Panties

A New Home

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

I’ve moved! Well, I haven’t moved physically, but my blog has. I’m not longer at eforshopping… Now, if you’re looking for Michelle’s Creations, you’ll find it at www.michellescreations.ca. If you don’t already follow my blog via email, you’ll now be able to find my blog much more easily.

Things have been rather busy of late. I’d love to start posting on my new blog address with something spectacular. Sadly, I only have some matchy matchy to share.

My new Ivory bra now has two beautiful matching panties.

I’ve used my favorite TNT panty pattern – Kwik Sew 2286. One of these days, I’ll have to try another pattern again, but I really love these. It’s a harder-to-find pattern, but if you can find it, grab it!

For these panties, I couldn’t find any Ivory cotton spandex. So, instead of cotton, these panties are bamboo spandex from Bra Makers Supply, and they are so soft! They’re just dreamy. I’m not sure I’m ready to trade in my favorite cotton in for these, but they’re a beautiful alternative.

Bra with panties

The bamboo isn’t an exact match, but let me tell you, Ivory is not an easy color to match. I bought some cotton spandex that is Ivory that didn’t match (It looked yellow in comparison), I bought some lace that didn’t match. Grumble, grumble.

Here are three different Ivories – the bamboo and two laces.

3 ivory

And here are four. The bamboo, the lace I used on my bra, and the two lace trims. Seriously, every shade possible.

4 ivory

Okay, grumbling aside. I took my bamboo to the fabric store with me and matched it the best I could with some lace trim. All these others will simply go in my stash.

My first pair of 2286s is the basic pattern. I do love it, but also like to play with the laces. When I did the cover-up on my bra, it took up the lace I had planned to use on the front of one of the panties, so I needed to think of something else. I decided to do a crisscross pattern with the laces, which form a small V at the waistline.

Front of panty 2

On the back you can see how I trimmed the bamboo from under the laces:

underside of panty 2

I love the look of the pinking sheers for trimming the bamboo or cotton under the lace usually, but my pinking sheers weren’t going to fit in that narrow V shape very well. My small scissor that I use to trim threads worked perfectly.

Underside of panty after trimming

There! Two nice new pairs of panties to go with my Ivory bra.

Happy creating!

The Cotton Spandex Opportunities

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

On a sewing forum I follow, someone posted a cute pair of panties and had lots of response. ‘What pattern are these? No elastic? I have to know what pattern, …’ It went on for a while. We were told they were Scrundles. Off I went to search the web for Scrundles. I didn’t find any Scrundles, but a little more searching and I found Scrundlewear Ladies Underwear by Stitch Upon A Time.

I looked at the first photo to show up and thought, that doesn’t look like what I saw. This photo is from their Etsy shop. These are boy shorts. What I’d seen were more of a classic brief shape.

boy short

Then I scrolled through the photos and saw this:

brief

These were more along the lines of what I’d seen posted. Super cute!

The pattern offers five styles of panties in one.

pattern

Hmm. Now I’m thinking. I really love my TNT Kwik Sew 2286s, but I did think these were super cute. Here’s what they say about their pattern:

2 different styles included, Briefs and Boy shorts
4 different waistband options
2 different leg band options
3 different trim options, faux fly, lace and ribbon bow
You can make more than 16 different underwear with this one pattern!

They were sounding better and better.

Then things got more tempting for me. On the same forum, all these people started posting about the cute printed Cotton Spandex they were finding at a Canadian fabric store, Fabricland. Off I went to my local store to see if they had it. Nope. It seemed to skip my Province. From what I was reading, it was in the Eastern stores, and the stores in the Province west of me too.

I put the thought of those cute panties on hold. If I was going to make them, I wanted mine to be cute with some patterned material too, not just the solid colors of Cotton Spandex I’d found.

Then there was that unexpected trip to Ontario. After visiting and spending time with family, a very quick trip to Bra Makers Supply, and more family visits, it was time to go to Fabricland.

