Basic Black for Em’s May Bra

Originally, Em said to surprise her this month as to what color she wanted. She said she loves all of her new bras. Then she thought and said, no, I want a black bra. As Em wished, she’s getting a black bra. Another Watson. The fabric I used for this Watson is the softest, most luxurious feeling fabric. It also has a nice weight to it. I’ve used it for the entire bra except the lace on the inner cups. It is so soft. I think Em will love this.

As you can see I used the lace edge on the inner cups. Cloth Habit has a lovely tutorial that was part of her sew-along that explains how to do this with your Watson bra. It was my first time sewing this feature, and I think it’s lovely. We all need a basic black bra, right? A lovely one is even better. I can’t wait to hear how she likes this one.   Usually I’ve used a 3×3 hook and eye for the back band, but I used up all my extra stash items making the Fitting Bras. I’m going to have to stock up a bit again.  

I had a wonderful class this past month teaching seven ladies how to sew their first bra. If you can believe it, one of these women sewed her first bra and it fit wonderfully! She’s a quilter, and knows how to sew a 1/4″ seam really well. It was a great class, and everyone went home happy with a well-fitting pattern, and at least one well-fitting bra.

Happy creating!

Ivory Margareta II

When making the fitting bras, which I’ve now sewn twice (PUG Classic, and B,Wear Margareta), I realized the benefit of batch sewing.

It’s a great way to sew more than one bra at a time. Wanting a whole new bra wardrobe was also the perfect time to do a little batch sewing.

Two ivory Margareta bras are better than one, right?

However, this second ivory bra has a little more spark to it. I can’t remember where I got this lace, but ooh-la-la.

Let me show you what I mean.Many of the lace petals lift up. It’s very fun and adds that little something extra. Isn’t this lovely? I used all lace for the bra cups. It’s really lovely. It does remind me a little of the bee fabric I’d used before, but this time it’s petals and sheer. Here I’ve removed the foam cup from behind the bra. You can see the cup is no longer filled out on the mannequin, but I wanted to show you how sheer this is. It’s so delicate and lovely. I couldn’t resist cutting out one of those little floral motifs to add to the center front.

Happy creating!

An Ivory Margareta

Looking at my bra wardrobe, I realized I had too many darker colors, and I really wanted lighter colors for Spring and Summer.

You know what that means – it’s time for a new bra wardrobe! 

To start off, I made myself a new Ivory Margareta. The Margareta is currently my favorite pattern. Classic and lovely. I’ve used this lace a couple of times now, and I love it every time. I might even have enough for one more bra in the future. Yes, this will be perfect for summer. A lovely first bra for Spring. Look how pretty and delicate this lace is. And the perfect shade of ivory to match the duoplex.   One last feature I really love with the Margareta pattern is this little strap tab where the strap meets the cup. It’s just adorable.

That’s all for this week. Short and sweet.

Happy creating!

The Loveliest Margareta

Do you ever save a piece of lace? It’s just so pretty, you save it for that perfect project?

Well, I’ve had this lace for a few years now. It’s just so pretty. But it was time to sew it up, and I have to say it’s made the prettiest Margareta. This lace has a story too. I think it started with Karin (Braphoria), then Maria who bought the company next. Then MargieB bought it. However, once I saw it, I knew I had to have it.

Still, I think it’s lovely for a well-traveled lace.  Oh, those shades of blue are lovely. The shading detail in the sheer mesh behind the embroidery.

I really do love lace.   And I think I really love this bra! It’s so pretty!

I think I need some navy cotton Lycra now for some matchy-matchy. I’ve made a few adjustments to this pattern, and I think this just might be it, but looking at it in photos, I might need to re-look at how the sides are fitting.

I was also thinking of trying Prima Donna’s downward hike on a bra again.

I think I’ll go check my stash to see if I have any navy CL.

Happy creating!

Em’s April Watson

It was time. I had to sew Em’s bra for April. Being a little pressed for time this month with all the fitting bras, I didn’t try a new pattern for her. No, I went back to the very charming Watson bra.

We went through some of my stash and Em picked this mesh and lace. I hope she loves this one too. I had a little bit of lace left over, so I cut out the flowers and added those to the frame on one side.     On the other side, I had the flower coming up the side of the cup as well.

Of course to finish a pretty bra, I add a bow. This is a very light weight bra. The mesh is very light, and so is the lace. As Em doesn’t need support, I’m not adding it behind the frame or in the cups.

However, the lace is non-stretch so there will still be a little support.  

This should be lovely to wear in the summer or warmer months as it’s so very light.

After my class next month, I hope to venture into other patterns for Em. Do you have a favorite light-support bra or bralette?

Happy creating!

Neon Garden Margareta

After sewing all those lovely Margareta fitting bras, I really wanted to sew a Margareta for myself. So I did just that.

I used a kit that has been in my stash for a few months, and unfortunately is sold out at Bwear.

This was their Neon Garden kit. I had used some of this lace for Em’s March bra. And I purposely didn’t try to match the lace motifs so there would be enough left over for me.

I’m glad I did.     Before sewing this up, I knew I’d have to make a number of changes to the pattern so it would fit me.

