem on these, as these were only to see how the sizing would be. They fit perfectly.

Here’s the side view:You can see, these are a cheeky little panty.

And the back view:You might be wondering, ‘What is going on with that waistband?’ Well, tired sewing was happening. Somehow I didn’t realize the whole time I was attaching the waistband that it was inside out, so the raw edges are outside rather than inside. I started to rip it all out, but then decided these were only to see how things fit, and they fit just fine. They can even be worn this way. I have tops I’ve bought that have edges that look like this.

Now I know they fit perfectly, it’s time to make another pair – this time to match something I’ve made already. But what will it be? Poppy? Dahlia? Abbie? It was hard to decide.

Violas to Match

 Abbie won out because I really love the Abbie chemise. Here are my Viola French Knickers in cotton Lycra, with matching CL band.If these look a tad shorter than the pair above, it’s because these have been hemmed.

Oh, they are darling. Some of the testers used elastic at the waist, which is another option. I also saw lace trim to finish the hem. They were all lovely.

Here they are from the side: And when they’re hemmed, they’re just a bit cheekier from the back.They are really darling. They might not be my everyday panty, but I’ve heard from a few testers say they love them under trousers. Whether these become an everyday panty or not, they will be a wonderful addition to any lingerie drawer.

Violas for Em

I was asked to test this pattern in a smaller size too, so I made a pair for Em. I still have some fabric left over from Em’s Abbie too, so she’s getting some Violas to match her Abbie as well.

These knickers are adorable in all sizes.Oh these are sweet.And that cheeky back view:Happy creating!

A Black Cherry Angie

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I really love the shape and lift some of these new patterns give, like the Angie, Ruby, Jessica, and the new Amethyst.This is the new Amethyst pattern.

These patterns are all lovely additions to our bra-sewing pattern collections. I  had planned to make another Angie and Ruby as I know they both fit wonderfully. I also want to try the new Jessica and Amethyst patterns too. All the while, I’ve been testing patterns for House Morrighan. I am having such a fun time!

On top of all these great patterns to be excited about, there were the lovely new kits my husband brought home from Amsterdam. I had to break into a kit, and see what I could  make with one.

Angie

   Angie was the first bra I wanted to make again. Here’s my latest Angie. This is with black cherry duoplex, and some of the lovely lace from Kantjeboord.I thought of a few ways to use lace on the Angie. I’ve seen people use it laid horizontally across the lower part of the cups. I’ve seen people use lace on every other cup piece, and on every cup piece. None of those were what I wanted to do for this one. I didn’t think any of those options would showcase this lace the way I wanted. So I decided to cut out the floral part of the lace, and applique it onto the cups. A little Misty Fuse to hold things in place, a small zigzag, and they look lovely.

Here’s a close up of the cup.Yes, this lace goes beautifully with the black cherry duoplex. I really like this! You can also see I’ve added a strap tab to this Angie. I like the strap tab addition and will likely continue to use one.

My inspiration for this came from wanting to use this lace, use this pattern, and my desire to make this more supportive by using duoplex. In the back of my mind, I remembered a blog post from The Lingerie Addict showing the most beautiful Japanese bras. Here’s one from the internet:This is not my bra, and not my photo. It is beautiful though, and shows you can use lace in different ways than just on the upper cup. If you want to see the most stunning lingerie, go look at the post I linked above. The bras are amazing.

With that memory in the back of my mind, I thought I can do applique on my bra as well. I think mine is lovely too.

Here’s the bra from the side:    You can see here, although the front is black cherry, I’ve used black for the back band and all the elastics.

And the back of the bra: The band has a downward hike to it.

I love how this came together.

As much fun as I’m having sewing bras and lingerie right now, I have to get busy sewing Christmas gifts. I won’t be showing any of those until after Christmas though.

Happy creating!

A Navy Floral Watson

~ Michelle

This was just a short little post, so I added another short post to the bottom of it. So today is a two-for-one post.