There is was! The same cute patterned Cotton Spandex I’d seen on the forums.

cotton for panties

My first trip to Fabricland was a quick trip, so I grabbed a meter of each with plans to go back and get a little more while it’s on sale for half price.

At this point, I had the material, but not the pattern. Then came Jennifer Getter’s birthday (Jennifer of Stitch Upon A Time). On the SUAT’s Facebook page, she said she was celebrating by offering 40% off patterns that day. What a great opportunity! I’d bought some material, so with 40% off, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

Another of my goals for this Spring is to make myself a T-shirt that really fits. Sewing with Nancy had a few episodes on sewing the perfect T-shirt. After watching, I purchased my pattern. It’s from Pamela’s Patterns. You can find it here.

perfect t-shirt

This is a darted T-shirt, so should really help when it comes time to do a Full Bust Adjustment on it. It’ll be like the work is half done for me. Rather than starting from scratch and adding a dart, I’ll only have to adjust the dart that’s already there. On the show, they even show how to adjust the dart higher or lower as needed. Great!

However, it was another of those projects that needed Cotton Spandex, so it’s been waiting.

These are the materials I purchased to work on a few Summer tees. I may mix and match things up too.

cotton for tees

I had hoped on my second trip to the store, I’d find some brighter colors. They did have a couple, but the prints were huge. They weren’t anything I’d want for panties or Tees. I’d even brought my hubby in with me to help me decide. He didn’t like the other prints either, so I’ll have to be happy with all these nice new black and white prints.

While I was there I did see one more wonderful fabric.

african print

This is part of an African Prints collection. I grabbed what was left (not even a full meter), and will use it for a Swoon bag, or as a feature on a bag. So pretty.

Happy creating!

My Spring Lingerie Wardrobe Plans

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

We all have plans of things we want to make or sew, but last fall I realized I had so many projects to make on my list that I needed to break things down a little. I made a Fall/Winter list and left everything off that I wouldn’t be wanting over the winter. That helped me tremendously.

I did the same again just recently when I was planning a trip to Bra Makers Supply. When I started to make my list, there were a lot of darker colors on it like Black, Black Cherry, Chocolate… I took a look. Well, I took a look after I added up what it was going to cost me if I bought everything on my list, and I decided to re-do it for only Spring and Summer.

The first thing to do was to go through my stash and see what I needed to complete what was there already. I have a Pink Bra Kit but I didn’t have a Finding Kit. I had an Ivory Bra Kit too, but again no Finding Kit.

Finding Kits were on my list.

findings and bra kit

As well as the Finding Kits, I picked up a Lavender Bra Kit and Finding Kit. All of these will make a lovely light-colored Spring and Summer bra wardrobe.

While at home I looked at the cotton I had for panties. I had some Beige, and some Pink. So I needed some Ivory. Bra Makers doesn’t have Ivory in their Cotton Spandex, but they do have lovely Modal in an off white that looked nice with the Ivory Duoplex. I loved placing the fabrics beside one another and seeing how close the colors were for myself.

bamboo 2

I had my hubby with me (he was the one rushing me out of the store), and I told him to look at the Bra Kits and pick the one he liked. On his third pick, we agreed. We chose the Lavender Bra Kit and Findings, with Lilac and Lavender lace. The kit is showing above, but here’s the lace.

LS-63.5355%20Lilac%20and%20Lavender

Oh, it’s so pretty! I did realize after I left the store that I didn’t buy the Lilac Cotton Spandex, but BMS does carry it, so that will be something I still need to purchase.

Two more bras will round out my Spring and Summer wardrobe and they’re both Beige. I bought some Beige Polka Dot Tulle, with Beige Sheer Cup Lining, and a Beige lace to make Beverly Johnson’s Heather bra that was shown in her Craftsy class.

