A Nadine’s May Margareta

Just look at me go! Three weeks in a row. Hello!

This week I’m sharing another lovely bra kit I made into a pretty Margareta. 

You know, working out with my son not only changed the shape of my back, but my cups too. I’ve been working on getting things just the way I want again. And although things were fitting, they weren’t just what I wanted.

I think I’m one small change away from just what I want.

So, here’s the lovely kit I used for this bra.      That lace!

So here’s my Margareta. So, some of the changes I’ve made… I raised the bridge. Even though my wires don’t come all the way up to the top, this allows me to raise the upper cup up a bit and give me a little more coverage. Coverage that I need.

I’m thinking of adding some boning to the side of the bras as my wires don’t come all the way up at the side either. Thank you Omega shape. This bra kit was so lovely. I think the lace and lingerie satin go together perfectly. Doesn’t that go so well? It’s so pretty. And lastly, I didn’t like the looseness and bagginess on the display form. So I’ve pinned it here. You can still see the back well enough – but if you think this looks terrible, please let me know.

Until next week, happy creating!    

The Porcelynne Luna Robe

One of the projects I was working on earlier this year was the Porcelynne Luna Robe

Luna Pattern - image 1

It’s also available as a course and you get the pattern for free. 

For my first test I made a medium, but realized right away that for my comfort I wanted it to be looser. I think part of that is I’m very used to wearing knits. This robe is a woven pattern, but can be used for knits as well. I used this cotton voile fabric. Oh! I love the bright colors.

Here’s my Luna robe. 

I made a full-length robe. To me, nothing feels more luxurious than a full-length robe. Even though this is very light-weight, it will still feel wonderful.

It’s a lovely full wrap style. And it covers unlike some wrap tops or dress. This really covers and wraps. 

I couldn’t resist to make a hair scrunchie out of some of the extra fabric I had. That’s what’s sitting on the top of my dress form. 

The back has a lovely design to it. It’s not a rectangle pattern. There is style and design to this pattern, and honestly I love it!

Here is a closer view of the front. 

Here is a closer view of the back.

   This is really a lovely robe pattern. I actually think it’s the nicest robe pattern I’ve ever made.

I’m planning a matching nightgown, so stayed tuned.  

Happy creating!

A Midsummer Margareta

See! I’m really back.

This time I’m sharing a lovely pistachio bra kit called Midsummer. I used this kit to make a lovely Margareta bra.  

This kit is still available for you too. Oh I love this color! I was so happy when Bwear starting carrying pistachio. I’m still so happy I can still buy it in both findings and fabrics. I know I say this all the time, but I think it’s also safe to say we all have lace addictions in the bra-making world. So… isn’t this pretty? I love the lace and the color. I loved the lace so much I had to use some on the power bar as well. Just a little more lace to love.  And the back band. Just look at that power net. And matching hooks and eyes.    This kit came with silver rings & sliders, but B,wear has rings & sliders in pistachio as well. I think it’s my new favorite color.

That’s it for this week. Happy creating! 

A Wintery Angie’s Twin in Spring

Hello! I’m back with some things to share, and some things I still can’t share. I was busy testing a couple of patterns I can’t wait to share with you. I’ll be able to share those with you soon though.

This bra kit is a Wintery bra kit, but it was just so pretty I wanted to use it.

So, I’ll jump right back in. Isn’t this just the loveliest lace? Although it was a winter kit, I think it’s pretty all year long.     I’ll be happily sewing again for a bit now. And for me! There might be some more testing coming. But I need some pretty new bras. Or I want some new ones. The new ones always feel nicer to wear. One pretty surprise I had when I opened this kit was this lovely strap elastic. I thought this design added such a nice touch. You can see that pretty design all along the the back too.

The bra is fitting a bit looser on my display because I’ve been working out with my son for over a year now. And after having rather wasted muscles after an injury, I’m getting built back up. Strength is wonderful, even if it means going up a size in my band.

That’s all for this week, but I’ll be back next week again.

Happy creating!  

I’m Still Here

Hello! Just in case anyone is wondering… I am still here. 

I’ve just been very busy with things other than sewing, but I am sewing again. I’ll be back soon with more lovelies to share with you.

Michelle 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year fellow bra makers! Did anyone do any sewing over the holidays? I didn’t. I took a big break from many things and am feeling refreshed again.

I actually decided to start the new year off with some bra sewing. I went to my sewing room and looked at what I had cut out, and have no idea what I was thinking but what I cut out would not work. And there was no saving it either.

I didn’t waste any of my time on it, I simply cut out a new pattern and it’s ready to sew.

I do have a couple of things to show you from December still.

 A dear friend asked me if I could help her. She’d bought some tights that she loved but they were too short. She bought some lace to lengthen them, but that lace didn’t work out. Would I help her? Of course.

I looked for an idea and found this one. She loved it.She asked if I could get her the shoes too. Nope. Just sewing the lace.

Okay, this I can do. I have the supplies already.Here are leggings. I saw her three times over the holidays and she was so happy with them, I saw her wearing them twice. That made me happy for both of us.

I also decorated my dress form for the holidays.

Most of the ideas I’ve seen out there were with live tree branches. Well that wouldn’t work in my home. Nothing like welcoming allergies right in! No. I had to come up with another idea.

Instead, I bought a hoop skirt and decorated it. Here’s just the skirt. It has a lot of bling and glitter on it. And lights too. She’s sitting in our downstairs window.

