Happy New Year fellow bra makers! Did anyone do any sewing over the holidays? I didn’t. I took a big break from many things and am feeling refreshed again.

I actually decided to start the new year off with some bra sewing. I went to my sewing room and looked at what I had cut out, and have no idea what I was thinking but what I cut out would not work. And there was no saving it either.

I didn’t waste any of my time on it, I simply cut out a new pattern and it’s ready to sew.

I do have a couple of things to show you from December still.

 A dear friend asked me if I could help her. She’d bought some tights that she loved but they were too short. She bought some lace to lengthen them, but that lace didn’t work out. Would I help her? Of course.

I looked for an idea and found this one. She loved it.She asked if I could get her the shoes too. Nope. Just sewing the lace.

Okay, this I can do. I have the supplies already.Here are leggings. I saw her three times over the holidays and she was so happy with them, I saw her wearing them twice. That made me happy for both of us.

I also decorated my dress form for the holidays.

Most of the ideas I’ve seen out there were with live tree branches. Well that wouldn’t work in my home. Nothing like welcoming allergies right in! No. I had to come up with another idea.

Instead, I bought a hoop skirt and decorated it. Here’s just the skirt. It has a lot of bling and glitter on it. And lights too. She’s sitting in our downstairs window.

Hubby had some Home Alone-inspired ideas for her, but I told him no. She was pretty, not something to deter Joe Pesci!

Here’s the full view. I bought a glitterly red top, and added some gold costume jewelry to complete her look. I love it!

I also love that I can take this off  the dress form, put it away for the year, and put it on her again next Christmas.

Lastly, sadly, I lost my favorite sewing scissors. These were my MIL’s and she’s been gone 12 years now. I was very sad when I went to cut something and they broke in my hand.  I’ve replaced them, but they don’t feel the same. They don’t have the same sentimental attachment the others ones had. But they are working.

I’ll be back next week again with my newest make, and will share some of my sewing plans for the year.

Happy New Year and happy creating!

Hello! I’m back.

I have to tell you, it seems my sewjo is on vacation. Or maybe on a winter break. But it’s not here. Still, I’ve tried to get a few things done. 

I cut out a lovely Flirt Skirt from some gorgeous crushed velvet.

 I was ready to sew but when I looked at my threat, I had no brown. So, a few days later I went to the store and got some brown serger thread.

I hope to get to my skirt and finish it this week.

Another project I finished was changing a nightgown into a camisole.

I bought this nightgown because I love animal print, but wanted it to be a camisole. I thought that was a pretty easy change, and it was. I added a pretty black lace to the edge and that was all it needed. Just look at this ruffle along the neckline. This was worth it. Of course I couldn’t throw out the precious fabric I’d cut off.

So, I made Em her November Watson. Oh, this fabric is so lovely and soft. She loves it.    

It’s just charming. I really do love the Watson pattern.

Another alteration was to a blouse I bought. When I tried it on, it was just too low. None of my camisoles looked just right behind it, so lace to the rescue.  I tried these two laces, and decided on the 2nd one. I think it’s perfect!    And lastly, Em and I went to a Grinch tree workshop. It was so fun.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now, and I just love it. We had such fun making ours.

Okay, that’s it for month. I’ll see you all again in January.

Happy creating, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

I’ve been blogging quite regularly for the past 12 years now. That’s a lot. And I feel like some of my posts have become quite routine. That is not what I want.

So, I’m going to make a change.

Rather than posting weekly, I’m thinking of a monthly recap of what I’ve been sewing. I’ll still sew bras, but I also want to focus on some clothing items. 

This month marks my 12th anniversary of blogging, but it also marks my 1 year anniversary of working out twice a week with a personal fitness trainer. I’ve seen changes in my body and shape – not big changes, but changes still.

I’m going to have to re-do my sloper and update it.

So starting in November, you won’t likely see a weekly blog post.

Happy creating and thank you so much for following and being a part of this experience with me.

Michelle      

There were a couple of changes to the Gunsan pattern, and I was happy to try again.

The first draft fit my friend perfectly and when I asked her if I could make a second test of the pattern for her, she said yes without hesitation.

For this one, I had to pull a kit out of my stash. Making my fitting bras has used up all my scraps. I gifted my friend the Sabine bra kit for this bra. Isn’t that a pretty kit? It’s prettier in person.

Here’s my second version of the Gunsan pattern.   I do wish I’d had a bit of a lighter thread color, but there is a bit of a violet sheen to the lace so I decided it was okay. My friend loves this bra. This is so pretty.

I used the sheer cup lining in the kit for the frame. 

   I did run into one problem when laying this out. The power bar was a little bit longer than my lace.

Then I remembered a great tip Emerald Erin had in a blog post a long time about. She drew the pattern part that was off the lace and then cut that out with a seam allowance and sewed it onto the existing cut out lace piece.

Here, read about it here.

It worked perfectly. You can’t even see where I joined the lace. It gave me the extra inch I needed and it really worked perfectly. Thank you Erin for that great tip.

One last view of this lovely new pattern. I don’t know if further changes were made to the pattern, but it’s been released now, and I can’t wait to try it for me. Next for me to to start altering it for Omega.

Happy creating!

B,wear posted about a new pattern coming: Gunsan. I was fortunate enough to be able to test the pattern. It’s a lovely pattern!

It’s a darted one-piece cup. I was so excited to try this new pattern.

I made a decision before starting this bra. I LOVE to test patterns. I really do. But honestly, with all the alterations I need, it’s not fair for me to sew it for me. It’s not fair to take the pattern and make all the changes, and then give feedback.

So, I decided I would test the pattern as it is, and make it in my size – without any changes. Then I could gift it to my friend who’d had surgery last year. We’re the same size, but she doesn’t need the alterations for Omega. It was a win-win this way.

   I used the Patricia bra kit from B,Wear.  This is such a pretty kit.

Here’s my first make of the new Gunsan pattern. Another decision I made before starting was to not mirror the lace. (Shh. Don’t tell my friend. She doesn’t know about these things.)

Rather than trying to mirror, I made sure the larger motifs along the upper edge were in the same places and it gives a symmetrical look to the bra still.

My friend loves it. She was sending photos of her new bra to her mom and sister. This really is a lovely pattern. It’s nice to find a darted cup in a larger size.

And lastly, just so you can see how very delicate and sheer this lace is, I’ve laid it on my sewing desk for a photo too.      Stay tuned. There’s more to share on the Gunsan pattern.

Happy creating!