Heather on Ashley smaller

This photo is from Beverly’s blog. You can read how she made it and what pattern adjustments to make here. It’s such a beautiful delicate looking bra. I can’t wait to make my own version of it. Here are my materials for it.

beige lace beige tulle beige sheer cup lining

For the last bra on my Spring/Summer list, I chose Beige Cut and Sew foam with a gorgeous Beige and Copper stretch lace.

beige lace over beige cut and sew foam

It was love at first sight when I saw that lace. Just imagine of my delight when watching Beverly’s last bra-making class and I saw she used the same lace over a beige foam cup! It’s beautiful together.

One last purchase and (gulp) possible plan – a bathing suit. Bathing suits simply don’t fit me. If I buy them to fit the bust, they float around me. If I buy them to fit my frame, I’m spilling over the top. They have not been one of my favorite things.

The Princess Tankini Pattern.

tankini 2

Sewing a bathing suit is at the bottom of my list, so if I don’t get to it, I won’t feel overly upset about it. In fact, I didn’t buy any material for this project. The pattern is enough for now.

I can’t wait to start sewing. Happy creating!

Basic Black And Not So Basic Black

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I’m happy to say, as of this blog, I have no RTW panties in my drawer. Yay! That means all my panties are now very comfortable, pretty, and me-made. I like that.

So, what did I make? It was time to make some more black panties.

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Here’s some of my stash. The Cotton Spandex is all cut out and ready to be sewn. The gorgeous wide leopard lace was a find eBay. Oh, it’s nice. So I’m building my black panty wardrobe here.

I’m using my favorite TNT pattern, Kwik Sew 2286. They don’t call it a hipster, but that’s how it fits me. It’s hard to find, but if you can find it, grab it up. It’s a great pattern.

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What really sold me on this pattern was it’s almost exactly like my favorite, now-discontinued, RTW panties. Both have elastic lace trim at the waist and leg opening. It’s almost the exact same shape too. The pattern sits a little higher, and I found I preferred that.

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Here are the first couple of pair done. I really love that leopard lace! And although it’s not a perfect match for my Pin-Up Girls classic bra with the leopard mesh trim, it’s close and I’m happy with it as a set.

front-2

The next pair was made to match too.

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This one is black with red lace at the waist and leg opening. I couldn’t resist putting a little of the Lycra on the panty to mimic the Lycra on the power bars and bridge of the bra.

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This is another fun set for me.

I am making four pair of basic black with black lace trim. I ran out of lace after making the first panty, so off I went to the fabric store and I found this wonderful lace on sale for 65% off. I bought 15 meters! I think it was $2.20 to start, so I pretty much cleared the bolt.

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The lace trim wasn’t the only great deal I got that day. I wandered into the discount area, and walked by some lovely bright crinkle cotton. I walked by it, and then back to it. It was only $3/meter. I think I walked away three times, but kept going back. Am I ever happy I did! When I went to get it cut, I found out it was half price! So I took what was left on the bolt, just over two and a half meters. This will make a lovely summer top.

cottoon

As for the lace I bought, I think I’ll have enough for a little while now. Before I even found this lace, I knew I was getting low, so had also been looking on Etsy and eBay for laces too. I found this lovely scalloped lace that I plan to use on two of the basic black panties.

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This will make my favorite panties almost exactly like my former favorite – they had scalloped lace trim at both the waist and leg opening.

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I bought a few meters of that too. The next time I’m looking for black lace trim, I should be set!

Happy creating!

How Do I Store My Stash

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

A fellow bra-maker asked me what type of system I have for storing my stash. So I thought I’d share with you how I store all my precious materials.

A few years ago, a friend was moving and getting rid of a lot of things. I scored this cabinet from her. She’d used it for her kitchen, but I brought it home and put it in my sewing room.

Cabinet

I love my cabinet! The only thing I did to change it was to add some adhesive paper to the shelves. I can close the doors and if it’s not all nice and neat inside, well, I don’t have to look at it.

Here’s the inside:

Whole-Cabinet-Inside

I have a few cute craft items I’ve made glued onto the doors on the left side, as well as all the parts of a Prima Donna bra. On the right side I have my knit and woven Slopers, the Bra-Makers Supply Small and Large Finding kits contents, and an info page from Needle Nook Fabrics.

