Pin-Up Girls

Pin-Up Girls Newest Addition

~ Michelle

The Pin-Up Girls line of patterns has a new member. Meet the Cheryl Panty pattern.

At first glance, Cheryl may not seem so very different from the Pin-up Girls Panty Basics Pattern.

But they are different.

The new Cheryl is a combination of the two basic styles of panties; the brief and the boy shorts. It is the ideal panty for everyday wear. Cheryl has the look of the brief in the front however the back features a center back seam.

The Panty Pattern includes 4 views, with two height options (waist or hipster), and two leg options (thigh cut and high cut).

The feature I like best is part of all four style options – there are no side seams on these panties. There is one back seam and that’s it. It gives a nice smooth line to the panties.

Here’s my Cheryl from the side.The panty having no side seams is a really nice feature.

Another feature I really like is the lace back that wraps around to the front.

Seeing as I was testing the pattern, I made a basic Hipster panty with no alterations to the pattern – to see how it would fit. The measuring for these panties is a little different from other patterns, so I wasn’t sure how they would fit. This pattern is based on your hip measurement alone.

The good news is they fit and I was pleasantly surprised.

Here’s the front of my Cheryl panty.And here is the back.The seam isn’t that noticeable to look at. Using the lace option, it would become a feature too. And I’ve made panties before with a back seam and I didn’t notice the seam when wearing them either.

This is a nice change from the basic pattern. If you’ve been looking for a seamless panty pattern, here it is – at least no side seams.

The panty is available now at Bra-Makers Supply.

Happy creating!

Ruby for the Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

This is a long post. I’ll warn you right up front. But I had a lot to share on the new Pin-up Girls’ Ruby pattern.

I had no time for the June Bra-makers Challenge. I was testing two patterns – you’ve seen the Ingrid pattern. There’s another new pattern coming in just a few days. I’ll post about that in a couple of days.

As well, I had to make the Knotty Pants as soon as that pattern was released, and I’m loving them.

But, I am trying to fit the challenge in again this month. To do that, I’m combining two things for this post – I’m trying the new Ruby pattern, and I’m making Ruby for my Bra-makers Challenge submission.

The Challenge

  The July Challenge was Your Birthday Suit, and the challenge was to work with sheer fabrics.This pattern has quite a few options listed. Foam-lined or all fabric. Underwired or wire-free. The bras I’ve seen sewn up are lovely! Here’s one from the BMS website:This is so pretty!

Ruby for the Challenge

Here’s my Ruby/July Challenge. I think she’s she’s lovely!I’ve made this with sheer cup lining, and black elastics. I think it works very well together.

 Here’s the side view.Ruby has a lovely shape. It’s definitely a rounder shape to the cups.

The upper cup on this pattern is shorter. A shorter upper cup helps to give more lift.This pattern calls for 1/2-inch elastic for the bottom band, which is a bit of a change for me. I usually use 3/4-inch elastic. However, this is still supportive.

It also uses 3/8-inch elastic for the upper band. Another smaller elastic choice for me.

Here’s the back of the bra.Ruby doesn’t have fabric straps. For mine, because this is a tester to see how it will fit, I only used strap elastic. However, the pattern suggests sewing some ribbon over the elastic at the front for more support.How the straps attach on the Ruby is different too. The strap is attached to the ring at the front, giving it a lovely modern look.

Another feature Ruby has is the fold over elastic along the upper cup.It’s so sleek and modern-looking!

This photo shows just how sheer my Ruby really is.  She’s lovely.

Impressions of Ruby

My first impressions of Ruby are it’s a lovely pattern. It went together easily, with no problems at all. It does go together a little differently than Shelley, which I’m so used to making, but then it’s a different pattern. The two patterns have different neckline finishes, different straps, and a different cup shape.

I do think I’m going to enjoy Ruby and make another one soon. In fact, I already have a kit to make one.

Made for Omega?

