Design and Draft Course

~ Michelle

This past week I took the Bra Design & Draft course at Central Sewing Machines. I’ve wanted to take a bra drafting course for a few years now. With the course finally coming closer to home, I could do it.It was a pleasant surprise to find I knew the other students. We’d all taken either the Beginner Bra-making class or Shelley class at Central last year. And of course, we’d all taken those classes with Jeanette of Sew Uplifting Bras too. It was like a class reunion.

The first day was very exciting. We were all presented with a bag full of goodies. Now, others may not have been so thrilled with the goodies, but for a bunch of bra-makers, it was a thrill! Just take a look.This is the manual we were given. It has the complete Drafting course in it, as well as a bunch of other great resources.
We also got a full set of Long wires, and a complete set of Classic patterns (all the sizes). There were sample packs of duoplex and power net, a notebook, a binder (shown above), a set of curves, and a bra kit with findings. All in a great bag. I’m pretty sure that was the best swag bag ever.

Fabrics

The first day we learned about all different fabrics that can be used in bra-making or lingerie. Some of them were familiar to me, some were new. We were given samples too, with instructions on how they were best used, and not to be used. It’s all neatly contained in our new binder. One of the students is in a Fashion & Design course, and she said she’d learned more that day than she had in her Textiles class. It really was very useful. By the end of the first day, we’d all been measured and learned how to measure someone else by measuring one another – all under Jeanette’s instruction. We were almost ready for Day Two, but before that, we had homework to do.

Drafting

Day Two was the beginning of a lot of paper and pencil work. We were guided in the art of drafting. We started with our frames. I did something wrong. Jeanette told me what I did wrong, but I was tired and didn’t correct it right away. Let me tell you, all it takes is one little mistake to throw everything off. By the end of the day, we were sent home with homework again. This time we were to practice our drafting. We drafted frames for everyone in the class. Day Three built upon Day Two. We were starting our lower cup draft. Well, we needed our frame to be done correctly at this point, and the one I had with me in the class still wasn’t corrected. Things weren’t fitting together. Again, Jeanette pointed out what I’d done wrong on my frame. I was back to the drawing board. Literally. I’d had a little more practice drawing frames by Day Three after Day Two’s homework, so it went much more quickly. I was on track in no time. We finished the day with a draft of our lower cup, our upper cup, and lots of information on how to do adjustments if needed.

Day Four was similar to Day Three – still more paper, pencils, drafting, and information. Some of us even cut out our newly drafted patterns, and got in some sewing before the end of the day. One woman was almost finished her drafted bra on Day Four. I had my cups finished. I brought them home and put them in my fitting bra frame. I was thinking this would save me the time of completing the whole bra to see how close I was. There was one small little change I needed to make to my draft. That was incredibly encouraging.Something I’ve heard and read repeatedly is: To get accurate measurements you have to start with a well-fitting bra. It’s so true. Jeanette brought fitting bras with her, so we all started with a well-fitting bra to get our measurements. And it works!

Day Five was mostly a sewing day for me. But before I could sew, I had to re-draft my upper and lower cups with that one little change. I worked as quickly as I could so I could get to the sewing. I really wanted to be done by the end of the day. Thinking back, I could have just changed my pattern, but it was a drafting class, and I was getting a LOT of experience with drafting.

The great news is I did it. I finished the Bra Design & Draft course and came away with a perfectly fitting pattern and bra – that I drafted from measurements.On my drafted bra here, I added a couple of features just because I could. I gave this bra a Gothic arch, and a thinned band under the cups. This draft is for a Horizontal seam. This seaming is the basis for the ‘Heather’ bra. The Heather bra is actually a Wacoal bra. It’s the Retro Chic Full Figure Underwire Bra.

You can see this has a horizontal seam going across the cup. It’s so pretty. I’m already planning another ‘Heather’ using my new pattern. If you have the Craftsy Class Sewing Bras Foam, Lace & Beyond, Beverly shares how to make the Heather bra.

It was a great week. I can’t wait for the next course!

Happy creating!

A New Ruby

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I wanted to make another Ruby. I am really loving the new patterns that are available. I’m thinking after this, another Angie, or maybe I’ll try the Jessica, and then the Amethyst pattern. Well, maybe I’ll do some of these fun new patterns in-between Christmas gift sewing and the Bra Drafting course I’m taking. I’ll share more on that next week.