From the top left to right, I have Cotton Spandex at the back, then stretch lace elastics (for making panties), then in front of that I have my prized swatches from BMS showing the colors of all their Duoplex, Power Net, and Cotton Spandex. In front of that I have ribbons for making bows. The ribbons are probably the only thing I have in my stash that not in a plastic bag.

Next I have my box of bra-making Elastics, with a box of adjusted patterns on top of that. Here are my elastics:

Elastics-Box

Everything is sorted by size and type. The channeling is all in one zip bag. The 3/4″ elastic in another. It is not sorted by color though. If I’m looking for 3/4″ elastic, it’s easy enough to see black from beige in the bag.

Next to the Elastics box are the Laces box which sits on top of the Threads and Wires box. All the laces are still in their plastic for safe keeping. You might be wondering at this point, why I keep almost everything in plastic. I didn’t start that way. One day when I reached into my box for some lace, there was a dead spider in the box. I packaged everything up that same day. I’m not sharing my stash with spiders or any other bugs!

Laces-Box

In my Threads and Wires box you can see I keep my threads and bobbins together in little bags too. That way I never have to wonder if that’s the right shade of pink that matches my good thread for bra-making – my spools and bobbins stay together. The wires are all in a bag according to their size.

Wires-and-Threads-Box

The far right side of the top shelf contains binders with ideas and photos that have inspired me and sewing tutorials I’ve printed off. Lastly there are patterns in large over-sized envelopes.

That’s the top shelf. The second shelf has my Bra Kits box, and my Bits O Kits box. Any kits I’ve bought, as well as Duoplex, Power Net, and cup lining all go in the Kits box. Any bits I have that can’t make a whole bra go in the Bits box. No photos of that as it’s really a rather messy box and I really need to go through it again and trim down what I have in there.

Bra-Kits-Box

These top shelves are the treasures of my stash. But I still have two more shelves to go.

The third shelf in my cabinet has an assortment of fabrics for other than bra sewing. Material I’ve collected for bags, skirts and other fun sewing.

2nd-Up-from-Bottom-Shelf

That red and black material is going to be my next Flirt Skirt (still my favorite!).

The bottom shelf has more material, but it’s all in smaller amounts. There’s also felt on the bottom for any fun felt crafts I want to make. And there’s a small basket for my button jar and a few tools, like my Hot Fix tool.

Bottom-Shelf

At the back of the bottom shelf is the quilting table for my sewing machine, and some over-sized interfacing.

I do need to rethink where I’ll be storing my interfacing. I just may need more storage.

Happy creating!

Some Light Sewing and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

My hand really has to get better. I have lists of things I want to sew and do. It’s not hurting all the time now, but still sometimes – like the other morning when I tried to cut my hubby’s bagel for him. I have no idea what I did to hurt my hand, but it really does have to get better quickly.

I promised myself I’d take it more slowly this week, so I cut out a couple of pair of my TNT panties – one beige and dark purple lace, and one black and leopard mesh. When I’d originally made my beige set (pictured below), I didn’t have very much beige cotton spandex, so only made one pair of panties for my set. In the second photo, the lace on the power bar looks much lighter than the lace on the upper cup because it’s lined with beige duoplex rather than the black sheer cup lining I used on the upper cup. They’re both the same lace though.

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That first pair of panties I made matched the side bar better than the front. Even so, this is one of my favorite sets, and I really found I wanted a second pair of panties to go with it. So, on this second pair of panties, I decided to more closely mirror the upper cup of the bra and use black cotton spandex behind the lace.

New-set

Below are the two pairs one on top of the other. The lace looks so different on these.

Two-pair-of-panties

Now, the black and mesh panties to give me a second pair of panties to wear with my Bra/Camisole set. That too-big pair really wasn’t going to work for me, so I used my TNT pattern again, and just re-drew the front to mix it up a bit. The bow is from the too-big pair. I’ve also un-picked the stitching from the mesh on those too-big ones. I didn’t want to waste any of it. When I showed my DH these panties, I told him they were super cute. He agreed; he thinks they’re super cute too.

mesh-panties

Now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge! This week we’re on week 32.

