Mountain Getaway

We were heading to the mountains – for a whole week! We haven’t taken a whole week to get away for more years than I can remember. Usually, we’re just gone two or maybe three nights. This was going to be such a treat for us, but … what was I going to do without my sewing machine for a whole week?

Mountain Sewing

I decided I had too many projects to leave them all for a week. There were things I wanted to work on that, with a little planning ahead, I could do while away.

So I packed up my sewing machine in my tote and planned what I would sew.

Here’s my sewing machine, my iron, three cut-out-ahead sewing projects, thread, scissors, and more all packed up and in our mountain getaway.I was so excited to bring my sewing machine with me! I’ve never taken it on a trip before. Probably because, as I said, we usually only get away for a couple of days.

Some dear friends let us have their time share for the whole week! We’re in Banff, Alberta, in the Rocky Mountains.

I’ve claimed half of the table to do my sewing. You can see my computer set up on here. Believe it or not, that table looked a lot worse at the time I wrote this – with all my hubby’s work piled all over it. We got it cleared off enough for me to do some sewing.

Look at my view.Although I do plan to sew and get some work done, I know we’ll also spend some time outdoors.

Matchy-Matchy

One of the sewing projects I planned was to make some panties to go with my new Angie bra. I really like my new Angie and definitely want some panties to match.

Here’s my little set up, and you can see I’ve been sewing. My project is right there on the table with my machine and my computer. It all worked very well.

The first pair of panties I made is my basic pattern. As much as I love lace, I do really like these basic panties. The cotton Lycra is from Black Rabbit Fabrics. Although it’s cream, it matches the ivory duoplex really well. The lace trim is from a favorite vendor of mine on Etsy – Frog Feathers. I love their narrow stretch laces for finishing panties.

The second pair is the same pattern only finished with a lace panel in the front. This very pretty lace is from B,Wear. It’s light beige, but I’ve paired it with ivory a few times and love it. When I was sewing the lace panel onto the front of the panty, I realized I hadn’t brought any elastic for the inside of the waist. On a soft lace like this, it needs some support at the waist. Without elastic, I had to think of an alternative. A strip of cotton Lycra worked just fine. Here they are with my Angie. First, the basic pair with Angie.And here’s the lace panel with Angie. I only took the front photo for these as the sides and back are basically the same.  Yes, that cream is really close to ivory. I’m so happy with both of these sets.

Plans

In order to bring these projects along, and not have to bring everything in my sewing room, I had to preplan my sewing. What I was going to make, and then make sure I had everything I needed.

So I cut everything out, including my lace. I only needed to bring thread, the cut material, pins and scissors. And my sewing machine, of course. It’s worked out wonderfully, and I plan to bring my sewing with me again on future trips.

Smoky Mountains?

We were only in the Rockies for a couple of days before forest fires caused our view to look much more like the Smoky Mountains.

Here’s a view of one of the mountains the first day.I love this. It looks like a painting!

And here’s the view two days later.I was glad I brought an indoor activity when the air quality became so poor.

Happy creating from Banff in the Rocky Mountains!

Angie Again

I finished my first Angie sewn with thread that won’t dissolve when I wash it. I tried it on and didn’t want to take it off! It’s so nice.

Angie

I think this is a really lovely pattern, and makes a very pretty bra. The design is different from almost all the other bras that are available for the home sewing market.The Angie pattern doesn’t have an upper cup like so many bra patterns. In fact, I can’t think of another pattern that doesn’t have an upper cup. There are four pattern pieces to the cups, but none of them are upper or lower. The cup is completely different due to it being all vertical seams.

As I was re-reading this before posting, I did remember another bra that was similar in it had vertical seaming – the Lavender and Lace bra Mrs. Weaver made.  The lines are different though, and that bra was never released as a pattern for sale. These Lavender and Lace bras are lovely, but back to Angie for this post.

I love the shape and design of this bra. In ivory, it reminds me of a sea shell. Delicate and pretty.

Here’s my Angie from the side.I was also happy with the adjustments I made to the cup to make this fit me and make it fit in the frame so neatly. No more puckering on the cups! I’m not going to get tired of that any time soon.

 The best part of this bra is the lift it gives. It really lifts! Okay, the best things are it lifts and it’s also very comfortable.

 Details

I’ve used non-stretch strap tape for the front straps on my Angie. All elastic straps don’t work so well for me. I didn’t have any ribbon on hand to stabilize the front of the strap elastic either, which is another way to give support to strap elastic.