Em really loves her Watson bras. So much so, her sister had to see what all the fuss was about. After trying on Em’s, she wanted one too.I’ve made all of Em’s Watsons from bits of this and that I have left over from other projects. Em’s sister decided to pay for materials though. This Watson is the most put-together Watson I’ve made yet – even though the other ones I made were very pretty.

I sent her to look at Libelle, because they have what I’d need for a Watson bra at a great price. They have mesh, and lace, and elastics. And they’re all the size needed for a Watson.

She picked this lace: (Link is in the photo.) It’s a lovely stretch navy lace. I ordered some of this lovely lace for me too.

Em’s Sister’s Watson

   Most of the Watson’s I’ve made, I’ve fused a stable interfacing to the front cradle, but for this one I’ve used sheer cup lining behind it. (The lining was from my stash.) I love how it looks. You can hardly see any difference between the front cradle and the cups.

Here’s the side view:  The back band is a dark navy Lycra. It has a lot of stretch, similar to power mesh, which is what I’d used for Em’s Watsons.

And the back:  I’m really happy with how this turned out. And I hear Em’s sister is happy too.

My second post is my make for the Bra-Makers October Challenge.

“October – Your Breast’s Friend! October is Breast Cancer month and we challenge you to make a mastectomy bra and/or a prosthesis for someone you care about.”

Bra-Makers Supply also has a few related blog posts: DIY Breast Form, Foam Cup Pockets, and  Russian Doll Bra Cups.

For the challenge I made a couple of breast forms.

Here are the forms I made:They’re made from cotton Lycra, and have bean-bag-fill (tiny plastic beads) in them. They weigh just less than 1/2 pound each. They’re also very similar to some store-bought ones a family member uses.

These are very easy to make. They’re light-weight, and I hope work well.

Happy creating!

House Morrighan Abbie Chemise

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been testing another pattern for House Morrighan. I had no idea when Yvonne, the designer asked for testers, that there would be more than the one pattern. But I’m having so much fun and I’m loving these patterns! This one might be my favorite, but it’s hard to pick just one.

Abbie

Here’s the latest pattern being released: the Abbie Chemise. And really good news is both the larger sizes and smaller sizes are both being released at the same time. For previous patterns, it’s been the larger sizes first. The cups on this might look familiar. This pattern uses the same cups as the Poppy Bralette. I imagine you could use the Dahlia cups in this too, which might be fun.

The Abbie Chemise has three different length options – a camisole length, a mid-thigh length, and a knee-length. I’m making the knee-length.

I’ve had a lovely cotton Lycra in my stash I’m using for this. I’m thinking it will be a lovely summer nightie.Oh, this is lovely! It flows over the curves perfectly. It’s just skimming over those curves. It’s very comfortable.

I’ve lined the cups with black power mesh as well, just to give a little more support than just the cotton Lycra.

I don’t know if anyone else has ever had a hard time buying anything like this in RTW. But I could never find anything that fit. If I found something that fit in the bust, the rest of it would float around me! I’m thrilled with this pattern. Abbie is going to get a lot of use!

Here it is from the side.Yvonne has some lovely tips in the pattern to make this more supportive as well. You can choose if you want to add those tips or not.

Here’s the back view:I love this. It’s no longer summer, (we’ve even had snow already) but I’m thinking forget the long night gowns for warmth! This is just so pretty, and fits so well.

Abbie’s instructions are to hem her, but seeing as I really wanted this for a nightie, I decided to do a lettuce edge on mine. I’ll do a normal hem for Em’s though.  I really love this pattern. I’m sure I’ll be making more of this! It’s so versatile and very flattering on.

A Smaller Abbie

I offered to test Abbie in the smaller sizes too. This is for Em.

I knew from last time, the size I made her was too small, so I went up two sizes in band and one size in the cups.

Here’s Em’s Abbie Chemise. This is a cotton Lycra as well, with mesh lined cups. I used the same pretty mesh I used last time for Em’s Poppy bralette. This is from Libelle Sewing.It makes the inside just as pretty as the outside.