Our first submission comes from Diana. Diana made a balcony bra from very lovely print.

Diana-bra-front

Diana also wanted to make something special so she made the straps herself using soft tulle and satin ribbon.

strap

Those straps are adorable! So very nice, Diana. You can read more about Diana’s bra on her blog.

Our next submission comes from Andrea.

Cream-bra2

Andrea self-drafted this bra pattern based on the method from Beverly Johnson’s Bra-maker’s Manual.

Cream-bra3

This version is a 3 piece cup with bra wadding overlaid with patterned satin. It’s lovely, Andrea. You can read more about Andrea’s bra on her blog.

Such wonderful submissions this week! Thank you and Happy creating!

Movie Inspiration and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

Where do you get your inspiration? I get mine pretty much anywhere I see something pretty. I remember going through a mall with a friend, and I stopped to take photos of lingerie. My friend was so surprised. I asked her why she was surprised, and she said she just thought I’d make plain things. I remember thinking why would I make something plain if I could make something pretty?

Inspiration struck one night when I was watching The Devil Wears Prada. Have you seen the opening scene? There’s lacy lingerie coming out of dresser drawers; I paused the movie to grab my phone and take pictures. They were all so pretty.

This one inspired me the most.

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There’s an overly large generously-covered crystal bow on the front of this bra that doesn’t thrill me so much, but the rest of the bra? It’s lovely. That organza trim against basic black? Love.

This bra was my inspiration for this week. To complete my camisole and panty set, I used a little more of the mesh to make my own trim and made a not-so-basic black bra.

front-2

I’m using the Pin-Up Girls Classic pattern, with the lower cup split and all my modifications added to make it fit me.

The bridge has some more of the leopard mesh – I couldn’t just leave it black. There’s also a pretty crystal and bow on the bridge.

bridge-bow-and-crystal

Lastly, I’m still deciding if I’ll add bows to cover the strap seam or not. I’m leaning towards bows. I didn’t want anything to distract from the mesh trim, but I don’t think the bows do. Below you can see one strap unbowed, and one strap with a pinned bow.

unbowed

 I was really wondering as the week went on if I’d get this bra done. I’ve hurt my hand somehow and everything hurt. Putting pins in hurt. Taking pins out hurt. Holding the fabric hurt. Seriously. I’ll warn you now, next week will be a light sewing week for me while I let my hand heal up a bit.

Some good news though, is there is enough mesh left after this bra to make one more thing – another pair of my TNT panties. I’m thrilled with my set and although I can’t say I’m looking forward to cooler weather, I am looking forward to wearing my whole set come fall.

Now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. This week we’re on week 31.

First off, let me say, we did have a submission last week. But technology got in the way. David sent his submission in time for the challenge, but it took over a day for it to get to me! It was in my in-box on Sunday night.

So, here’s David’s lovely submission from last week:

Aabracup

This is stunning and so very delicate. I love how the elastic is threaded through the lace on the inner cup. David is a free-lance lingerie designer.

Our next submission comes from Emma. Emma made a Longline Watson Bra.

long-line-watson

Emma says, this is her first Watson, her first actual bra.  Emma also made a pair of high-waisted knickers.  You can read more about her beautiful set on her blog, A Hand-Stitched Life.

watson-set

What a gorgeous set. Well done, Emma!

Our next submission comes from Amber. Amber made a nursing bra. Amber used the Pin-Up Girls pattern for this and added a few alterations – a split lower cup, a nursing sling, and nursing clips. Pattern, fabrics, (duoplex & power net) and findings for Amber’s bra came from Bra-Makers Supply and BWear.

nursing-bra

Amber used power net for the nursing sling, and says it has worked very well; she also used power net with lace on the upper cups – which worked well for nursing as size needs can change throughout the day.

nb-open

What a great idea, Amber! It’s so pretty and really functional.

