Bra Patterns

Thinking About Autumn

~ Michelle

I’ve started to think about Autumn. The weather is still lovely and hot most days, so it’s not that making me think about the change of season. But I am thinking about it.

I have a few lovely summery kits that have been waiting for me to sew up, but I think they’ll wait a while longer. I’m thinking fall colors.

The first of my fall lingerie wardrobe is a gorgeous kit I bought at Bra Builders last year.

Do you know I don’t have a favorite color? I don’t. There were colors I didn’t like though. Yellow and orange come to mind right away, and I remember when that changed. It changed years ago for yellow, but just last year I started to really like orange. Don’t ask me why. I don’t have any idea. I just started to really like the color orange, and wanted orange in my wardrobe.

So when I saw this lovely lace, I knew I had to make a bra with this beautiful it. Bra Builders is still carrying this lace too. You can find it here. Oh, I love it.

Here’s my gorgeous new fall Josey II. Yes, I love this. It’s such a rich deep color. The color is one of their Legacy colors: Burnished Copper. I think it pairs with lace beautifully.

Here’s the back.

This kit is micro duoplex, and I had no trouble sewing with it at all. It’s so soft too. Still, no stretch, but soft.  

There’s one thing I love more than anything else about this bra. I love how the different base colors affect the look of the lace. The upper cup has black sheer cup lining, and it looks quite dark. However, the power bar has micro duoplex, and looks completely different. 

Here’s a closer look a the same lace but looking like two different colors.     Oops, I see some threads I missed snipping. (smile)

I have some gorgeous orange cotton Lycra to make some panties next.

Happy creating!

Willowdale Take Two

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

I was very impressed with my first attempt of the Willowdale pattern, so I decided to make another one right away. This time, with a narrower bridge.

This one fits perfectly!

Isn’t this the most lovely material? This comes from B,Wear.

   Oh, I really love this! This fabric is is very similar to duoplex, but is a bit firmer. The lace actually comes in three colors. Pink, blue, and a mint green. Oh, they are all so pretty!

It would have been a dream come true if there had been matching power net too! However, I had some light pink in my stash that I was happy with. White would have worked as well, but I preferred the pink.

 I have a bee kit all cut out, so time to do some sewing again.

Happy creating!

Bees on Black

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I bought the most adorable bra kit – last year. I bought it before the International Bra Sewing Bee, thinking how fun it would be to make a bee bra.

Bees on Black Bra Kit Black Beauty Bra image 2Isn’t this charming? This is from Emerald Erin’s bra shop. She has it in black, and Latte. Bees on Latte Bra Kit Black Beauty Bra image 1 I love them both. But bought the black one.

I decided to try a little something different with this bra. It’s something I heard on last year’s Bee – some Omega’s are fuller in the center front than on the side. Well, that fits me (pardon the pun). I’m always adding to the center front.

The suggestion was to use one size larger for the inner cup, and one size smaller for the power bar, blending the lines.

I decided to try this with my latest Josey.  Do you ever just love something you’re doing? I loved sewing this bra together. I love the sheer fabric with these adorable bees!I love this. I’m super tempted to buy more of this so I can make it again.

Do you see that pretty hardware on the straps? This is a very old finding kit I bought from Mrs Weaver’s Finest Unmentionables (now closed).

Here’s a closer look at those sliders.They have a bit of a more rounded shape. I love them.

I think my favorite part of this bra is how sheer it is. I really do love this bra. It was a very fun make just in time for the Bee this year.

Happy creating!

Willowdale Take One

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Have you seen the new Willowdale bra pattern? Cashmerette released it this past month.

 

I like Cashmerette patterns, but honestly when I first looked the pattern, I thought I already have a couple of patterns that are similar in style. I wasn’t thinking I’d buy it.

However, it wasn’t long before all I was hearing were great reviews of this pattern. What started to win me over was when another woman who is an Omega shape said she didn’t have to make any changes and it fit so well.

Then I saw this:

Oh! I love this! 

A dear sewing friend also raved about it. I was won over. I decided I wanted to try it.

Aa well, after hearing all those great reviews, I decided to cut into a ‘good’ kit to make it. 

This is some of the platinum duoplex and findings from a BMS kit, and some gorgeous lace from Kantje boord.

I did make a few alterations for my Omega shape, and was very impressed with how well everything still fit together. Unfortunately, even though I did alter the bridge, it was still a bit too wide. The cups fit perfectly though.

I’m actually thinking of cutting it down the middle of the bridge and putting a seam there. It would be perfectly wearable, and I can decide it’s a design feature. Are you ‘going’ to the International Bra Sewing Bee? Jennifer, from Porcelynne will be doing a sew-along of the Willowdale. I’m planning to take that in.

Happy creating!

Cornelia Josey Bra

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Have you ever seen a bra kit and it was love at first sight? That was how I felt when I saw the Cornelia bra kit at B,Wear. It was so pretty, and so delicate. I bought it right away.I know most people think beige is boring, but I love the golden tones it has. I think it’s really pretty, and these golden tones paired with pink were beautiful.

I made this kit up into another Josey II bra. I do plan to try a couple of different patterns in the new year though.Here is my lovely Cornelia Josey bra. I love the lace on the upper cup. I loved it so much, I used it on the power bar, and on the side of the bra too.Oh, that is pretty.

The last couple of bras I made I didn’t use a bow. It wasn’t that they weren’t bow-worthy, but a bow just didn’t seem to fit them.This time it was the opposite. I cut out a pretty little green leaf, and it faded into the background. I didn’t like the look of it at all. This shimmery pink bow coordinates so well. It was perfect.This is my last post for 2021. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and I think we’re all hoping for a better 2022.