A pretty bow hides all the stitching at the top of the cup where the strap is attached, and the elastics are meeting. If a bra I’ve made has a bow on it, you know I’m happy with it! It’s bow-worthy.

I also used a cute ruffled trim for the upper cup.

Alterations

The alterations I made to this pattern are: I adjusted the cup to be smaller at the wire line, I shortened the bridge and underarm to work with the wire I’m using, and I added a Gothic arch to the front of the band.

The Gothic arch was a last-minute decision. I was pinning on my bottom band elastic and decided I wanted it. So I quickly altered the bottom band to include it. I’m glad I did.

I’m so happy with this bra! And am really looking forward to making my next one already. Boy, another Ruby and Angie in the plans.

I saw a lovely strap alternative for this pattern, so want to try that when I make my next Angie. This photo is from B,Wear’s Instagram.What a lovely addition to the pattern. Yes, I definitely want to try this strap alternative for my next Angie.

Happy creating!

New Orange Lingerie Pattern

Introducing the Lansdowne bra sewing pattern!

The Lansdowne is a cleavage enhancing, plunging underwire bra. The outer cup works like a super power bar, moving the breasts toward the center of the body.

To complete the cleavage enhancing effect, the inner cup is cut straight down from the strap point to the low bridge at the center front.

Available now for A to DD cups in size 30 to 40 bands!

The Poppy Bralette

When I started sewing my own bras, the Pin-up Girls Shelley pattern wasn’t even available yet. So many patterns have been released since then.

There are some new bra and bralette patterns available right now. And I’ve heard there are more patterns coming too. I know of three more soon-to-be-released patterns. What an exciting time to be making our own bras!

The Poppy Bralette was released today. You can find it here.

The Poppy Bralette

  I heard of this new bralette pattern when the designer put out a call for testers, so I offered to test the pattern. Do you see the cup sizes? This pattern isn’t all smaller sizes. This one will actually fit me. The only other bralette pattern I know of that is in my size range is the Pin-up Girls Sweet Sixteen pattern. I was really excited to learn of another designer who’s designed for larger cup sizes.

Here’s the sizing for the Poppy Bralette.

If you need a smaller size, those are coming too. The designer simply decided to test and release the larger sizes first. When the smaller sizes are available, I’ll let you know.

Other than the larger cup sizes, another appealing feature of this pattern is it can be made in cotton Lycra. Ooh! I love cotton Lycra!

Materials

This bralette can be made in CL. It can also be made in Viscose Spandex, Stretch Lace, and Stretch Mesh. It’s fully lined. You can line it with cotton Lycra again, or something with a little more support like power net.

I’m going to use cotton Lycra for my main fabric and line it with power net. Here’s the fabric I’m using:Recognize this? I just used this gorgeous cotton Lycra to make my knotty pants. I think a pretty bralette to match will be very fun.

My Poppy Bralette

    Here’s my Poppy Bralette.I think it’s adorable! However, it’s a smidge small in the cups.

After talking with the designer, we both thought it might have been the power net lining. Power mesh might have been a better idea, or simply cotton Lycra.

I did sew this together with wash-away thread, so I’m going to soak it and then try  those changes.

Impressions

  Making this bralette with power net as the lining makes it very supportive. It’s definitely not flimsy!

I like the shape of this bralette too. The cup shape is flattering, the wide back and sides are very comfortable and supportive.

Here’s the side:  I need to gather the elastic under the arm more. I’m very shallow there, and have to make that adjustment on almost every bra I sew.

Here’s the back view:Look at this nice deep back.

One of the things that impressed me the most with this pattern is almost all the seams are enclosed. Talk about comfortable! Just look here at the side seam.This photo shows the side seam and the under-bust seam. Both are enclosed. It’s a very nice feature. The only seam not enclosed is the center front.

Here’s the center cup seam, which is enclosed too and you can see the center front. It’s not enclosed, but it’s sewn down flat.     Do you see that nice wide elastic at the bottom edge? That’s 3/4″/19 mm elastic. Another supportive feature of this bralette.

My Second Poppy

Seeing as I used power net on my first Poppy, I decided to use all cotton Lycra for the second one.This looks the same on the outside, but the inside is lovely soft cotton Lycra.  Soft, comfortable, and those lovely enclosed seams. It’s really nice.

On this above photo you can see the internal sling I added this time. I wasn’t sure cotton Lycra alone would be as supportive.