I did my Omega adjustments: I lowered the bridge, lowered the side of the frame and narrowed it. I took darts out of all the cup seams so it would fit into the now smaller frame. Lastly I took 1/2″ out of the upper cup depth.

I did sew up a quick mock up and was pretty sure I was really close. So I broke out the pretty lace. If you look closely, this lace isn’t matched either. There just wasn’t enough lace left to match. So I made pretty cups with an all-over pattern. There’s only one more adjustment I need to make for this to fit perfectly: I need to narrow the upper bridge. Everything else was great.    This is so pretty!

Next week I’ll share another lovely Margareta.

Until then, Happy creating!

Storing and Transporting my Fitting Bras.

This is just a short post to share how I’m storing my new fitting bras.

My previous set of fitting bras were all stored in plastic zip bags, but after a couple of years sitting in those bags, the bags were beginning to get that old feeling. I knew I wanted something better for that older set, and my new set of Margareta fitting bras.

Off to Amazon I went to browse to see what I could find that would be better than plastic bags.

I found a couple of things to share.

First off, I found these great hanger clips.

   These work perfectly! There are just the right number of clips for all the fitting bras to fit on two hangers.

The second thing I found was something to store them in, and protect them when traveling with them. Hanging garment bags.

   These were both perfect options.

Here’s how I’m using them. Each bra is labeled by its US size, its BCD size, and its European size, as these are a European pattern. For my own ease, I’ve hung them in the BCD sizes.

Finally, I’ve labeled the garment bag, and the hanger clips for easy identification when I’m looking for a size. I’ll be back next week with a new make.

Happy creating!

Another Roxie Watson

The Watson is Em’s favorite bra/bralette pattern, so I’m making her another one this month.

Actually I’m making her two more. I know, she’s getting spoiled. But she spoils me right back so it’s all good.

The Roxie kit from B,Wear actually has enough material in the kit for me to get three bras out of it for Em. I’m digging into my stash for the elastics, but there’s lots of the actual fabric.

I also have to say, the Lycra in this kit is the nicest I’ve ever used! It’s so soft and has more weight to it than any other. I really like this Lycra!

Okay, back to Em’s February Watson. For this one I decided not to line the cups with the Lycra – just to give her a different look.

I think this is utterly charming! Here are a few photos of this adorable bra with some matchy matchy. Oh this is pretty. I am in love with this Italian embroidered mesh. I have some more in my stash. I think it’s time to use it. Em and I went through my patterns and picked out a few other styles for her. I’m also going to sew her the Barrette Bralette. the Maris Bralette, and the Sierra Bralette. She really liked all of these Madalynne patterns.

Here’s the Barrette pattern. Lucky girl, I have some of this amazing band elastic to use for this too. She may need me to add a hook and eye in the back, but I can do that.

Here’s the Maris pattern:Em loved this one!

And the Sierra:   I think Em’s going to enjoy her year of being spoiled.

Lastly, here’s a collage showing this new Watson with the previous one – just so you can see the difference with the lined cups and the unlined ones.

The last one will be slightly different again, but you have to wait until next week to see that one. 

(And if you’re wondering about pants, I’m still working on them.)

Happy creating!

 

Gunilla Freja Bra

My most recent Freja is from a lovely kit I bought from B,Wear. I saw a gorgeous bra Bodil had made on IG, and sent her a message asking if there was a kit.Not long after that, this lovely Gunilla kit was available. I looked to see if this kit was still on her website, but unfortunately it’s not. It wouldn’t hurt to request it again though.

I loved the rich colors of this, and had to make it up in my current favorite pattern. Here’s my Gunilla Freja bra. Oh, I love this lace. I do hope I can get some more of it too. It would look wonderful with ivory or blue, but I have to say the red really makes it pop!

Here’s the side view.  Do you see that peek of ivory at the back? For a long time I wouldn’t make a bra if the kit didn’t have all matching parts. The band and straps had to be the same color. But I’m more open to coordinating fabrics like this set now. It gives me more options too. 

Recently, at the Sewing Bee, Lily of LilypaDesigns said she really likes B,Wear’s stabilized satin fabric. I think this must be that fabric.

In the past I’ve used the stretch satin Bodil carries, but this only had the mechanical stretch – no real stretch. It also feels firmer than duoplex, so would be a great option for those needing more support.

Lastly, the back of the bra.  I’m thrilled with a new pattern that fits me so well. I already have 3 more kits on the cutting table to make next. I do have plans to test a few more patterns, but I really love this bra pattern. 

Happy creating!

Freja in Ivory

I was so happy with getting such a good fit with the Freja pattern, I made another one right away. Making this pattern is really inspiring me to clone and alter my favorite RTW Fantasie Vivenne. It’s one of my projects for during the Bee.

Here are the two of bras together, the pattern and the RTW bra.They are quite similar.

Here’s mine again from the side.

And here’s the back view.This lovely lace comes from B,Wear.

It’s a lovely left and right sided lace.Working with these lovely flowers made me remember something I’d been told. Always place your flowers so they are climbing up or growing up. If they’re growing downwards, your cups will look sad. And you don’t want sad looking cups.So I was careful when placing my lace to make sure I had happy looking cups and my flowers were all growing upwards.

Happy creating!