Our next submission comes from Lois. Lois knew as soon as she saw this fabric, it would be perfect for the scalloped border on the bottom of a corset.

Red-Corset-15-8-12-(06)-fro

This border-embroidered organza is from Fabricland. The pattern is Vogue 8393 – an oldie from 2007. Lois used the plain Organza as the lining for the cups and then partially lined the back and side front. She also moved the separating zipper to the side, and used red bias tape for the boning casing.

Red-Corset-15-8-12-(09)-bac

How very beautiful, Lois!

Such beautiful submissions this week! Thanks everyone! And Happy creating!

TNT Wins Again and So Sew Easy

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I was really thinking I’d try another pattern for some panties, but when push came to shove, I just didn’t love all aspects of Butterick 6031.

butterick-6031

What I like about them is they sit at the hip. I prefer a Hipster over a Brief. What I don’t love about them is they also look rather like Boy Shorts. As cute as they are, I decided I’d go back to my TNT favorite panty – Kwik Sew 2286.

tnt

I played with my pattern using the same technique I’d mentioned a few weeks ago – redrawing the front and making a new pattern. Here are my panties to go with my camisole. I used the same leopard mesh as in the camisole (thank you again, Ginny), and the same lace (Frog Feathers), but this time I’ve matched them both up with some Cotton Spandex from Bra-Makers Supply.

To bring even more continuity to the two, I used the lace in-between the mesh and cotton pieces on the front, and cut away the material behind it to give it the same peeking-through lace look. I think it pulls them together very nicely.

Cami-panty-set

For a second pair of panties I used the mesh again, but decided to venture out and try a new pattern. It was with a little hesitation though. I should have listened to that little voice. I made the Sophia panties from Ohhh Lulu.

Here’s the photo from their Etsy store:

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Aren’t they cute? That’s not what mine look like, she says in a flat voice.

sophia-set

So what is wrong with mine? Well, they’re just too big. And I’ve already taken them in a 1/2″ on each side side, and in taking them in I lost most of the ruching on the sides. On their web site, when they released the pattern, they said to test it first before cutting into your good material. Yes, that’s good advice. Back to them being too big… You can see when I put my TNT pair over top of the Sophia panties. They’re not too bad at the waist, but the leg opening. Well, that won’t work for me.

sophia-and-tnt

Looking at them, I really didn’t think taking them in more would help how much too big they would be at the leg opening. Normally, the Sophia panty is finished by turning those side panels inside out and sewing them with a straight stitch. I decided not to do that, but to add some elastic there and see if that helped.

leg-fix

It did help a bit, but they’re still to big. I’m really not one to give up. I knew. A bow. A bow makes everything better.

bow

They look a lot prettier now. One thing I didn’t do that I often do when buying patterns is look for the ones lots of people have made and loved. I didn’t do that with this pattern. It was just too darn cute. Sigh. I’ve seen oodles of Grace panties, so maybe those were the ones to try.

Next week I will be adding one more piece I want to make to complete my Camisole set.

Normally, at this point in my blog I’d be saying, ‘And now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. This week we’re on week 30!’

Well, we are on week 30, but I think with all the amazing sewing last week, everyone went camping this week. Let’s hope we have lots of submissions again next week!

To end this week, I have some good news – I was asked to write about bra and lingerie making on So Sew Easy. My first post was published this week to coincide with National Underwear Day . You can read it here. As well, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, and what you’d like to read about in the future.

Happy creating!

Butterick 6031 and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 12 Comments

Have you seen any of the Patterns by Gertie? She has some lovely patterns, and her Butterick 6031 is one of my favorites in my lingerie pattern stash… and it was time to pull it out.

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It is so pretty! I love that slip – black and white – such a classic!

Another admission I must make is I love watching The Shopping Channel. There are many Today’s Showstopper items in my house. This camisole was something I found on their website and was an inspiration for me. This, as well as some gorgeous material a friend sent me. The photo is the Rhonda Shear Leopard Lace Cami.