Although this is still a touch small in the cups, I’ve still worn this all day and it’s wonderful.

Here is my Poppy with my knotty pants.What a cute set!

I do have a third Poppy in the works, but that will be another post.

Happy creating!

Ruby for the Challenge

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!

Angie Take Two

I was a bit disappointed my first Angie tester bra didn’t fit. However, that was all my own fault. I changed my cup size after already figuring out what size to make. I should have stuck with the original size. That the cup size I’m using now.

I do have to say though, even though the cups were too small, I was encouraged by the shape and the lift of that Angie.

 Angie Take Two or Three

 So, to count, I made some cups and put them in my tester frame. Then I changed my mind on the cup size, and made a whole second tester with the Angie band and straps. So this is my third attempt. But it is my third attempt using the second band, and first cups. Oh, that’s not confusing at all!

Here’s my most recent attempt sewing Angie. This is still a tester though. I’ve sewn this with wash-away thread.This fits really well. And those vertical seams really give great lift.

After a quick soak to dissolve the wash-away thread, I’ll be ready to sew this very pretty bra up for real.

Here’s the side view.

 Adjustments

I’m making a few adjustments to the pattern to help it fit me better. Being an Omega shape, my wire size is smaller than its corresponding cup. So, I’ve used a smaller cradle than would normally be used with my cup size.

I also used my custom bridge with this Angie. It’s lower than the original Angie bridge, which I’ve heard is lower already. However, for me, I’ve lowered it a bit more.

My wires overlap at the top of the bridge.

To make the cups meet my lowered bridge, I’ve lowered the cup almost a half-inch where it meets the bridge.

And I’ve thinned the band under the cups.

Messy Testing

 When making a tester bra, I don’t want all my elastics cut to the exact size. What would happen if I needed to lengthen the back band? I’d be short elastic. So, there are all these little bits that are folded, or simply tucked out of the way for photos.

Below you can see I didn’t finish the bottom band elastic. I’ve thinned the band for my comfort once the ‘good’ bra will be sewn, and that elastic will have to be trimmed. I didn’t want to cut the elastic yet though, so it’s just tucked up for trying on and photos.

There are little bits of elastic that are sticking out all over this bra that got tucked away for the nice photo.
You can even fold elastic so it’s out of the way, and sew over it like I did for the hooks and eyes. The only finishing on this bra that’s been done is the top-stitching. I was pretty sure these cups were going to fit perfectly, so got them all ready for the next time I sew them.I can’t wait to sew this up knowing it’s going to fit so nicely.

Happy creating!

Angie

Have you heard of B,Wear? They’re a bra-making/lingerie supply company in Sweden. I love how in our day and age we can shop globally.

I’ve ordered a few things from B,Wear in the past. So when they came out with a gorgeous pattern, I didn’t hesitate to order it.

Angie

Here’s the Angie pattern. I’ve seen a few of these sewn up and they’re lovely!I was excited to try such a beautiful new pattern.

Testing, Testing

The first thing I did was to make a tester cup. I made it and had it sewn into my tester band. The cup seemed a bit big. However, I hadn’t added my elastics yet. Then I’d read a few comments in a Facebook group, and had second thoughts about my size. I made another set of tester cups – this time one cup size smaller.

Isn’t this a lovely shape? It reminds me of a sea shell.I even tried making the cup size in Swedish tracing paper just to see if it was close. Just in case, I sewed my bra with wash-away thread.

My First Angie

This isn’t finished as neatly as I’d normally finish a bra – there’s no top-stitching to be found  – yet, it still looks quite pretty.   Let me tell you there is lift happening with this lovely pattern. I do need to go back to that first cup size though. I’ll try it with elastics this time.

That’s the great thing about using the wash-away thread – I can use everything but the cups to use again after a quick soak. The thread will dissolve, and I’ll have all usable parts and elastics once they dry. I also have the cups sewn from the first tester bra, so I’ll be ready to go again quickly.

A Closer Look

Here’s the front.Do you see all those vertical seams? Vertical seams really lift. The cup has a lovely round shape as well.

I’ve used my custom bridge on this, and thinned the band. I’ve overlapped my wires at the top of the bridge too. I just need a little more cup than this size offered.

Here’s the side view.I really like the shape of the cup, and especially at the side. This fit me quite well, which is encouraging. I usually need to take the underarm in, and I won’t need to on this pattern.

