My most recent Shelley is a bit of an experiment for me. My experiment was in the materials I used. I usually use Duoplex for my bra cups. On this bra, I used the Lycra that came in the Merckwaerdigh kit and then lined it with Sheer Cup Lining. Seeing as there’s no stretch in the lining, I thought it would work.

Isn’t that pretty? I loved it the moment I saw it. And I’ve learned, when I see something in Margreet’s Etsy store that I love, I buy it right away. I’ve found if I wait, it’s gone. My challenge with using kits from Merckwaerdigh is I need the support of Duoplex or something non-stretch. If I use Duoplex underneath the Lycra, it’s getting to be the cost of two bras. I wanted to try something different.

I had a little more trouble sewing Lycra than I do Duoplex. I’m not used to sewing stretch when sewing my cups. Here you can see where I made a little mistake in my sewing.

Look at that wrinkle. I decided it was a small cosmetic error, I’m going to give it a cosmetic treatment – cover it up.

I love this material, but there was one big downside to it – all the shades of blue in it. I planned on using a Navy findings kit from Bra-Makers Supply, as well as Navy Power Net from them. So, I needed Navy thread. Fine. I got Navy thread. When I sewed the elastic on the back of the lace though, the Navy looked terrible. So, off to the store to match some thread to the lace. The thread that matches the lace, doesn’t look great on the Lycra. Sigh. I wasn’t going to buy a third spool of thread for the bra, so the Navy thread is now a design element on this bra.

Here’s the bra from the front. I love those three little bows at the front. And those little bows … they’re all me-made. The Merckwaerdigh kits don’t come with bows. The only bows I had really didn’t go with the colors of the bra, so I looked at my ribbon stash. This golden ribbon was the only one that went well. It’s really fun to make ribbons, and easy. I shared how in this post. I used the cardboard method, but the fork method looks like it produces a lovely bow as well.

Here are the bows all finished and sewn on with a blue bead in the center. It hides that little wrinkle pretty well.

Here’s the back of the bra. I did over-calculate how much I had to add to the band using the new, stronger elastics from Bra-Makers Supply. You can read about those elastics here. I had to cut a bit off both sides to make it perfect for me, and next I’ll adjust my band pattern.

So, how did my experiment go? The bra fits a touch looser than when I make it from Duoplex. The only place I noticed any wrinkles at all were under the arm where I already have to make an adjustment. Now, if I could only sew Lycra more neatly and without wrinkles!

Now onto the Bra-a Week Challenge submissions!

This is week 25 of the Bra-A-Week Challenge, and this week we have some very beautiful submissions along with my own.

The first bra is from Sofia. It is such a delicate work of art inspired by a one of her favorite lingerie brands.

Here’s Sofia’s Little Black Bra. Isn’t that gorgeous? Sofia used Eyelash lace backed with nude Power Net to achieve the look on the front of the bra.  As well, she took careful attention to match the lace on the cups. All that extra attention does show. She finished her bra with black Power Net for the band and a 3 Hook and Eye set. Stunning!

You can read more about Sofia’s inspiration and Black Lace Bra on her blog Silver Lining. So very lovely!

Our second bra this week is from France and it’s actually a set of bras, not just one.

I can’t even imagine how wonderful it would be to have someone make custom-fitting bras for me. France is making them for her Mom. What a wonderful thing!

Look at all these beautiful bras! This is what you can do once you have that perfect pattern.

This photo shows the back of the bra. Look at how perfectly the whole bra fits! And it looks really comfortable too with that full back. That’s just so great!

Our next submission is from David of Bonnet Bleu. It’s another lovely delicate looking bra. David made this bra using Black tulle and white lace for his triangle lace cup bra with nude bra cup foams.

The black is more visible here from the side. The wings are black. So very lovely and delicate looking.

David is a freelance lingerie designer, label: Bonnet Bleu.

Happy creating!