Em’s LBB September Bra

September 7, 2024September 5, 2024 ~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been having such a fun year sewing a bra a month for Em. It is just a treat to sew for someone else, and make such cute little bralettes.

September is no different. I went back to my favorite small bralette pattern – the Cloth Habit Watson.
It’s perfect for an all-over stretch lace bra for Em. I kept the bottom scallop on the bra again, and also included the scallop along the inner cup edge. Oh, that’s so cute. I think she’ll love it.

Who doesn’t need a little black bra?

Here’s a close-up of that scalloped lace edge. And here is the lower edge of the long-line. I have a few plans for the remainder of the year. One idea I have is for a foam cup bra for Em.

I also plan to test a few larger sized bralettes for me to see how they are and what alterations I’ll need to make to them.

Happy creating!

A Gorgeous Summery Watson

August 24, 2024August 8, 2024 ~ 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. That 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!

Basic Black for Em’s May Bra

June 8, 2024May 23, 2024 ~ Michelle

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!

Em’s Welcome to Spring March Bra

March 23, 2024March 19, 2024 ~ Michelle

I’m ready for Spring! How are you feeling? Weary of winter too? We had a few gorgeous very Spring-like days, and now we’re back into winter temps again. Oh, I’m very ready for Spring.

When I was looking at kits for Em for her March bra, I wanted bright and lively colors. Nothing dark. I’d add dreary, but I’ve yet to see a pretty bra kit that is dreary!

So I looked through my kits and actually couldn’t find one that was what I wanted. So I took the lace and elastics from one kit and the Lycra from another and ‘made’ this perfect kit for Em’s bra.

Here’s Em’s March Watson. Oh, I love these bright colors! And the flowers and butterflies too. I even love the little butterfly at the center instead of a bow. But I’m not sure about the flower on the front of the band. What do you think? Here’s the side view. I’ve actually used Lycra from B,Wear again for the whole bra. For the frame, band, and I also lined the cups with it again. The lace is a sheer lace with the floral pattern embroidered on it.

I’ve used green elastics as well, but not for the straps. Oh! Look at that color combo. That is so lovely. I couldn’t resist fuchsia straps with this green and the lace. The straps make everything in the lace just pop! Here’s a closer look at the butterfly and flower above, and with the flower removed below. I really can’t decide which I like better.

Here’s a sweet set pairing Em’s Spring bra with a cute pair of pink panties. And lastly as promised. A couple of photos of me in my new Halla Knotty pants.

I wanted them loose and flowy, and I got them just how I wanted them.

And just a head’s up, I have 2 courses over the next month, 22 fitting bras to sew, and a class to prepare. I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging, but I’ll try to pop on with some of those fitting bras.

Happy creating!

A Year of Watsons

February 10, 2024January 30, 2024 ~ Michelle

I’m not sure if it was November or December of last year that I began to feel I’d been neglecting my DIL Em. I had thought about sewing for her, but I don’t think I did any sewing for her last year. I decided to remedy that.

2024 I was going to sew a bralette for Em every month. I asked her if she’d want this, and she was on board!

Next was to find out just what she liked best from what I’d made her in the past. Her favorite was the Cloth Habit Watson. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I really like to sew this pattern. I find the instructions very charming and well explained.

Now to share Em’s Watson with you. Oh this is lovely. The fabric is so soft. It has an Italian cream and rose mesh. It’s very nice. Here it is paired with a simple cotton brief.

The kit I used is such a lovely kit, and it’s still available (at the time of this writing). You can find it a B,Wear. It’s actually a kit for the Madalynne Roxie Bralette – which I also think is just adorable. I’m going to check and see if I have enough fabric left to make this pattern up for her too. I hope I do! Lastly here’s the back view of this adorable little Watson bralette.

Now I don’t think I’ll only sew Watsons for Em, but she’ll definitely have a few of them in her wardrobe by the end of 2024.

Happy Creating!

A Custom Watson

December 19, 2020December 12, 2020 ~ Michelle

I recently made a lovely Watson bra for a friend. She loves it but she also wanted a little more coverage. I showed her a photo of the longline style.Yes. A longline is what she wanted.

However, she also needed a little more coverage on the side. It was time to use some of those skills I learned in the professional classes I took. It was very exciting to know just how to change the pattern.

The bra turned out very well.Isn’t this pretty? I don’t usually wear white, but I really do like this.

Here’s the side view with the higher underarm and side. I can’t wait to see it on her. I know she’s going to be a lot happier with more coverage.