I’d read somewhere that Ruby had sewing lines for Omega shapes. I quick email to Bra-makers Supply let me know this is not the case. There are seam lines marked on the pattern. However, those seam line could be used as a guide to adjust the pattern for Omega shapes.

This photo below shows a bit of the pattern with the seam lines pointed out. I’ve drawn in a curved red line where one could adjust the pattern if you’re an Omega shape.This adjustment I’m showing would shave off 1/4-inch from the wire line, but leave the fullness of the cup. You could shave off a 1/4-inch from other cup pieces too – as many as you needed.

PSA

Do you read all of the instructions before you start a project? I don’t always read them all, and I should!

I had read through the beginning of the pattern, and traced off the Fabric pattern pieces because I wasn’t using foam cups. Then I altered the front frame, and the cups to fit my shape.

After doing that, I was looking through the pattern for the instructions for sewing fabric only. I found them on page four – there are only four pages of instruction.

Imagine my surprise when I read this:Hello? What’s this? Remember? Remember what? I didn’t read this anywhere!

So I go back to the beginning, and I read all the beginning instructions again. Nothing.

I read it again. I’m still not seeing anything.

All I could think was I’ve spent all this time tracing the pattern, altering the pattern, and cutting it out only for it to be the wrong size?

Well, it is there. It’s in the first paragraph… which I didn’t read.I saw, ‘Thank you…’, and skipped right past that paragraph to get to work.

I’ve highlighted it now so I won’t be able to miss that again. I may mark on the Fabric pattern pieces too so there’s no way I can overlook this vital bit of information again.

As a result of my oversight, my Ruby is a little small for me. All the adjustments I made worked out perfectly though. And this being sheer cup lining, it does have a little more stretch than duoplex. It almost fits. However, I will need that next size up.

I’m off to alter the next cup size…

Happy creating!

Ingrid

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Recently, Beverly Johnson put out a call for testers for a new pattern. Well, at the time, I had two new patterns I wanted to try. You’ll see one next week – the Angie pattern. I already had that cut out even, but… I really wanted to test the new Pin-up Girls pattern! So I sent in my submission.

Ingrid

Here’s Beverly’s new Pin-up Girls pattern. It was just released yesterday. Ingrid is a non-wired bra pattern, with three front-closing options, as well as a comfort band option.

The pattern is a little bit different from previous Pin-up Girls patterns in how you measure for this bra. For this one, you measure your Bottom Cup Depth (BCD) for your cup size. Then you measure your rib cage for your band measurement. So if your BCD is 4-inches, you cut out a 4 cup size. If your rib cage is 34-inches, then you cut out a 34 band. It’s easy once you know your BCD. If you want a more detailed explanation on BCD, you can read Beverly’s blog post on it here.

If you’re not sure about the sizing, there’s also a handy chart showing some cup size equivalents for the different BCDs.

Testing the Pattern

I had everything cut out and was starting to sew. I had the cups together, but something didn’t look right. It was time to stop and figure out where I went wrong. It turned out I’d sewn one of the pieces on the wrong way, so check everything when you’re sewing this.

I was glad I’d only sewn the cups. I decided to start over with new cups rather than rip all the stitches out.  However, before I cut out those new cups, I took some time to double-check. This led me to do some labeling on the pattern pieces, and add some notes to the instructions. Now I was ready to start over.

The second time it went much more quickly, and came together much more easily. I did have all that previous experience, and my notes and labels to help me.

Here’s my Ingrid.I really like this bra. I’m rather impressed with the support it gives for not having a wire.

As soon as I was done sewing Ingrid, I put her on. I wore her for the remainder of the day. As well as supportive, it was also very comfortable.

As I was walking around, thinking the bra was rather supportive, I tried jumping up and down a bit to see just how supportive it was. Okay, I won’t say nothing moved, but I was impressed with the support once again.