I made a mistake when cutting the pattern out though. Did you notice?  I accidentally cut out the wrong cups for Em’s Abbie. I cut out the Dahlia cups! And it does work quite well still. So, I showed you the Dahlia cups without even meaning to do that. They do look very nice with the Abbie Chemise too.

Here’s the side view: And the back view:You can also see the hem on this. I gave it a normal hem, but I didn’t have time to press it for photos. Em was here to claim her new Abbie, so a quick photo was all I could manage.

 The Abbie Chemise was released today.

Happy creating!

Poppy’s Sister, Dahlia

~ Michelle

I was testing another pattern from House Morrighan. This time it was Poppy’s sister bralette, Dahlia.

Dahlia is a cross-over front bralette. If you know your size with Poppy, you can just change the cups and use the Dahlia cups. That’s just what I did here. Although, Dahlia has her own great-looking Racer back.

Dahlia

 The photo above shows the racer back feature. I simply chose to use the same bands as I used for Poppy.

Here’s my Dahlia.I used a gorgeous 4-way stretch material and lined the cups with black mesh. The bands are lined with the same floral material – just to make it really pretty on the inside too. This fabric was from Fabricland.

I can see this being a great sleep bra. I’ve heard Poppy is being used that way. Oh, just think in a nice soft cotton Lycra. Another very comfortable, yet supportive bralette.

Here’s the side view.I do one alteration on my Poppy, and I did it on Dahlia too – I put a dart in the underarm. I need to do that on almost every bra or bralette pattern I make.

And the back.  I think this is my favorite make yet. I love this material. I was a bit reluctant to use the racer back because of some neck sensitivity, but I think it looks wonderful! The really nice thing with these patterns is you can mix and match. Just wait until you see the next pattern. I love it!

The Dahlia pattern was released today..

One last little detail I love about this is the elastic I used for the upper band and cups.OH! That’s such a pretty detail. This elastic is from Libelle, and I adore it!

I’m testing another pattern for House Morrighan right away, and have an Angie all cut out. This is such a fun sewing season. I’m having a hard time fitting in the gifts I’ve planned for Christmas.

Happy creating!

Ruby II

~ Michelle

I was pretty confident my second attempt with the Pin-up Girls Ruby pattern would work, and I was right. Is that as much of a relief to read as it is for me to write? What a feeling!

Ruby II

 My first Ruby was really close in the fit. The only reason it didn’t fit was because I hadn’t read all the instructions – when making Ruby in fabric you need to go up one size.

My first Ruby.This Ruby fit everywhere, but was a little small in the cups.

Here’s my newest Ruby hot off the sewing machine. Do you see how the upper cup is shorter? It’s a lovely modern-looking pattern, and I really like it. It gives great lift. After wearing it for a full day, I can tell you it’s comfortable.For this Ruby, I’ve used some gorgeous lace I bought from Merckwaerdigh, duoplex and power net from Bra-Makers Supply, and some amazing strap elastic I bought in a destash group.

Here’s the lace close up.It’s so pretty! I think I’m going to save the rest of this lace for another bra rather than use it up on panties. It’s just too pretty.

Here’s the bra from the side:One of the things I like about the Ruby pattern is the underarm is nice and short. I don’t have to take it in.

Here’s Ruby from the back:  Ooh, I love that strap elastic. It’s very firm, and I like the detail on it.

For my Ruby, I’ve used gold-toned rings and sliders. And I had a little fun using them for detail on the front of the bra.This is also a nice close-up of that lovely strap elastic.

I’m trying to decide how I want to embellish the finished bra. Do I want bows? Or a modern take on a bow? Or just one of the roses cut out.

Here are a few of those ideas just to see how they look.  Hmm. I’ll keep thinking.

Here’s Ruby one last time with embellishments. I wasn’t completely happy with any of the ones above, so went through my stash of bows. I found the perfect bows for my Ruby. A small black bow with a pearl for the center front, and two small black bows without pearls for the straps.

Ruby is a beautiful pattern, and I look forward to making another one soon.

Happy creating!

A Hallå Agnes for Em

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Em asked me if I would make her a dress. How could I say no?