Happy creating!

Smoke and Mirrors

~ Michelle

Bra Builders recently released their new seasonal colors, and I fell in love with more than one color. Just look at that first color – Burnished Copper. Oh! Gorgeous! However, my favorite would have to be the Plum Pudding. They describe it as a beautiful eggplant purple – rich and smoky. It’s so pretty!

Well, not only did I fall in love with a few of these colors, but I was accepted as one of Bra Builders’ Featured Artists, and had the priviledge of working with this beautiful Smoke and Mirrors tulle lace and some Plum Pudding micorduoplex!It was love at first sight.

When I saw this lace, I knew it would be perfect for an all-lace cup. The design throughout the lace, and the darker border on the lace make it perfect for this. I used the Josey II pattern for this bra.I am so happy with this bra. I love this bra kit. I adore these colors!I couldn’t resist using a little bit of the upper edge of the lace along the side of the bra.These rings and sliders are the Rainbow ones from Bodil’s Wear. They match the eggplant color in this so well.I have a few more matchy matchy to share with you in my next blog post.

Happy creating!

The Prettiest Viola

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I had ordered a kit from B,Wear earlier this year. It is such a pretty kit, I had to use it now that I again have a well-fitting pattern.

Yes, this is another Josey II. I do plan so sew a few other patterns, but right now Josey is getting all the attention. 

I decided to do something different with this bra. Instead of using duoplex/microduoplex or even lingerie satin for the cradle, I made a lace cradle and backed it with sheer cup lining. Making a lace cradle allowed me to have a pretty lace edge along the bottom of the bra.I love the colors in this lace, and the coordinating elastics all in turquoise. It’s so pretty. That lace edge makes it look like a bralette to me, but it’s a wired bra.To make a lace edge, you need to have a center seam in the cradle.

Actually, there’s a great video by Liz Sews explaining just what you need to do to add a lace edge to your bra pattern here.   The band doesn’t have lace on it. I think I’d like to make one like that, but I used almost all the lace in the kit doing the cradle and cups.

This kit was called Viola, and I do hope B,Wear will carry it again. I looked to buy some more of the lace and couldn’t find any more.

They do have this lovely lace which is similar, but with a pink flower instead of a purple one.  Lastly, here’s the back. The B,Wear kit had both a black and a turquoise set of hooks and eyes included. I decided I can use the black on many other bras, but on this one the turquoise would coordinate perfectly. How could I pass that up?Isn’t that lovely? The constrast between the turquoise and the black is striking! This is another very happy make. 

I have one more kit I want to sew up right away, but I think Viola needs some matchy-matchy first.

Happy creating!

Another Josey

~ Michelle

Well. I really liked my newest Josey Bra. So much so that I cut out another one right away and sewed it up.

Yes, I really like it. The only thing I needed to change on that first Josey was I actually made the band too long. I don’t even know how I did that seeing I used my tester frame.

So I fixed the length of the band. On this one I also decided to use the cradle and frame that comes with the Josey pattern. I made sure it was matching my cradle, and the corrected length of my band before I cut it out.

   I used the same lace as from my Summery bra. I love the delicate floral pattern in it. Seeing as it had bright pink, I decided to match it with some fuchsia I had in my stash. My hubby told me he doesn’t like the combo.

Look at those pretty colors in there. Pink, purple, a light orange. I think they’re lovely, and match with the fuchsia well.

I think it’s a very pretty summery bra.

I also added some lace to the center front. This pattern has a split cradle, so I took advantage of that feature to easily add the lace.My only disappointment at all is the little embroidered flowers aren’t showing on the bridge. One of them is barely showing. Just peeking out from the bottom edge.

I’m sure there will be yet another Josey very soon, and some matching panties too.

Happy creating!

Josey Bra Take Two

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

My first attempt with the Josey Bra came up short. Well, a bit short across the cup anyway. But overall, I knew I was close.

I was thinking about doing a hack, but part way through drafting it, I decided I’d be better off to just do a quick test of the next cup size up.

So that’s what I did.I grabbed some scraps again, and did a quick tester cup. It’s looking good.

Next I measured the bottom of the cup against the cradle. I had to find 2 1/2-inches to remove from the bottom of the cup so the cup will fit into my cradle.

Once that was done, I had a working pattern. It was time to break out a bra kit and try this pattern. 

   If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, I’m sure you can imagine the self-talk that was going on while I was making this bra. After all the tries and trials I’ve had, I kept telling myself to not get excited. That is probably wasn’t going to fit. That this was just going to get me one step closer, and it was fine.

Well, it fits! It fits perfectly! No alterations. No fitting issues. No adjustments. This pattern fits as is, with only the Omega adjustments to fit it into my cradle.The bridge is the correct width for me, the cups fit, and the bridge also tacks all the way to the top of the bridge. I hated to take this off for photos.

I decided to make fabric straps to go with the bra, and I do like them. I may change that up for my next one so they don’t have the lace trim on the inside. Just for a different look.

As well, mine is made of duoplex, as I don’t have a lot of micro duoplex in my stash. I did order some so I can try it. 

I was also so excited I immediately dug into my stash looking for some panty fabric to make a set. Oh, these are adorable!

Here’s my whole set.

I’m a happy bra-maker today, and I’m already planning my next one. However, I also have a dress to make for a family wedding. I’ll have to fit in some time for me too and make a few more pretty Josey bras.

Happy creating!