Do you see that weird part at the center front where it goes up? That’s my attempt to make a bit of a Gothic Arch. Well, it might fit more like one, but it doesn’t look so great here. That’s something I can work on.

Here’s the side view.

And the back. I did find the band a little big, so ended up taking the band in and re-attaching the straps.I looked for a grey hook and eye set, but my stash seems to be very low on hooks and eyes. That’s something to stock up on.  So rather than grey on the back, it’s white. If you look closely, you’ll see I didn’t have 3/8″ upper band elastic in black or grey. Again, I had white on hand, so that’s what I used.

Repairs

I had the cups cut out the second time and was marking the cups – oh, the pattern has notches to match up. I liked that. So, when I was transferring all the markings, I realized one of the bottom cups I’d cut out had a flaw in the material. I didn’t have any more grey duoplex to cut another pair or even another cup.

After looking at where the flaw was, I decided I could do a repair. You can see it here at the top. I’ve already bonded a bit more duoplex to the back.Here’s the back of the repair. There’s double-sided interfacing fused between the duoplex and that little strip.Thankfully, the majority of this repair isn’t seen in the bra – it’s in the seam.

Here’s a close up of the cup showing the repaired flaw.

Pretty Features

There are some aspects of this pattern I really like. I like the new measuring system using BCD. I like the option for a non-wired bra. I like that there are more notches and markings used on the pattern pieces. I also like a couple of features on the front of the bra.

I like the fold-over-elastic trim along the front edge. I think it looks sleek and modern. And the neckline shape is lovely as well. It reminds me of a sweetheart neckline.I also like the power net inserts at the front. I think it looks unique.

I’m wondering what changes I’d need to make to change this into a sleep bra. Hmm. Beverly?

Beverly has two great posts on Ingrid. Introducing Ingrid, and How to Sew Ingrid. Both are great posts, but that second one, How to Sew Ingrid would have helped me the first sew through.

Happy creating!

Bra-Makers Challenge – May

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

The Bra-makers Challenge for May is Shape up for Summer. The Challenge includes  shapewear, waist cinchers, bodyshapers and corsets.

Options

I decided to look at my Craftsy classes to see what I could use to help me make something new.  Beverly Johnson has a shapewear class: Sewing Shapewear Smooth Silhouettes. This class also includes a pattern for shapewear, which is a bonus. Alison Smith has Sewing Corsets: Essential Techniques (no pattern included). And Linda Sparks has Custom Corsets: Bones, Casings & Busks (again, no pattern included).I started off thinking I’d make shapewear. I was interested in making the Slimming Shorts that are covered in the class. But as I was watching the class, I decided it was too close to the pants I’d just made for the April Challenge. I didn’t want to make another pair of pants right away.

I decided I was going to make a corset. I’ve never made a corset, so this will be completely new to me. And it was a bit intimidating too.

A Brief Class Comparison

The two Craftsy classes on corsets might look similar at first glance, but Alison’s class is really the entry-level class. It’s an Intermediate skill level class, and covers the basics of making a corset. This class is also the older class format Craftsy offers – longer class lessons, and more than six lessons.

Linda’s class is more of a custom class for once you’re familiar with the basics. Her class is an Advanced skill level, and specializes in the bones and bone casings primarily. It also covers the busks. This class is the newer class format with lessons lasting about 20 minutes, and only having six lessons.

Seeing as this will be my first corset, I’m following along with Alison’s class.

Pattern

I’m using the Pin-up Girls Freedom Corset for my pattern.

Making Progress

The corset is quite easy to cut out, and to sew together. I did pause and think about the eyelets for a bit, but then just braced myself and punched holes in my fabric. Once I had the holes in, the rest was easy. There’s just something about putting holes in a brand new garment!

The denim and eyelets were a gift from Marsha. Marsha also gave me some advice as she’s made corsets before.

