Bra Patterns

A Gorgeous Margareta

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I was really happy with the alterations I made to my Margareta pattern. Things fit before, and honestly after so many years struggling to fit my Omega shape, I was really weary of more alterations. So I was accepting good.

But better is better. This is a kit I bought last year and I just love it! It’s a teal color with ivory floral lace. It was a kit of the month in January or February, and I’d been saving it. I used some of the lace along the power bar. I love this look. The solid color behind the lace just gives it a really different look. The upper cup is sheer, but the power bar is detailed as well. The kit came with ivory power net, and an ivory findings kit.   The ivory looks lovely with this teal color, and of course the lace is ivory, so it all goes together very well. This kit didn’t come with a bow, but it needed a bow! You know me – it has to be bow worthy. I’m going to need to stock up on bows.

I’m thrilled with the shortening alteration I did, and I already have my next bra cut out.

If you’ve been where I was, don’t give up! Sometimes changing the pattern you’re trying will help, sometimes it’s just one more little alteration and you’ll be really happy with your bra-making.

Happy creating!

A New Pistachio Margareta

~ Michelle

With the very happy alteration to my Margareta pattern, I just had to make another one right away.

I used a lovely Pistachio kit from B,Wear. This is the Midsummer bra kit, and I love this color.   I have to tell you, when I opened this kit. I wondered what the stable fabric was. It is so soft! Then I realized this is the new soft Nylplex B,Wear is carrying. It’s lovely!

Okay, enough about all these other wonderful things, here’s my new bra. This is the Margareta, again. And I’m thrilled again.I adore this color! I have looked for a cotton Lycra the same color. I did find some that’s a bit darker, so I think some matchy-matchy will be next on the sewing table. The power net in this kit has a sheen or glimmer to it. It is very pretty.   

The power net looks lovely with the shimmer of the straps.

Yes, I’m very happy with this. It turned out as lovely as the first Margareta did. So far this pattern is winning the favorite pattern for me. We’ll see what happens when I revisit the Freja, but for now I’m thrilled to have a great fitting pattern.

Happy creating!

A Tweak to My Favorite Patterns

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been happily sewing a few of my favorite patterns with my Omega adjustments and wearing them for a few years now.

About a month ago I decided to look at these bras on me and evaluate them and see if there was anything I could still do to improve the fit.

It turns out there was.

I mentioned it a few posts back. I decided to shorten my upper cup just below the strap attachment.     This alteration did help, but I took a critical look again, and realized I could do more. I could take more out.

I took my three favorite patterns: Margareta, Freja, and Angie and deepened the alteration.

I tried the Freja first. It was better, but I still want to work on that one a bit more.

Next up was Margareta. I decided since I wasn’t happy with how the Freja turned out, I would skip a few things on the Margareta – like the gothic arch, and finishing the channeling at the center front and sides.

However, I was so happy with how the Margareta turned out I didn’t want to take it off for photos! I did finish those channelings at the front and sides and took photos for all of you.

I’m thrilled with this and how it fits. I’m so glad I decided to take that critical look at my fit. This is so worth the changes! I adore this kit as well. It’s from B,wear. You can find it here.      

Yes, I’m really thrilled with how this alteration turned out, and I know I’m going to want to sew a whole new bra wardrobe now.

I thought you might want to see all the alterations I’ve made to the original pattern. Here are the Margareta pattern pieces with the shaded out parts on the pattern pieces. They include both my Omega adjustments and the new shortening adjustment. So, if you’re not completely happy with how your bra is fitting you, take a critical look and make one adjustment at a time.

Happy creating!  

Simply Sheer Hearts

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

How can it be the end of August already? Have you been following BRAugust on Instagram? I’ve been doing my best to post daily. It is fun.

I received this beautiful sheer delight from B,Wear this month, and again, it was one of those I have to sew with this right now.  A sheer Margareta it is. Oh. It’s so delicate. I wish I’d had a lighter colored thread – one that would have just disappeared in the seams. I still think it’s lovely.

I used the lace for all parts of the cups. I used the embroidered hearts for the upper cups, and the top of the power bar. And the sheer part of the lace for the lower cups and the frame. Here you can see just a peek of the hearts along the top of the power bar. Isn’t that sweet? Just so pretty.