Lace

 I did have a Ruby all cut out, so was working on that first. For my lace, I’m using some from Kantje Boord again. In fact, I’m using the same lace I used on my last Angie. The first photo below shows the lace on black Lycra (from the Kantjeboord website). The second photo is my black cherry bra with the lace flowers cut out and appliqued. I thought it would be fun to see how the same lace can look very different used in different ways. I’ll be using black duoplex and power net for my newest bra.

Ruby

For this Ruby, I did make one small alteration to the pattern. The straps felt a little too widely set for me, so I’m moving them in just a bit. I’m using my TNT cradle for this Ruby too. Other than that, the only alterations I made were for my Omega shape.

Here’s my Ruby:I am loving this! I love the colors. I love the shape and fit. Oh, these new patterns are so nice.

When making this Ruby, I did make another change – this time to the style of this Ruby. I decided in order to show the lace off as much as I wanted, I wouldn’t use fold-over elastic along the neckline edge. I changed the neckline to allow the lace scallops to show, and did what I usually do to stabilize a lace upper cup – sheer cup lining and some of that wonderful upper cup elastic from Kantje Boord.

Here’s my Ruby from the side:

And my Ruby from the back:I really do love this bra. It’s kind of funny, but my hubby is taking all the credit for this bra because he brought the lace back from Amsterdam. We all know there’s a little more to the bra than just lace. But he’s having fun taking credit.

To add a pop of color, I used a black cherry bow and added a black crystal to the bow’s center.It’s a very pretty pop of color.

Lastly, here are the two bras together:Even though I used the same lace on both of these bras, they definitely look different. Do you have a preference? Let me know which one you like best.

Happy creating!

BMS Challenge – November

~ Michelle

I originally wasn’t going to make the November BMS Challenge – Support Your Man. Men need support too. Show them some love this November by making men’s underwear and see how creative you can get.My son loves his SAXX, and said he preferred them over the Michael Men’s Underwear pattern. He said he did wear the ones I gave him, but would prefer I bought him the real ones.

So. I wasn’t planning on sewing him any briefs this year. However, I read a comment (somewhere I can’t find now) regarding the Men’s underwear pattern. It was saying you could either do the front opening on the underwear OR the sling, but not both.

Right away I was thinking, ‘That’s not right.” I knew you could do both because my son has a pair that has both the front opening and the sling! I had him send me a picture of the front and inside. Let me just say, I’m a brave woman. That pair of SAXX is over four-years-old! He sent the pictures, and that underwear looked like it was over four-years-old.

However, it helped me see what I wanted to see.

Michael Underwear

Here are the Michael Men’s Underwear with a sling and front opening. I’ve lightened this photo to show the detail a little better.These are a basic black cotton Lycra. And you can see the front opening.

Here they are from the inside.The sling is a light blue. I chose that so it would show up better in these photos, and so it wouldn’t be a headache to sew black on black, on black, with black thread.

The key to making these underwear with a sling and front opening is that front piece. The pattern says to cut one. However, as you can see below, I’m not using just one piece – I’m using two pieces.I altered the front pattern to be a front-opening panel. You can read how to do that here on BMS’s blog. And I cut two front panels.  Then one piece is flipped so it becomes a mirror of the other. The two pieces are basted together, making sure there’s an opening on each side, and on opposite sides. Then they can be used as one piece. After basting them, I add the sling just as I would normally add it according to the pattern.

Here are my son’s Michael’s from the side.And here they are from the back. (Again, lightened. The seams just wouldn’t show otherwise.) My son also let me know when I made him his last pair of Michael’s that he didn’t like the band. He found the elastic too firm for his liking. Now to be fair, he’s a personal fitness trainer, so probably doing a little more movement while wearing his. So this time instead of elastic, I simply made a band out of the same cotton Lycra.I’m sure he’ll find this more comfortable.

One last image.   Here are the Michael underwear showing the front and mirrored inside front openings both opened showing the blue sling behind them.

I hope my son likes these ones better than the last ones I made him.

Happy creating!

House Morrighan Viola French Knickers

~ Michelle

I tested the most recent pattern by House Morrighan – the Viola French Knickers.

These are a really quick sew, and they are darling on. They’re designed for stretch knits, so it was cotton Lycra for me.