One option for the corset’s front closure is to add a zipper. For that I needed to add a facing to the front of the corset. I had this adorable bra material in my stash and decided it would be perfect for the facing.I’ll be the only one who will ever see if, but it is adorable. I had pulled this material out recently to use to line a handbag. I’ll share more on that a little later.

I found a great rainbow zipper, and it was on sale. I wanted a little bling with the zipper, so really couldn’t resist it.

  My Finished Corset

I’m both pleased with my finished corset, and disappointed. Here it is:

I used bias binding tape I purchased to make the boning casings. The fuchsia  coordinates with the colors in the zipper.

I do think this is adorable. My disappointment comes with some good news. Since I measured for this, I’ve lost close to 10 pounds. The corset is too big for me now. I wasn’t expecting that, but overall, it’s good news.

Here’s the side view. There’s more channeling on the side and back than on the front.  The back shows how lose it is in I’ve had to pull these laces completely closed – and it’s still loose on me. There is supposed to be a two-inch gap at the back. I don’t have a gap at all.

During the sewing, I did try it on. However, it was a few more weeks in May from that first trying on until I finished sewing it.

If this had fit a little better, I would swap out these white laces for fuchsia ribbon.

Overall, I’m thrilled with my challenge entry. This is my first-ever corset, and they’re not as scary as I thought they’d be. I’m sure I’ll make another one, and now that I’d seen they’re not nearly as hard as I thought they’d be, I may try to make a full corset for my next one.

Happy creating!

Boyshort Panties

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

Beverly Johnson has a new class on Craftsy. Lingerie Essentials: Boyshort Panty Styles. It is a great class!As soon as it came out, I signed up. I love Beverly’s classes. I have them all and have watched them all too, which I can’t say for all my Craftsy classes.

A few people have told me they saw the above image and thought the class was about making briefs. They weren’t interested in making briefs. Don’t be fooled! Those are boyshorts. They’re a combo brief boyshort. You can see more on them later in this post. I made a pair of these.

Great Fit

I was planning to make boyshorts to go with my January BMS Challenge submission. Before I cut into the very pretty lilac cotton Lycra I had, I decide to make a muslin. My muslin fit so well, I decided they weren’t going to just be a muslin, I had to get some nice lace out and make them into wearable boyshorts. Here they are on my new display. I’ll share more about this display soon.In the first photo the shorts are pinned. In the second photo they’re unpinned. I definitely have more going on in the hip and thigh than this display!

Here they are from the back.Again, pinned and unpinned.

When I held these up, I loved the shape! They reminded me of ’50s shorts. I know they’re higher-waisted than most boyshorts, but they were just too cute to change. They also reminded me of these high-waisted Ooh Lulu Betty panties.I’ve always loved this shape.

I was so happy with these, I did make a pair to go with my bra for the Bra-Makers Supply Challenge. I made the combo brief/boyshort lace-backed pattern Beverly teaches in the class. The combo brief/boyshort is the one shown in the photo for the class too.

 Lavender Set with Matching Boyshorts

Here’s the lilac set I made for the BMS January Challenge. I drafted the bra using the information in Beverly’s Bra-makers Manual Vol. 2, and I drafted the panties from Beverly’s new Craftsy class.I LOVE lilac! I don’t know why I haven’t had a lilac bra and panty set before.

I did decide to alter these panties though. They fit and were fun being high-waisted, but I wanted them to be more traditional boyshort style to see how they would fit. Boyshort styles usually gape at the back on me.

I lowered the waist and finished them with some lilac lace trim. And… they fit.  Below, on this side view, you can just begin to get a peek of the back. This is the combo panty I mentioned earlier. It looks like a brief from the front, but a boyshort from the back.Here’s the full back view of the bra and panty.

Oh! All that lace! This is my favorite set I’ve made!

TNT

 I made a second pair of panties to match this bra using my self-drafted pattern for the panties. I am so happy with these lovely sets and am looking forward to the next BMS Challenge.

Happy creating!

A Watson for Em

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

What would you do if your boyfriend’s Mum made bras? Would ask her to make you one? Em did.