    And the back. The back has a downward slant to the pattern, which is great for me. It reminds me of some of those high-end bras with the downward hike to the band.I’m very impressed with my first attempt at Angie, and only wish I’d gone with my first cup size choice.

Second Attempt

I’m already working on my second Angie. Again, because I don’t know if this will fit perfectly, I’m going to use wash-away thread to sew the cups into the frame, and sew on the elastics. It’s so much nicer to not to have to unpick everything.

Time Commitments

I should be back blogging on a regular basis again. All those commitments that were taking up my time are more than half done. I still have some, but not four days a week like I’ve had for the past six weeks. At this point, I’m happily sewing and writing again, and hope to continue.

Happy creating!

Ingrid

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!

Hallå Knotty Pants

I recently saw the most adorable pants pattern. Hallå Knotty Pants. I bought the pattern the day it came out. I also bumped some other sewing projects, and put making these pants at the top of my sewing list.

Fabric

I had some fabric in my stash just waiting to be made into a pair of pants. I originally had planned to make Portlander pants.

I do love these still, and do plan to make them soon.

Like I said, as soon as I saw the Knotty Pants, well, they went straight to the top of my sewing list.

Here’s the fabric I had picked out:. Isn’t this gorgeous? This is the Willow Blooms Spices by Art Gallery. It’s cotton Lycra, which is my favorite, but it’s also available in a cotton. I got this from Funky Monkey Fabrics.

My Knotty Pants

These aren’t hemmed yet, but I’m adoring them so far. In fact, I tried them on and didn’t take them off. I wore them all day. Love them.

You can make them with pockets, or without. Mine are without. As well you can make straight legged pants, or with the slit up the side. These have the slit and can be tied at either the ankle or knee.

Inspiration

I had a reason why I wanted to make these Knotty Pants too, and not just because they’re adorable. For years I’ve watched Shimmy on TV and danced along with the dancers as my morning exercise.

The Knotty pants are very similar to some pants the dancers wear on the show.I found this image on the internet. It shows the knotted pants perfectly. I’m so happy to have found this pattern. They’re also quite easy to make up.

  Upcoming Bra-Makers Challenge

I’m planning on using the Knotty pants as a base for a mash-up for the September challenge – Dancing Queen – and make myself some dance pants.

Happy creating!

Two More Watsons

I made two more Cloth Habit Watsons for Em. It’s awfully hard to say no, or not right now when told the Watson I made for her is all she wears. She said nothing else was comfortable.

After previously making her two Watsons, one with mesh for the band, and one with power net, she let me know the power net felt too tight for her. I ordered some mesh from Bra-Makers Supply. I’ll save my power net for me. Other than the mesh, I used supplies I had on hand for the bralettes.

One Long-Line Watson

Here’s the long-line Watson I made for Em.You might recognize the lace I used in this Watson as the same lace I used in the first Watson I made for Em. I thought the peach would look really nice with the charcoal mesh.

Here’s the first one I made with this lace.  Em loves the new color combination. That’s good news. I have more charcoal mesh for the next bralettes I make for her.

Here’s the bralette from the side.I’ve used fusible knit interfacing for the front cradle. I might need to buy some in black to use with the rest of the charcoal mesh I have. I don’t love the white behind this.

Here’s the back.There’s a little fold in the material where the band meets the hooks and eyes. Em lost some weight and the bands were too loose on her this time. I measured her again, and she’s two inches down around her rib cage. I had to take these in after I’d made them.

One Standard Watson

I had asked Em if she preferred the long-long bralettes, or standard ones. She didn’t know, so I made her one of each.I think this one is just adorable. The lace is from Libelle, a new Canadian source for me. I’ve ordered from her a couple of times now, and the quality is very good. The prices are even better.

When I ordered from Libelle most recently, I also ordered some mesh to make more bralettes for Em.I thought both of these were lovely, and fun.

Here’s the side view of Em’s standard Watson.And the back.There’s the same little tuck in the fabric on this bralette as on the long-line. It’s not too noticeable, and it did the job. It took the bralette in enough for her to wear them and adjusted the pattern for next time.

Other Projects

I have a few other projects cut out and am slowing getting to them. There’s an Angie bra all cut out, and another bra. And I have material all washed and ready to cut for a couple of Agnes tops.

By the end of this month, my time commitments are easing up a bit. I’ll have a little more time to sew and blog again.

   I hope you’re all finding time to sew, and having a great summer.

Happy Canada Day and happy creating!