The first thing I did before making these was to plan what I wanted to have them match. Well, I wanted them to match my Poppy, and Dahlia, and Abbie. Hmm. That didn’t get me very far, so I just decided to make a pair in some cotton Lycra I had in my stash – just to see how they were going to fit before I started planning matching sets.

Here’s my first test of the Viola French Knickers. They are darling! I didn’t finish the hem on these, as these were only to see how the sizing would be. They fit perfectly.

Here’s the side view:You can see, these are a cheeky little panty.

And the back view:You might be wondering, ‘What is going on with that waistband?’ Well, tired sewing was happening. Somehow I didn’t realize the whole time I was attaching the waistband that it was inside out, so the raw edges are outside rather than inside. I started to rip it all out, but then decided these were only to see how things fit, and they fit just fine. They can even be worn this way. I have tops I’ve bought that have edges that look like this.

Now I know they fit perfectly, it’s time to make another pair – this time to match something I’ve made already. But what will it be? Poppy? Dahlia? Abbie? It was hard to decide.

Violas to Match

 Abbie won out because I really love the Abbie chemise. Here are my Viola French Knickers in cotton Lycra, with matching CL band.If these look a tad shorter than the pair above, it’s because these have been hemmed.

Oh, they are darling. Some of the testers used elastic at the waist, which is another option. I also saw lace trim to finish the hem. They were all lovely.

Here they are from the side: And when they’re hemmed, they’re just a bit cheekier from the back.They are really darling. They might not be my everyday panty, but I’ve heard from a few testers say they love them under trousers. Whether these become an everyday panty or not, they will be a wonderful addition to any lingerie drawer.

Violas for Em

I was asked to test this pattern in a smaller size too, so I made a pair for Em. I still have some fabric left over from Em’s Abbie too, so she’s getting some Violas to match her Abbie as well.

These knickers are adorable in all sizes.Oh these are sweet.And that cheeky back view:You can find the Viola Knickers in the House Morrighan Etsy shop here.

Happy creating!

A Black Cherry Angie

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I really love the shape and lift some of these new patterns give, like the Angie, Ruby, Jessica, and the new Amethyst.This is the new Amethyst pattern.

These patterns are all lovely additions to our bra-sewing pattern collections. I  had planned to make another Angie and Ruby as I know they both fit wonderfully. I also want to try the new Jessica and Amethyst patterns too. All the while, I’ve been testing patterns for House Morrighan. I am having such a fun time!

On top of all these great patterns to be excited about, there were the lovely new kits my husband brought home from Amsterdam. I had to break into a kit, and see what I could  make with one.

Angie

   Angie was the first bra I wanted to make again. Here’s my latest Angie. This is with black cherry duoplex, and some of the lovely lace from Kantjeboord.I thought of a few ways to use lace on the Angie. I’ve seen people use it laid horizontally across the lower part of the cups. I’ve seen people use lace on every other cup piece, and on every cup piece. None of those were what I wanted to do for this one. I didn’t think any of those options would showcase this lace the way I wanted. So I decided to cut out the floral part of the lace, and applique it onto the cups. A little Misty Fuse to hold things in place, a small zigzag, and they look lovely.

Here’s a close up of the cup.Yes, this lace goes beautifully with the black cherry duoplex. I really like this! You can also see I’ve added a strap tab to this Angie. I like the strap tab addition and will likely continue to use one.

My inspiration for this came from wanting to use this lace, use this pattern, and my desire to make this more supportive by using duoplex. In the back of my mind, I remembered a blog post from The Lingerie Addict showing the most beautiful Japanese bras. Here’s one from the internet:This is not my bra, and not my photo. It is beautiful though, and shows you can use lace in different ways than just on the upper cup. If you want to see the most stunning lingerie, go look at the post I linked above. The bras are amazing.

With that memory in the back of my mind, I thought I can do applique on my bra as well. I think mine is lovely too.

Here’s the bra from the side:    You can see here, although the front is black cherry, I’ve used black for the back band and all the elastics.

And the back of the bra: The band has a downward hike to it.

I love how this came together.

As much fun as I’m having sewing bras and lingerie right now, I have to get busy sewing Christmas gifts. I won’t be showing any of those until after Christmas though.

Happy creating!

A Navy Floral Watson

~ Michelle

This was just a short little post, so I added another short post to the bottom of it. So today is a two-for-one post.