Here are a couple of close up of the upper cup and power bar with the heart detail. Those hearts are so sweet. You can see how very sheer this is too. The hearts falling along the elastic wasn’t planned. It was a happy accident of laying the pattern out and having it fit.

I couldn’t resist adding a tiny heart to the bridge.        And I looked for a bow, and there was this little bow I’d made a few years ago. It was perfect. It’s sheer as well. The perfect bow for a lovely sheer Margareta.

Happy creating!

A Gorgeous Summery Watson

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

Do you ever get a lace or kit and have to do something with it right away? I took one look at this lace and wanted to sew right away. White eyelash stretch lace with colorful pattern - 24 cmThat was how I felt. I knew I had to make something beautiful and summery. Now.  And I did. I chose to make another Watson for Em. This is her August bra.

I really do like the Watson pattern. This time I used Cloth Habit‘s instructions to have a lace edge. With this gorgeous eyelash trim lace how could I not? Oh, that’s pretty.

I also kept the eyelash trim along the bottom of the bra – all around the front and back. I used this same stretch lace for the back band.  If I had pistachio findings in Em’s size I would have used them for sure. Sadly I didn’t. I did have a lovely lavender set though.

I think this goes quite nicely.

I think Em will be happy with this new Watson. It’s a perfect bra for summer.

This photo is showing two things. How really delicate this lace is. Just look at that. It looks more opaque on the display form, but on the sewing desk you can see how delicate and light this is.

Secondly, after I took the original photos above, I decided this needed a bow. And I had a little pistachio bow all by itself just waiting to be used. It’s charming.

I have one last tidbit to share with you. Do you ever open your findings and see you have the hook and eye set, but the hooks are open flat? I don’t love to sew those ones. But when I was sewing this, I had an idea. No one says you can’t sew those flat ones closed on the sides before you sew it on the bra!

I did just that and it was so much easier to sew on. So much easier to sew than when it’s just flat.

That’s it for today. Happy creating!

Pretty in Rosé Margareta Bra

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Continuing in my Pink mood, the next bra I had to sew up was another lovely kit from B,Wear. The Pretty in Rosé bra kit.  Pretty in Rosé - Bra kit with lace Isn’t this lovely? At the writing of this post, this is still in stock.

This is such a lovely lace. After cutting out my Confetti bra, I realized this is the same lilac pink in the lace here. I decided to use the same Lingerie Satin Light for my frame on this bra. I’m showing just a bit of my new House Morrighan’s Clover brief. The cotton Lycra and lace trim went so well with this. I won’t be writing a separate post covering the briefs though. Just a glimpse here in this post.

Here’s the side view of the bra. I love how delicate it looks.  Lastly, here’s a photo of my new Pretty in Rosé Margareta with my new Clover Briefs. That is the last of my pink cotton Lycra, so I’ll have to order more if I want another pair of panties.

One more lovely part of this kit is the rose gold rings and sliders. Isn’t that pretty? It goes so well with the Rosé in the lace.   

I’m not done with my Pink mood yet, but I might branch out into another color just for fun.

Do you ever play bobbin roulette? You know when you think you have enough bobbin thread, but you’re not really sure? Well, when I was sewing my Clover briefs I was playing lace trim roulette! This is what I had left over. Now that’s cutting it close! Get it? Cutting it close? 

May your bobbins be full, and you have enough lace trim.

Happy creating!

A Confetti Margareta

~ Michelle

I’ll admit. I have a decent stash. It wasn’t always this way, but thankfully I have a healthy supply of kits, lace, and elastics now. After all, I have been sewing bras for 12+ years.

Sometimes a kit will be in my stash for a little longer, sometimes I have to sew it right away.

This kit wasn’t in my stash too long. I saw it and wanted to sew it up. I’m in a Pink mood this summer.

The Pink mood started with the Michelle’s Specials, and then looking at what kit I wanted to sew next it was the Confetti kit from B,Wear’s January kit of the month. I fell in love with the confetti design in the lace.

The main bra fabric here isn’t duoplex or nylplex, or even micro duoplex. I wrote to B,Wear to ask just what is this? It’s lovely. A nice soft hand, lovely to sew. What is this fabric?

It’s Lingerie Satin Light. Really. If you see it, try it. It’s wonderful to work with.