It Starts with Materials

I got this gorgeous black and white Liverpool knit from Libelle Sewing.  It’s so lovely! I really love black and white. I love black and white photos, and pretty much any and all clothing that’s black and white. So when I saw this material, I loved it right away.

As soon as I got it, I knew what I wanted to make with it. It has a lovely drape. I knew the  Hallå Agnes would be perfect. I sent Em a photo and asked if she’d like that. Yes. She loved it.

Pattern Adjustments

I have Em’s measurements from ever so long ago when I made her first Watson bra. But Em’s lost some weight, so I got her new measurements and saw she doesn’t fit into just one size either. She does for her hips and waist, but to make the pattern fit her bust, I needed to do a Full Bust Adjustment.

Check out this video for the Craftsy Full Bust Adjustment for Any Pattern class. At 1:09 she shows just what I did for Em’s FBA.

                     Once I’d made this one small adjustment to the pattern for Em, I was ready to cut out the material and sew it up. The Agnes pattern is a quick sew too, which is another plus.

Em’s agnes

  Here’s Em’s Agnes on my dress form.Oh, this is lovely.

Here is the side view. You can see, even though I did a FBA on the pattern just under the arm, it hangs perfectly straight – and I added over an inch to the bust.And the back.You can see here I also did a lettuce edge for the hem instead of a regular hem. I really like this. When I’ve made the Agnes in the past, I was using cotton Lycra, so this was the perfect material for this hem.

     Have you tried the Hallå Agnes yet? It’s a wonderful pattern.

Em came over and tried on her dress. She loved it and it fit perfectly. She loved how light the material is, and the drape of it too.

Here’s Em in her agnes dress.Happy creating, and seeing as it’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

House Morrighan Ivy Briefs

~ Michelle

I was asked to test the Ivy Brief pattern by House Morrighan. Ivy can be a full brief, but also comes with a few other style options. For options, this has different heights, a front panel or plain front, bands or elastics for the waist and leg openings, and even a maternity height so it will fit comfortably under a pregnant tummy.

Ivy

I made Ivy briefs using a partially-completed dress. The dress’ skirt fit, but the top was too small. It had been in a do-something-with-this pile for over a year, and I finally did something. I re-purposed it. The material is a nice soft cotton Lycra.

Here are my Ivy briefs.These are a very comfortable brief. They feature either bands or elastic at the waist and leg. I’ve never used bands before on any panties I’ve made. I’ve used fold-over-elastic, and lingerie elastic. I’ve also used lace trim (my favorite), but never bands. So, I tried the bands. They are really nice. And they are very comfortable.

The pattern comes with the band pieces too. If you’re not comfortable cutting out with ruler, you don’t have to with this pattern. I really like this feature.

Here they are from the side.  These are also my first serged briefs. I usually sew my panties on my sewing machine, but as the pattern instructions say to serge or zigzag, I thought I’d try the serger for them. They come together very quickly.

Another nice tip this pattern suggests is to sew down those bands with either a twin needle or a small zigzag. I really like that tip. I don’t like when serged seams are poking up inside a garment.

Here’s the back of the brief.    Bottoms are always a little droopy on this display, but I’m glad I can display bottoms now.

The back does have a center seam, but it’s not noticeable at all when they’re being worn. When you look at the pattern, you’ll see that back seam is curved as well, to fit even better.

Smaller Sizes

I tested Ivy for me and then, because it’s such a quick sew, I offered to test it in the smaller sizes. Again, Em was the smallest size they have, and she fit perfectly into the one size this time.

I had just enough cotton Lycra leftover from when I made an Agnes dress to make these.For Em’s briefs, I decided to try the elastic waist and leg option. Just to see how the pattern worked that way.

I think it worked quite well. And I know what size my display is now! These are fitting it perfectly.What was that I said about bottoms being droopy on this display? No, they are not! These look perfect. Yup. My display is a size 6.

So we know they fit my display, but how did they fit Em? They also fit Em perfectly. She agreed, they are very comfortable.

Happy creating!

Comparing Kits

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

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!