This past week I took the Bra Design & Draft course at Central Sewing Machines. I’ve wanted to take a bra drafting course for a few years now. With the course finally coming closer to home, I could do it.
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 Sew Uplifting Bras too. It was like a class reunion.
The first day was very exciting. We were all presented with a bag full of goodies. Now, others may not have been so thrilled with the goodies, but for a bunch of bra-makers, it was a thrill! Just take a look.
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.
Fabrics
The first day we learned about all different fabrics that can be used in bra-making or lingerie. Some of them were familiar to me, some were new. We were given samples too, with instructions on how they were best used, and not to be used. It’s all neatly contained in our new binder. One of the students is in a Fashion & Design course, and she said she’d learned more that day than she had in her Textiles class. It really was very useful.
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.
Drafting
Day Two was the beginning of a lot of paper and pencil work. We were guided in the art of drafting. We started with our frames. I did something wrong. Jeanette told me what I did wrong, but I was tired and didn’t correct it right away. Let me tell you, all it takes is one little mistake to throw everything off. By the end of the day, we were sent home with homework again. This time we were to practice our drafting. We drafted frames for everyone in the class.
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.
Day Four was similar to Day Three – still more paper, pencils, drafting, and information. Some of us even cut out our newly drafted patterns, and got in some sewing before the end of the day. One woman was almost finished her drafted bra on Day Four. I had my cups finished. I brought them home and put them in my fitting bra frame. I was thinking this would save me the time of completing the whole bra to see how close I was. There was one small little change I needed to make to my draft. That was incredibly encouraging.
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!
Day Five was mostly a sewing day for me. But before I could sew, I had to re-draft my upper and lower cups with that one little change. I worked as quickly as I could so I could get to the sewing. I really wanted to be done by the end of the day. Thinking back, I could have just changed my pattern, but it was a drafting class, and I was getting a LOT of experience with drafting.
The great news is I did it. I finished the Bra Design & Draft course and came away with a perfectly fitting pattern and bra – that I drafted from measurements.
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 Retro Chic Full Figure Underwire Bra.
You can see this has a horizontal seam going across the cup. It’s so pretty. I’m already planning another ‘Heather’ using my new pattern. If you have the Craftsy Class Sewing Bras Foam, Lace & Beyond, Beverly shares how to make the Heather bra.
It was a great week. I can’t wait for the next course!
Happy creating!
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 am loving this! I love the colors. I love the shape and fit. Oh, these new patterns are so nice.
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.
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.
You can see, these are a cheeky little panty.
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.
If these look a tad shorter than the pair above, it’s because these have been hemmed.
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.
Oh these are sweet.
And that cheeky back view:
You can find the Viola Knickers in the House Morrighan Etsy shop 
This is the new Amethyst pattern.
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.
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.
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.
You can see here, although the front is black cherry, I’ve used black for the back band and all the elastics.
The band has a downward hike to it.
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.
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.
I’m really happy with how this turned out. And I hear Em’s sister is happy too.
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.
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.
Oh, this is lovely! It flows over the curves perfectly. It’s just skimming over those curves. It’s very comfortable.
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.
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.
I really love this pattern. I’m sure I’ll be making more of this! It’s so versatile and very flattering on.
This is a cotton Lycra as well, with mesh lined cups. I used the same pretty 
It makes the inside just as pretty as the outside.
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.
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.
I’ve been using a knob for a few years now – almost since I started sewing bras. It’s a wooden ball, elevated, and on a base. It’s a great, very specialized, pressing tool for bra-making. I got this one from Bra-Makers Supply. You can find them 
This was from the old store location, and it showed one of the walls. Do you see down there on the left?
Knobs! And they came in different sizes! Larger sizes! Unfortunately, Beverly said she was no longer able to get the other sizes. So, I have been looking for a wooden finial to make a larger knob since I saw this photo.
I found 
I found this on 
My first thought is, ‘That looks huge!’ However, when sewing the cup seams together, they’re still relatively flat. A larger pressing surface is going to be great!
The cup dwarfs the knob.
The knob fills a lot more of the cup. What a difference this will make!
I have to tell you, it works wonderfully! I was using it on my most recent bra – 
The photo above shows the racer back feature. I simply chose to use the same bands as I used for Poppy.
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 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.
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!
OH! That’s such a pretty detail. This elastic is from