Over the years, I purchased a few vintage patterns, and even if I don’t make them up, I enjoy seeing how they’re made, and what things have changed over the years.

One day a few months ago, I saw a neat vintage lingerie kit on eBay. I couldn’t resist!I would have loved this if it had been the bra kit! However, this was the long leg girdle. It’s not anything I will make to wear myself, but still. As I said, I couldn’t resist it.Doesn’t this look amazing?

Even though I wasn’t planning on making this up, I was still excited to open it and look at everything. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It’s old. It’s discolored. It’s very stiff and rigid.

Here’s everything that was in the kit. The pattern and instructions are in great shape. But the fabrics leave a lot to be desired.The power net was the oddest part of the kit. It was so stiff and had no drape to it. It was also discolored from age.

  Can you see the discoloration at the bottom of this piece of power net? The whole folded side was this yellowish color.

The tricot that was included in the kit was still lovely. No age showing on it at all.

The lace  and elastics were stiff and aged as well. Other than the pattern and instructions, these girdle clips were the only good part of this vintage kit.

It was  a fun trip down the vintage lingerie lane, but for the most part I’ll stick to newer patterns and materials.

Happy creating!

I’m back! It feels so good to be sewing pretties and blogging again.

I have one of the new patterns BMS recently released. The Freja pattern.  It is a really nice pattern. It came together easily, and fits well for a first attempt. I’ve been wearing it, so it’s fitting well enough.This is made from a copper bra kit I had. Oh, I love this color, and I’m rather loving this bra too.

I made my usual alterations for Omega. I’m using a 4.25 cradle, with a 5.25 cup. I removed some of the excess along the wire line at each seam. Overall, I’m really happy with this.

I love the shape of the lace, and the look of the whole bra. This copper color is such a gorgeous color.

Not too much to see here at the back. It’s a tad too long. I’m wearing it on the middle hook and eye, and could probably wear it on the tighest one.

It’s also a tad small in the inner cup. I can adjust both of these easily.

It really showed that I haven’t been sewing for a while when I sat down and started to sew. I broke three needles right off the bat. It didn’t take too much longer for me to get my sewjo back though, and not break any more needles.

   Happy creating!

Hello again! I had a friend contact me saying, ‘it’s been a while since I’ve seen a blog post of yours.’ Well, sadly, I got sick at the beginning of February, and was still sick when March rolled around. I’m mostly better now, but my energy hasn’t come back.

So, while I’m not sewing, how about I show you a few new patterns.

There’s this adorable Garter Belt Collection from BMS.  

Today I saw today two new patterns from BMS.

The Freya bra pattern, and the Frieda partial band pattern. I’m excited about the Freya pattern because there is a RTW bra I’ve long admired. The Freya Dreamcatcher bra. Oh, I like this. 

Well, it just so happens that B,Wear’s April kit of the month is this exact fabric!     I know one of the first bras I’m going to want to sew when I get some energy and sewjo back. Until then, I’ll happily buy another beautiful bra kit, and a new pattern that work towards my goal.

Happy creating!

There are a few lovely bra patterns out there that I’ve yet to try. However, before I tried them, I had to figure out all the changes to my size over the last few years.

All the work on the fitting band, and getting the right wire, I was ready to try one of those pretty new-to-me patterns. I chose the Josey pattern for my first new pattern to try.Version 2 of the Josey pattern was released last week, so it was perfect timing for me to try the newer version too. It has quite a few adjustments done to the pattern.

The first thing I did was to sew up a test cup. I know my band and wires are good now. It was time to dig into my stash and find some bits that were left over from other projects and test the cup.

I found the perfect amount of duoplex, and some lace for my test cup.It’s very pretty, but it’s a tad too small across the cup.Just as the inside of the cup doesn’t cover all of the foam cup underneath it, it doesn’t reach all the way across to where it would meet my bridge.

If you remember how I was going to hack my frame from two different sizes, I’m thinking of doing the same thing with the Josey pattern.

Above is a frame that fits a 38 wire (pencil), and a  40 wire (pink pencil). The heavy dotted line is where the two sizes blend together.

Seeing as I need to make Omega adjustments, I don’t really want to go with a bigger bottom cup, so don’t want a bigger size for that. However, I do need more room about mid-way and at the top of the cup. A larger size there might just be perfect.

I’ll play with it a little this week and let you know.

Happy creating!

I’ve finished draft number four in the Bare Essentials method, and I think I’ve got it.There are still one of two little changes to make. I’ll want to move the apex in, and the strap attachment as well.

Other than that, I’m ready to start manipulating my sloper into a pretty bra pattern.