Em really loves her Watson bras. So much so, her sister had to see what all the fuss was about. After trying on Em’s, she wanted one too.I’ve made all of Em’s Watsons from bits of this and that I have left over from other projects. Em’s sister decided to pay for materials though. This Watson is the most put-together Watson I’ve made yet – even though the other ones I made were very pretty.

I sent her to look at Libelle, because they have what I’d need for a Watson bra at a great price. They have mesh, and lace, and elastics. And they’re all the size needed for a Watson.

She picked this lace: (Link is in the photo.) It’s a lovely stretch navy lace. I ordered some of this lovely lace for me too.

Em’s Sister’s Watson

   Most of the Watson’s I’ve made, I’ve fused a stable interfacing to the front cradle, but for this one I’ve used sheer cup lining behind it. (The lining was from my stash.) I love how it looks. You can hardly see any difference between the front cradle and the cups.

Here’s the side view:  The back band is a dark navy Lycra. It has a lot of stretch, similar to power mesh, which is what I’d used for Em’s Watsons.

And the back:  I’m really happy with how this turned out. And I hear Em’s sister is happy too.

My second post is my make for the Bra-Makers October Challenge.

“October – Your Breast’s Friend! October is Breast Cancer month and we challenge you to make a mastectomy bra and/or a prosthesis for someone you care about.”

Bra-Makers Supply also has a few related blog posts: DIY Breast Form, Foam Cup Pockets, and  Russian Doll Bra Cups.

For the challenge I made a couple of breast forms.

Here are the forms I made:They’re made from cotton Lycra, and have bean-bag-fill (tiny plastic beads) in them. They weigh just less than 1/2 pound each. They’re also very similar to some store-bought ones a family member uses.

These are very easy to make. They’re light-weight, and I hope work well.

Happy creating!

House Morrighan Abbie Chemise

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been testing another pattern for House Morrighan. I had no idea when Yvonne, the designer asked for testers, that there would be more than the one pattern. But I’m having so much fun and I’m loving these patterns! This one might be my favorite, but it’s hard to pick just one.

Abbie

Here’s the latest pattern being released: the Abbie Chemise. And really good news is both the larger sizes and smaller sizes are both being released at the same time. For previous patterns, it’s been the larger sizes first. The cups on this might look familiar. This pattern uses the same cups as the Poppy Bralette. I imagine you could use the Dahlia cups in this too, which might be fun.

The Abbie Chemise has three different length options – a camisole length, a mid-thigh length, and a knee-length. I’m making the knee-length.

I’ve had a lovely cotton Lycra in my stash I’m using for this. I’m thinking it will be a lovely summer nightie.Oh, this is lovely! It flows over the curves perfectly. It’s just skimming over those curves. It’s very comfortable.

I’ve lined the cups with black power mesh as well, just to give a little more support than just the cotton Lycra.

I don’t know if anyone else has ever had a hard time buying anything like this in RTW. But I could never find anything that fit. If I found something that fit in the bust, the rest of it would float around me! I’m thrilled with this pattern. Abbie is going to get a lot of use!

Here it is from the side.Yvonne has some lovely tips in the pattern to make this more supportive as well. You can choose if you want to add those tips or not.

Here’s the back view:I love this. It’s no longer summer, (we’ve even had snow already) but I’m thinking forget the long night gowns for warmth! This is just so pretty, and fits so well.

Abbie’s instructions are to hem her, but seeing as I really wanted this for a nightie, I decided to do a lettuce edge on mine. I’ll do a normal hem for Em’s though.  I really love this pattern. I’m sure I’ll be making more of this! It’s so versatile and very flattering on.

A Smaller Abbie

I offered to test Abbie in the smaller sizes too. This is for Em.

I knew from last time, the size I made her was too small, so I went up two sizes in band and one size in the cups.

Here’s Em’s Abbie Chemise. This is a cotton Lycra as well, with mesh lined cups. I used the same pretty mesh I used last time for Em’s Poppy bralette. This is from Libelle Sewing.It makes the inside just as pretty as the outside.

I made a mistake when cutting the pattern out though. Did you notice?  I accidentally cut out the wrong cups for Em’s Abbie. I cut out the Dahlia cups! And it does work quite well still. So, I showed you the Dahlia cups without even meaning to do that. They do look very nice with the Abbie Chemise too.

Here’s the side view: And the back view:You can also see the hem on this. I gave it a normal hem, but I didn’t have time to press it for photos. Em was here to claim her new Abbie, so a quick photo was all I could manage.