Hubby had some Home Alone-inspired ideas for her, but I told him no. She was pretty, not something to deter Joe Pesci!

Here’s the full view. I bought a glitterly red top, and added some gold costume jewelry to complete her look. I love it!

I also love that I can take this off  the dress form, put it away for the year, and put it on her again next Christmas.

Lastly, sadly, I lost my favorite sewing scissors. These were my MIL’s and she’s been gone 12 years now. I was very sad when I went to cut something and they broke in my hand.  I’ve replaced them, but they don’t feel the same. They don’t have the same sentimental attachment the others ones had. But they are working.

I’ll be back next week again with my newest make, and will share some of my sewing plans for the year.

Happy New Year and happy creating!

November-December Recap

Hello! I’m back.

I have to tell you, it seems my sewjo is on vacation. Or maybe on a winter break. But it’s not here. Still, I’ve tried to get a few things done. 

I cut out a lovely Flirt Skirt from some gorgeous crushed velvet.

 I was ready to sew but when I looked at my threat, I had no brown. So, a few days later I went to the store and got some brown serger thread.

I hope to get to my skirt and finish it this week.

Another project I finished was changing a nightgown into a camisole.

I bought this nightgown because I love animal print, but wanted it to be a camisole. I thought that was a pretty easy change, and it was. I added a pretty black lace to the edge and that was all it needed. Just look at this ruffle along the neckline. This was worth it. Of course I couldn’t throw out the precious fabric I’d cut off.

So, I made Em her November Watson. Oh, this fabric is so lovely and soft. She loves it.    

It’s just charming. I really do love the Watson pattern.

Another alteration was to a blouse I bought. When I tried it on, it was just too low. None of my camisoles looked just right behind it, so lace to the rescue.  I tried these two laces, and decided on the 2nd one. I think it’s perfect!    And lastly, Em and I went to a Grinch tree workshop. It was so fun.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now, and I just love it. We had such fun making ours.

Okay, that’s it for month. I’ll see you all again in January.

Happy creating, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

A Change in the Wind

I’ve been blogging quite regularly for the past 12 years now. That’s a lot. And I feel like some of my posts have become quite routine. That is not what I want.

So, I’m going to make a change.

Rather than posting weekly, I’m thinking of a monthly recap of what I’ve been sewing. I’ll still sew bras, but I also want to focus on some clothing items. 

This month marks my 12th anniversary of blogging, but it also marks my 1 year anniversary of working out twice a week with a personal fitness trainer. I’ve seen changes in my body and shape – not big changes, but changes still.

I’m going to have to re-do my sloper and update it.

So starting in November, you won’t likely see a weekly blog post.

Happy creating and thank you so much for following and being a part of this experience with me.

Michelle      

Testing the Gunsan Pattern Take Two

There were a couple of changes to the Gunsan pattern, and I was happy to try again.

The first draft fit my friend perfectly and when I asked her if I could make a second test of the pattern for her, she said yes without hesitation.

For this one, I had to pull a kit out of my stash. Making my fitting bras has used up all my scraps. I gifted my friend the Sabine bra kit for this bra. Isn’t that a pretty kit? It’s prettier in person.

Here’s my second version of the Gunsan pattern.   I do wish I’d had a bit of a lighter thread color, but there is a bit of a violet sheen to the lace so I decided it was okay. My friend loves this bra. This is so pretty.

I used the sheer cup lining in the kit for the frame. 

   I did run into one problem when laying this out. The power bar was a little bit longer than my lace.

Then I remembered a great tip Emerald Erin had in a blog post a long time about. She drew the pattern part that was off the lace and then cut that out with a seam allowance and sewed it onto the existing cut out lace piece.

Here, read about it here.

It worked perfectly. You can’t even see where I joined the lace. It gave me the extra inch I needed and it really worked perfectly. Thank you Erin for that great tip.

One last view of this lovely new pattern. I don’t know if further changes were made to the pattern, but it’s been released now, and I can’t wait to try it for me. Next for me to to start altering it for Omega.

Happy creating!

Testing the New Gunsan Pattern

B,wear posted about a new pattern coming: Gunsan. I was fortunate enough to be able to test the pattern. It’s a lovely pattern!

It’s a darted one-piece cup. I was so excited to try this new pattern.

I made a decision before starting this bra. I LOVE to test patterns. I really do. But honestly, with all the alterations I need, it’s not fair for me to sew it for me. It’s not fair to take the pattern and make all the changes, and then give feedback.

So, I decided I would test the pattern as it is, and make it in my size – without any changes. Then I could gift it to my friend who’d had surgery last year. We’re the same size, but she doesn’t need the alterations for Omega. It was a win-win this way.

   I used the Patricia bra kit from B,Wear.  This is such a pretty kit.

Here’s my first make of the new Gunsan pattern. Another decision I made before starting was to not mirror the lace. (Shh. Don’t tell my friend. She doesn’t know about these things.)

Rather than trying to mirror, I made sure the larger motifs along the upper edge were in the same places and it gives a symmetrical look to the bra still.

My friend loves it. She was sending photos of her new bra to her mom and sister. This really is a lovely pattern. It’s nice to find a darted cup in a larger size.

And lastly, just so you can see how very delicate and sheer this lace is, I’ve laid it on my sewing desk for a photo too.      Stay tuned. There’s more to share on the Gunsan pattern.

Happy creating!