First Make

For my first bra-making venture for Em, I thought a bralette would be best. She really wanted a bralette too. So which pattern to try?

I have to be honest here. I have struggled so much with bra-fitting for myself, that I wasn’t looking forward to making a bra for someone else. I found the very thought daunting, and kept putting it off.

Once I started sewing though, well I really love sewing bras. With each step of the process, I admire how it’s coming together and looking more like a bra.

My first make for Em was the Cloth Habit Watson.

I was debating a bit whether I’d make her the Watson or Pin-up Girls Sweet Sixteen Bralette.

I decided to make the Watson because I’ve made it before. She also really liked the long-line version, so that’s what I made.

Hoarding

Remember I mentioned in a previous post how I had to order new wires because I hadn’t kept different sized wires? I had them a few years ago and gave them away? Well, a year ago I gave someone my Watson pattern because it really didn’t fit me and I thought I wasn’t going to make it again. Guess what I had to buy again because I don’t hoard enough? Yes. I had to buy another Watson pattern! I am going to start hoarding all things bra-making.

Much Better Now

 Sewing the Watson was much a much better experience this time than the two times I made this pattern in the past. The big difference is Em actually fits in the pattern’s range. I was just outside it and had to size up and make adjustments. She’s also young, with all the benefits that go with youth. Need I say more?

Sewing this pattern again, I do have to say I really like it. It’s a lovely pattern, with tips in the instructions that are both thoughtful and helpful. While sewing, I had the impression that this is a charming pattern.

Em’s Watson

 Seeing as I don’t know if this is going to fit Em either, I wasn’t breaking into one of my nice kits. Nope. It was scraps and left overs, little bits from here and there. Despite not using a kit, it came together quite well.

Here’s Em’s Watson from the front: 

I used some lighter-weight coral mesh that had been a gift, peach stretch lace which I think also had been a gift, and white elastics from one of my first purchases from Bra-Makers Supply. I didn’t have any smaller rings and sliders for the straps, but have a few kits from Merckwaerdigh and they have smaller findings. I know I won’t be using the findings from those kits for me so pulled them out. They were perfect.

I found an adorable little butterfly bow in my bow stash that is almost a perfect match for the peach in the cups. It’s not sewn on yet. This has to fit before it’s getting a bow of any kind.

 Here’s the back: 

Here’s a side view: 

I am really happy with how it came together. Now I have to wait.

Does It Fit?

  I have to wait a few days to find out whether this fits or not. Oh, if you think the wait is bad when sewing a bra for yourself and wondering the whole time if it will fit… This is worse. At least when sewing for ourselves, we can try it on right after we snip those last threads!

 Happy creating!

P.S. You might want to look at the first Watsons I made. My First Watson, and Long Line Watson and Some Bling.

Patterns

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

After working on drafting a bra from measurements, my work wasn’t done with the draft. The next step is to use that draft and make a pattern. Let me show you a little of the progression so far.

Drafting

Here’s the draft. It doesn’t look anything like the pieces I’ve seen in bra patterns.

Horizontal Seam

Then, a few more steps and things start to look more familiar. Beverly takes you through it all in her manual. Take a look at these pieces. These actually look like bra pattern pieces.

I’m not the biggest fan of a horizontal seams. I used one when I made my Heather bra.

Common Bra Seams

Here are some different seams shown in bras (photos are from Bra-Makers Supply and Sewy):

Vertical Seam

I’ve also tried the vertical seam when I made KS 3300. Once I started making my own patterns from the draft, I had to try each pattern. This part of the process was definitely fun for me. The photo of the vertical seam is from the Sewy website. It’s their Linda bra pattern.

Diagonal Seam

My favorite seam in bra-making so far has been the diagonal seam. That’s the bottom left in the photo collage above. A diagonal seam is what we find in the Classic pattern or the Shelley pattern from Pin-Up Girls patterns.