 The Abbie Chemise was released today. You can find the pattern in House Morrighan’s Etsy shop.

Happy creating!

Another Knob

~ Michelle

Do you know what a knob is? I use one in my bra-making all the time.

A Knob

I’ve been using a knob for a few years now – almost since I started sewing bras. It’s a wooden ball, elevated, and on a base. It’s a great, very specialized, pressing tool for bra-making. I got this one from Bra-Makers Supply. You can find them here.

I love mine, but do have one little problem with it. It’s little. Well, it’s littler than me. I find when I’m using it, I’m only ironing about a two-inch part of the seam at a time, and my seams are all a fair amount longer than two-inches.

I’ve wanted a larger one for a long time. I knew they were available at one time. Here’s an old photo, from Bra-Makers Supply’s site. I had kept it for inspiration.This was from the old store location, and it showed one of the walls. Do you see down there on the left?

Here. Let me show you what I’m looking at.Knobs! And they came in different sizes! Larger sizes! Unfortunately, Beverly said she was no longer able to get the other sizes. So, I have been looking for a wooden finial to make a larger knob since I saw this photo.

Options

  I’ve searched all the home building stores for something that would work. And I’ve searched online as well. I did find a few options, but they were just too expensive when the shipping was added.

Here. Let me share with you a few of the options I found.I found this on eBay. It’s a wooden ball with a flat bottom. I’m sure it would have been great, but the $65 shipping was way too much for me.

I kept looking.

Next I found this finial.I found this on Mr. Spindle. I called their 1-800 number thinking a knob the right size was finally going to be within a reasonable amount, and then I was told the shipping. The shipping wasn’t much less than what the eBay shop was charging. I started to think of giving up the search again.

I have to say, I shared my whole story with the receptionist at Mr. Spindle. What I was going to use it for, how I’d been searching for a few years now and not finding anything, or finding something and the shipping being too expensive. Then the receptionist said to just wait a minute. She came back on the line and had the shipping down to $20. She did warn me there might be customs on it when it arrived. I bought it.

More good news – there were no extra charges when my order arrived.

My New Knob

Lastly, let me show you the difference between the two knobs and just why I’m so excited about this.My first thought is, ‘That looks huge!’ However, when sewing the cup seams together, they’re still relatively flat. A larger pressing surface is going to be great!

To give a better perspective, here’s the smaller knob with the first too-small Angie cup over it.The cup dwarfs the knob.

And here’s that same Angie cup on the new knob. The knob fills a lot more of the cup. What a difference this will make!

I’ve asked my hubby to help me make the base. We’ve found a post cap that worked. I’m not sure exactly how he attached it, but it works perfectly!

Here’s my completed knob. I have to tell you, it works wonderfully! I was using it on my most recent bra – Ruby II. I love this!

Happy creating!

Poppy’s Sister, Dahlia

~ Michelle

I was testing another pattern from House Morrighan. This time it was Poppy’s sister bralette, Dahlia.

Dahlia is a cross-over front bralette. If you know your size with Poppy, you can just change the cups and use the Dahlia cups. That’s just what I did here. Although, Dahlia has her own great-looking Racer back.

Dahlia

 The photo above shows the racer back feature. I simply chose to use the same bands as I used for Poppy.

Here’s my Dahlia.I used a gorgeous 4-way stretch material and lined the cups with black mesh. The bands are lined with the same floral material – just to make it really pretty on the inside too. This fabric was from Fabricland.

I can see this being a great sleep bra. I’ve heard Poppy is being used that way. Oh, just think in a nice soft cotton Lycra. Another very comfortable, yet supportive bralette.

Here’s the side view.I do one alteration on my Poppy, and I did it on Dahlia too – I put a dart in the underarm. I need to do that on almost every bra or bralette pattern I make.

And the back.  I think this is my favorite make yet. I love this material. I was a bit reluctant to use the racer back because of some neck sensitivity, but I think it looks wonderful! The really nice thing with these patterns is you can mix and match. Just wait until you see the next pattern. I love it!

The Dahlia pattern was released today. You can find it here.

One last little detail I love about this is the elastic I used for the upper band and cups.OH! That’s such a pretty detail. This elastic is from Libelle, and I adore it!

I’m testing another pattern for House Morrighan right away, and have an Angie all cut out. This is such a fun sewing season. I’m having a hard time fitting in the gifts I’ve planned for Christmas.

Happy creating!