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I saw this and loved it, but I wanted something a little looser. I have a favorite camisole, and it’s not a snug fit, so I wanted one more like the one I have. That leopard lace? Love! Yes, it was time to pull out the leopard mesh I have in my stash and make something with it. Adding lace just makes it perfect.

Here’s my B6031 camisole.

Cami

Love, love, love. However, I did have a bump along the way. I’m still trying to figure out what happened. Somehow, after cutting the mesh material for the cups, I ended up with two right cups. Excuse me? I’m completely baffled by this. I really have no idea how I cut out two the same, but I did.

right-cups

That was upsetting. I didn’t want to waste any of the material. I will be able to use the material to make a Shelley though, so I’ll save it for future right and left cup pieces. I wasn’t alone this week though, I was reading on another blog how the blogger cut out two left sides of her top.

To make the camisole I also had to do a Full Bust Adjustment. I’ve done one before when I made my moulage from Suzy Furer‘s class on Craftsy: Patternmaking Basics: The Bodice Sloper.

However, this time I used the information on the sew-along from Gertie herself to adjust my pattern following her instructions. I’m glad I did. The instructions I have would have had me add 3/4″ more than I added. The 1″ Gertie suggested was perfect.

I decided I’d follow along on the sew-along, and the funny thing about following along is once I got started sewing, I forgot about following. I was 3/4s done and remembered. I went back and read through it just to see what it said. The sew-along is for a slip, but all but the hem treatment is exactly the same as for the camisole. I’m thinking of trying the panties from this pattern too. They look really cute and are similar to my favorite TNT Kwik Sew 2286.

I also had some fun making my own bows again. I often like to find some way to do something different or unique. I did that with my bows. The first bow shown here has some mesh with the ribbon, and they’re both tied into the bow, the second bow is ribbon tied with the mess, and the mesh tails hanging down. Both were so fun to make.

Front-bow

Strap-Bow

The materials I used came from BMS (power net), Frog Feathers (lace), and a dear friend, who just happens to be in our Challenge this week, (leopard mesh). Thank you, Ginny! I love how beautiful my camisole is, and will treasure it even more because the material was a gift.

Now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. This week we’re on week 29 and we have a great week!

Our first submission comes from Karin of Mrs. Weaver’s Finest Unmentionables.

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This is the Marrakech bikini. It’s based on the Rebecca bikini from the 3 Sisters pattern, a Pin-Up Girls pattern. Karin altered it to make the cups a little more flattering. The back detail is gorgeous and the fabric amazing!

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That is gorgeous! You can read more about this beautiful bikini on Mrs. Weaver’s blog.

Our next submission comes from Amber. Amber made this beautiful bra for her friend, Helena. She started a while ago, but got interrupted in her sewing by having a son. Congratulations on your son, Amber!

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Amber started out planning to make a basic bra, but then saw this lace and wanted to try a couple of different techniques.

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Look at that starburst. So very pretty! This is the Pin-Up Girls Amanda foam cup pattern. The pattern, fabric and notions – except for the lace are from Bra Makers Supply or BWear. It’s beautiful, Amber!

Next we have a beautiful bra from Maddy.

Maddy made her third Marlborough with matching Ohhh Lulu tap pants, in coral lace.

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Maddy says, ‘I love this set so much! The fit is lovely and comfortable, and I’m so in love with the lace (and its remnant price tag!)’

I agree with Maddy on that – it’s lovely! And beautiful remnant always feels better than full price. It’s gorgeous! You can read more about Maddy’s Marlborough on her blog, Miss Maddy Sews.

Next we have a beautiful bra by Sofia.

Sofia made a very lacy bra. Is there anything more delicate looking than an all lace bra? She also made a few alterations to her pattern. You can read about that on her blog, Silver Lining.

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Beautiful. That bow really looks awesome, Sofia! Sofia made her own bow for this bra. It really pops with that deep color.