I checked and rechecked the bridge on this one to make sure it was fitting just right. I couldn’t find a gap anywhere. I even made the cups and frame in sheer cup lining so I could see everything under the bra. I know now that the bottom of the bridge is wide enough, and the top of the bridge is narrow enough now.

You can see in the above photo just how far over the strap attachment is. That’s way too close to the underarm area, so I’ll change my pattern on that next.

I don’t have any changes for the back, unless I decide to make the back strap attachment closer to the middle of the back.

The next part of the process is what I’ve really been wanting to learn – how to manipulate the sloper. This is completely different than anything I’ve learned so far, and I’m quite excited to get to this point. The next few weeks should be very exciting for me.

Happy creating!

I’m back with a short update. I’ve been doing a little sewing. Oh, it feels so good to sew again after a long time of barely any sewing.

Last year, when I was doing the BMS Challenge, I had to make myself sew. And I was really forcing myself to do it.

But my sewjo is coming back, and I’m so happy.

The first change that helped was I got a much better cutting table. Can you believe I was using a drying rack with peg board on top, and then my cutting mats. It worked, but it was starting to not work. The weight on the top was making the ends bend downward. Before it broke completely, I decided it was time for a table.  It’s just a folding table, but I’ve got it up on bed risers. I saw this little trick at Emmaline Bags‘ storefront. It works great! And I’m loving the storage underneath.

Having this all set up just made me want to sew something, so I decided to finish the collage quilt I started last year.This is Laura Heine‘s Pasley Bear. I had this great woodland cotton I thought would be the perfect background. It’s like my little Pasley Bear is in the forest. I thought that would be the happiest place for him.

You can see, I’m not quite done. The quilting on this is done, but it’s not backed yet. That will be next.

As always, Happy creating!

If you’ve been following my blog, I want to say, ‘Thank you’. I really appreciate you joining me on my journey.

I’ve decided I need to take a break for the time being. I’ve been dealing with some life-changing events that seemed to happen all at once in 2019. I need to redirect my energy and focus for a season.

But I want you to know, blogging is a wonderful part of my life, and having ‘met’ so many wonderful people through my blog, I know I won’t be gone forever.

I’m looking forward to Happy Creating again soon.

Libelle Sewing’s Round 5 Pre-Order is now open!

Do you remember me telling you they had the most adorable material I planned to use to make an apron? Well, I can now order it, and so can you. This is Retro Kitchen.Isn’t this adorable? I love it! They have it in Olive, Black, and Mustard.

Even though I didn’t take part in the sample sewing for this round, I love the quality and variety Libelle offers. And it’s a Canadian company. I like supporting local companies.

This round is Libelle’s biggest round yet. They really have something for everyone. Florals. Retro. And so much more.

Happy creating!

Aprons

I was planning on sewing a couple of things for Libelle Sewing’s upcoming Round 5. One was an apron, so I started to look at apron patterns. I also decided I’d try those aprons on my croquis.

 The first pattern I found was so cute. It’s from Sew Much Good.Isn’t this adorable? I thought so, but then was thinking about it. I was thinking about those horizontal lines and my hips and wondering just how well they’d play together. I got out my croquis again to see how it would look on me.

The apron is still adorable, but I don’t think the lines of this style flatter me. So I kept playing with other styles.

Next

There were a few patterns I liked in this shop, so I kept looking and ‘trying on’ aprons. Here was my next apron try.

Unfortunately, this next one didn’t do anything for me. It’s cute, but not for me.

Third Time

  There’s that saying, third time’s a charm. There was another adorable pattern in the shop, and this one plays nicely with my hips.I love the material used for the apron on the pattern cover. And I loved the style on my croquis.

Yes, this is a better balance for me, and it’s an adorable pattern. I scooped it up.

Here are the two aprons on ‘me’, side by side.Yes, the second one is more flattering on me.

Sewing Samples, Not Sewing Samples

So. I’d taken time to look at a few patterns, tested those patterns on my croquis, bought a pattern, had the material assigned to me, and then a day later made the decision to not sew the samples for Libelle Sewing’s next round.

I’ve mentioned I’ve been busy. But so many of the things I was doing, I loved doing. However, there are times our bodies let us know enough is enough. That happened to me. I ended up with an infection due to being run down. I had to make a few decisions.

So, as much as I enjoy things like testing patterns for House Morrighan (there’s a pattern being tested right now), and sewing samples for Libelle Sewing, for now I’m taking a break from both. I still think both companies are great!

And I have to say, deciding to take a break, I felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. I was disappointed because the material I was going to sew up for Round 5 is adorable! Then I realized I can simply buy some of this material. When Round 5 opens, I’ll share with you the adorable material, and I’m sure you’ll agree it’ll be perfect for an apron. I’ll share the new House Morrighan pattern as soon as it’s released too.

Happy creating!