Happy creating!

An Elegant Watson

November 21, 2020November 14, 2020 ~ Michelle

My most recent make is a very elegant Watson bra. Have I mentioned how much I like the Watson pattern? Maybe not so much for me, but I do love sewing it and making it for others who better fit its size range.

This is for a friend who came to me at her husband’s request. She needed a bra. She’s also in the very envious position of not needing any support, so isn’t used to wearing a traditional wired bra. Looking at what she was wearing, I thought the Watson would be perfect. She said she likes lace, and black, and well, anything but brown. So I gave her the first two choices on her list.This is such a lovely lace. Seeing as she doesn’t have any support issues, I didn’t line this. I did line the cradle though.

The turned out so well. She comes over next week to try it on. (Yes, we’ll have masks on to make sure no one shares anything we don’t want to share!)

If you’re wanting to try the Watson with a lace edge, Amy did a wonderful tutorial when she did the Watson sew-along. You can find that here.

I have another bra I’m sewing for a friend this week. She called me and told me she was fed up trying to find a bra that fits. We’d already determined she was an Omega shape, so I knew it was only a matter of time.

I was thinking if she found a bra that did fit except for the wires, we could try just changing out the wires. But she’d returned four that she’d bought hoping one would work. No, she wants a custom bra now.

Happy creating!

Another Abbie Chemise – Libelle Round 4 Pre-Order

March 10, 2019March 9, 2019 ~ Michelle

Testing panels and material for the Libelle Sewing‘s Round 4 Pre-Order has been fun for me. Two pair of panties, and I still had more material.

There’s also a Warehouse Sale going on too.

The Pre-Order closes on March 24th.

Remember the photo I shared with my pup and the material with the grey and tan pup?I had a whole meter of that mint material. This material is cotton Lycra, and has really good recovery. I decided another House Morrighan Abbie Chemise was the perfect for it.

My Abbie

My first Abbie, I made to fit loosely. I wanted it that way. But I also wanted to find out just how this pattern fit when it fit more closely, as it’s intended. So this Abbie is more snug. It’s not tight, but it’s not loose either.

Here’s my Abbie on Catherine. I had to pull Catherine out again because my white display isn’t long enough for a slip.Oh, all that puppy cuteness! They are adorable. And polka dots too.

Here’s the side view:And the view from the back.Here’s a close up of the lace trim I used to finish the hem. It matches perfectly, and it’s available at Libelle Sewing too. They have lots of colors too.I really love lace trim like this for finishing panties – both the waist and the legs. It was perfect to finish this chemise as well.

I had just enough of this material and lace trim left over to cut out a pair of House Morrighan Clover Boybriefs for Em.

Em’s Clovers

Em had requested another pair of Clovers. She said they were so comfortable. She got her request. And they are adorable too.For Em’s last Clovers, I finished them with bands, but I had this lovely lace trim, and couldn’t resist using it on these. It’s such a delicate finish.

Here’s the side view.The Clover Boybriefs do give coverage, but are just a touch cheeky at the same time.

And here’s the back view. Oh, these are so cute!

Take a look at Libelle’s Round 4 Pre-Order, and all the other lingerie goodies they’re offering in their Warehouse Sale.

Happy creating!

A Poppy Bralette for Em

September 9, 2018November 21, 2018 ~ Michelle

This post is short and sweet. After testing the Poppy bralette in larger sizes, I was asked to test it in the smaller size. Smaller sizes won’t work for me, but will work for my son’s girlfriend, Em.

Materials

I used some lovely materials from Libelle Sewing.

I used this lace.I really like this one.

And I used a printed mesh from Libelle as well.

Power net is a little too strong and snug for Em, but this mesh is perfect! And it’s pretty. I’d really like to find some printed power net. Ooh, polka dot or floral would be nice!

The band and strap elastics all came from Libelle.

Em’s Poppy

I made the smallest testing size available for Em. A 6 C/D.

Here’s Em’s Poppy. She was right in-between two sizes for her cup size, so I measured between the C/D and DD/E and cut out a half size for the cups. The cups fit her perfectly. Unfortunately, the band on this is just a little bit too tight for Em. She could use one size larger for the band. She still took it home with her though. She thought it was so pretty.

It turns out she gave it to an even-more petite friend, and it fit her perfectly. She loved it so much, I got a marriage proposal!

Here’s the inside. The Poppy’s seams are almost completely enclosed, so it’s pretty inside too. And all those enclosed seams make it really comfortable too.I really love how neat it is on the inside.