I’m still trying to decide which bra pattern I like better. It’s a very close match between Beverly Johnson’s Pin-Up Girls (PUG) Shelley pattern and Sewy’s Rebecca pattern. They’re quite similar – both feature a lace upper cup and a power bar. Shelley has a split lower cup as well where the Rebecca doesn’t.

Here’s the Sewy Rebecca photo from their web site. I’ve been to their site a number of times and am getting used to where things are even though I don’t speak any German. However, if you open their site in Google Translate, everything is much easier. You just can’t place an order on their site using Google Translate.

Oh, that’s a lovely bra!

And here’s Beverly’s Shelley pattern from the Bra-Makers Supply web site.

Absolutely gorgeous!

One difference I’ve noticed is when the patterns are both flat, the upper cup along the cross cup seam is straighter on the Sewy Rebecca than the PUG Shelley. The Rebecca is on the bottom, Shelley is on top. See how much more curved the Shelley is? But they are both the exact same length.

According to Beverly in the Bra-Makers Manuals, a straighter bottom edge on the upper cup will give more lift. Who doesn’t want more lift? However, to be honest, when I’m wearing the Rebecca, I don’t notice any difference.

So, which bra wins out? I’m still undecided. I do know one aspect of the Rebecca that does win hands down – the enclosed seams on the inside of the bra! I love that! It does take a fair amount of work, but is so worth it.

Due to my immense fondness for those enclosed seams, I Sewy-fied my Shelley this week. I added lining and followed the instructions for sewing the Rebecca to completely enclose my seams. I even upped it a bit and added a lower cup lining, so the whole inside of the cup is now lined with no seams showing. The only fault with the inside is I forgot to change thread colors and there is beige thread from top-stitching very evident on my black lining. I noticed it too late to change it.

Here’s a photo of the bra’s inside.

Oh, those enclosed seams. That is so pretty and, I think, more professional. On one Prima Donna bra that I owned, wore, and then took apart, all the seams were enclosed. I’m still trying to figure out how they did the strap and made it enclosed too. But they did.

Here’s my Shelley from the outside. I think I’ve figure out the best way to stuff the bras for Catherine. I use the cut and sew foam cups I made that are the same size and shape as the bra cups, AND the pre-shaped foam cups, which are sturdier. Finally, a mostly wrinkle free photo.

This is a fabric kit from Merckwaerdigh‘s Etsy shop. I really do love her laces. I’ve backed everything up here with sheer cup lining, Duoplex, Power Net, and elastics from Bra-Makers Supply.

Here’s my Shelley from the side. Again, I added another touch from the Sewy Rebecca and used lace on the power bar. The lace here looks so different from the same lace with the black sheer lining behind it on the upper cup.

A very basic back.

For alterations on this bra, I made a smaller cradle, narrowed and lowered the bridge, adjusted for a flat spot on the bridge and cups, made the underarm area smaller, I shortened the wire line seam (with gathers again), added linings to the cup, and used a flexible wire.

Happy creating!