I also love the power bar and split lower cup on the Shelley. Here are a few of my favorites from that pattern.

I love this pattern, and know I will make it using my drafted pattern!

Curved Seam

The one I really wanted to try was the curved seam. All the gorgeous Cloth Habit Harriet bras I’m seeing were making me want to buy that pattern too. I had to be very strict with myself not to buy yet another pattern I have. The photo in the first collage is from Sewy again. It’s their Isabell pattern, which I have. I also have a clone of a Fantasie bra that is a curved seam too. I didn’t need one more pattern, but I was tempted! However, I did want to make one when I was making the patterns.

Patterns I Made 

Here are all my new patterns. I just need to add seam allowances to some of them, and make little changes like adjusting for a flat spot, thinning the band under the cradle, and lowering the bridge.

I also drafted my a new cradle and band.

Happy Creating!

P.S. You may also be interested in Sewing Bras: Foam Lace & Beyond.

Here’s some exciting news.

Merckwaerdigh

The news is from Merckwaerdigh’s Etsy shop. Here’s what Margreet said in her post on Facebook: “SPRING … a perfect time for a major change! As of today all listings in the Merckwaerdigh shop at Etsy are FREE SHIPPING!!!“

She is raising her cost a bit, but what she is adding to the costs will still be lower than shipping costs! Yay!

Gifts Sewn with Love

~ Michelle

It’s Boxing Day in Canada. It’s our equivalent to Black Friday in the U.S. The biggest sales day of the year. I’m going shopping! But just before I do, I wanted to share a couple of things I’ve been working on for Christmas.

I love gifts. I love getting them, and I love giving them. For me, it’s a delightful challenge to try to think of something original that someone will love and want.

Gifts for her.

This year I had one extra person on my gift list: my son’s girlfriend. I had to think what I could give her.

Earlier this year she had given me some material she’d bought and hadn’t used. It’s flannel, so super soft and warm. We both love music and play piano, so she knew I’d love the material.

As soon as she gave it to me, I knew I’d give it back to her. I knew I was going to make her a lap quilt.

Here it is, folded in half, on my office/sewing room chair to give you an idea of the size.

She loves it!

It’s simply a large rectangle and I use wool yarn to tie it throughout. The yarn will felt and also with some washing and use become little bobbles on the quilt. Here’s an older lap quilt I did with the wool ties.

Gifts for him.

My son was another person I was sewing for this year. All he wanted was SAXX underwear. Really? That stuff is on the expensive side. But, if that’s what he wants, then that’s what he’ll get. However…

Earlier this year I’d bought the Pin-Up Girls Men’s Underwear pattern thinking I could make some underwear for my husband and sons. I put that idea on hold as no one was jumping up and down saying, ‘Yeah, that sounds great!’

With the holidays here, and the request for underwear, my hubby and I decided we’d buy him two pair of underwear, and I’d make him one. I made him the Michael style, which has the same sling-styling as the SAXX underwear he loves.

You can see my pattern matching wasn’t quite perfect. However, this was also a trial pair to see how they went together and would fit.

Here’s the inside of the underwear, and you can see the sling feature.

I didn’t get his measurements before I started this project. He was busy and couldn’t call me back right away. I got impatient and started without knowing his waist measurements. I cut out a size 34, and found out after I was all done cutting out that his waist is 35″. I’m happy to report they fit perfectly! He wants some more.

Gifts for my hubby.

When I was finished sewing the underwear, I showed the Michael shorts to my hubby. I asked him if he wanted me to make him some too. He said he wasn’t that fond of SAXX, so not to bother.

Okay. So I asked him if he wanted me to make him regular boxers. His reply? ‘No! If you’re going to make me underwear, I want the Micheal ones.’ Ha, ha. He wants the best. I’ll have to make him a pair… in the new year.

Have you made the Pin-Up Girls Men’s Underwear? Which style did you make? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them.

Happy creating!