Here’s a full photo of this lovely bra.        Isn’t that lace fun and pretty?

I love the confetti design! And as I said I’m really in a pink mood these days. It’s just so fun. The design is even along the lace’s edge! Yes, I’m really pleased with this Confetti Margareta.

Can you guess what’s coming up?

I’ll leave it there. Happy creating!

Em’s July Bra

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I received the loveliest softest fabric from B, Wear this month and knew right away I wanted to use it for Em’s bra.

She needs softer fabrics and this is just perfect. Pantie fabric -Pink flowers on a white base This is actually a pantie fabric but will work wonderfully for a soft bra for Em.

  Now, the next decision was what pattern to use. The Watson works so well for her, but I did want to try something different, and I had a little more time this month to do that.  

I chose the Romy bra pattern by OhhhLulu. The Romy Soft Bra PDF Instant Download Sewing Pattern Comfortable Lingerie image 1It’s adorable, and I think perfect for Em.

This patten is fully lined for support, but I didn’t do that for Em.

  This is lovely. It’s a bit too small for my display form, but that tells me it will fit Em just fine.

I decided to make Em some matchy matchy this month. Or as I recently saw on a British Sewing Bee episode, some Co-Ord. The littlest pair of Clover Briefs, but without the upper band. So they’re really Clover Hipsters.

They’re adorable and so very soft.

Here’s the set. Just adorable. I hope Em loves this set.

Happy creating!

One More Michelles Special

~ Michelle

I couldn’t stop thinking about how gorgeous the colors were in Em’s June Watson. I loved this lace with the fuchsia powernet.

I knew I had to make a bra in these colors. I had just enough lace left for an upper cup. So I looked in my stash for some fuchsia sheer cup lining. Jackpot! I had some. Oh! It’s love again.

I made the B,Wear Margareta again because at the moment it is my favorite bra. I had a dream a week ago and was packing for a trip and looking for my Margareta bras to pack. You know you really love a pattern when you’re dreaming about it. I often dream of sewing, but dreaming about a specific bra pattern was a first. I used fuchsia sheer cup lining and power net from my stash. I used the same gorgeous hot pink findings from The Bra Makery again on my bra because I loved how they looked with the lace and fuchsia on Em’s bra. 

Isn’t the hot pink gorgeous with the fuchsia? I did one other little alteration to my Margareta. It was a little bit loose around the upper band, so I took it in just a smidge there. I didn’t forget my upper cup elastic this time. Everything fits like a dream.

A P.S. to my post about my friend’s bra. 

She loves it. She said it fits perfectly and she’s wearing it all the time. That’s so good to hear.

Happy creating!

Michelles Special Part Two

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

It was my turn to sew up something with my very special kit!

I decided I would stick to what was in the kit. Often, I open a kit and inspiration will strike and off I go. However, I fell in love with the bra shown on the website, so wanted to do my best to create something that looked a lot like it.

Isn’t this so pretty? Yes. I wanted a bra like this.

I decided to make another PUG Freja. I really do like that pattern and it’s shape and design.

However, the upper cup was a little bit too long for me. It was time for me to adjust my pattern and sew up a very pretty Freja. This lace! It’s so pretty.

Yes, the newest alteration worked out well. I was a bit nervous as I’d never adjusted an upper cup like this, but I trusted the process of shortening it and it worked. 

 

If you’re wondering how I shortened the upper cup. I put the side pattern piece and the lace pattern piece together along their seam lines, and drew a line across them. I measured 1/4-inch and drew another line. I cut on the bottom line and taped the pattern pieces back on the upper line. I removed 1/4-inch from the upper cup.

After that I just had to ‘neaten’ the design lines up again.

I love the sheerness of this. The original used sheer cup lining under the lace. But I had used some of my lace for Em’s bra. I couldn’t recreated it exactly. As well, I am using a different pattern. Overall, I’m very happy with my new Freja, but…

I made a mistake, and it wasn’t with the adjustment I made. No. I made a different mistake.

Let me show you. Do you see it?

I forgot to sew on the upper cup elastic. I tried on my lovely new Freja thinking about how the new adjustment would make it fit. And my upper cups were all floppy! “What? What was wrong with my bra? How did taking 1/4-inch out make the upper cup floppy?”

Back to the sewing machine to fix this.

Happy creating!