Our next submission comes from Ginny. Ginny made the Boylston Bra, the newest pattern from Orange Lingerie, and she made it for her niece.

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Oh, that is pretty. Ginny describes the Boylston as ‘a sleek balconette style with self fabric straps’.

Ginny also made some matching panties for her niece. Here is Ginny’s first set featuring Make Bra’s DL21 panties.

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That is lovely. Ginny, your niece will love it! Here’s Ginny’s second set now featuring Ohhh Lulu’s ‘super comfy’ Grace panty.

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I love that floral lace on the sides! You can read Ginny’s guest post on Sewcialists‘ blog.

Our final submission for the week is from David.

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David made this bra with pink cups with black lace. The upper part of bra cups are made with black embroidery on tulle.

David side

This bra has a double strapy back and a neck strap.

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David is a free-lance lingerie designer. This is really beautiful.

Happy creating!

Pretty in Pinks Panties and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

A pretty new bra deserves some matching panties. I went back to my TNT panty pattern, Kwik Sew 2286, and made a few modifications to the original pattern to make my panties.

horizontal lace on panties

Making these panties with the horizontal lace is really easy. Here’s what I do.

1. Re-draw the front pattern piece because you’re going to cut it up.

2. Lay your lace over the new front pattern piece. My pink lace was packed away, so I used the lace I had out for this photo. Your laces may be different heights, 5″ or 6″ or less even.

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3. Because they can be different heights, do this step for each lace you use. Draw a line where the lace ends. Cut your lace the width of the front pattern.

4. Re-draw the lower front piece now – adding 1/4″ seam allowance.

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Here it is. This is now your new front pattern.

I fold the lace to find the center front, and fold the bottom front material as well. Mark them both with a pin and match them up overlapping by that 1/4″. You can see at the top of my pattern in the photo above, I use a Zigzag stitch to attach them together. It’s not hard at all to hack your favorite panties and made new styles and still get your favorite fit.

I put these new pattern pieces in a new envelope just for themselves, so I can pull them out and re-use them when I want to make that style again, being careful to make sure the lace is the same height.

One last bit from me before we move onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. Remember my bridge from last week, and how I felt it needed some bling?

Bling on Bridge

I added a few crystals with my Hotfix tool. They may not cover up that little pucker, but they do make the bridge look much prettier. I didn’t stop there though.

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I added a crystal to each strap. Can there ever be too much bling or lace?

Now onto the challenge. We’re on week 28 of the Bra-A-Week Challenge.

Our first submission comes from Andie.

Andie made a beautiful bra she’s called her Sailor Mercury bra.

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Isn’t that lovely? It’s made from teal duoplex, white findings kit, white power net, and white power mesh lining the lace from Bra-Maker’s Supply. The white lace is re-purposed from a nightgown Andie had used for a cosplay project last year.

I love re-purposing things. It’s so creative and it’s also so very pretty.

Andie also embroidered Sailor Mercury’s symbol on the right back strap to really make it her Sailor Mercury bra.

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I love that! I hadn’t thought of using embroidery stitches on my bra to make it even more unique. What a great idea, Andie!

You can read more about Andie Sailor Mercury bra on her blog: Sew Pretty In Pink.

Our next submission comes from Erin.

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This is a full band bra, full coverage with extra long wires. It has horizontal seaming, with a split lower cup. Erin made it using a lightweight stable knit,  power net for the back band and 15 denier to line the bridge for stability.
Erin, that looks like such a fabulous fit and it looks so soft and comfortable.
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 I love the bow. You can read more about Erin’s bra on her blog: The Sewing and Life Adventures of Emerald Erin.
Our next submission is from David. Here David made a foam cup bra.
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 Wow. That is really beautiful. It definitely has the Va-Va-Voom factor.
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It’s so beautiful. David is a freelance lingerie designer.
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 What wonderful submissions this week! If you haven’t looked at the Pinterest board for the Bra-A-Week Challenge, you can see many of the past weeks’ submissions all at once and get lots of inspiration.

Happy creating!