Norma of Orange Lingerie

I must admit, I’m a bit of a bulldog when faced with a problem. I simply won’t give up, although I do say that I’m giving up from time to time. I stubbornly stay at something until I figure it out. That’s how I’ve been with getting my perfect bra pattern. But even I need a bit of a break every once in a while.

Here’s my latest distraction:

Wine Cart

This wine cart was one of those wonderful finds. My dear hubby and I were out hitting some garage sales and I saw this. I fell in love at once, and the price was incredible – only $15! I wondered why it was so inexpensive, but when I got home realized it wasn’t level. One of the wheels wouldn’t go in all the way. After trying many ways to get that wheel in all the way, I figured I had nothing to lose and gave it a whack with a hammer. The wheel went in and I haven’t messed with it since.

The one thing I didn’t love about this cart was the color. I’m not a fan of pine. I prefer darker woods. So, this one finally is getting a makeover.

I painting it with Reloved Chalk Paint in Midnight. I’m not done yet, but it’s looking so much better. You can see the original color of the pine on the tray.

The cart is going to be solid Midnight, but the tray is going to be Midnight on the outside, and Barn on the inside. I may mix the colors a bit to get a darker red, but I’ll decide after the first coat of paint.

Tray

I’ve cut out some flowers to do a decoupage on the bottom of the tray as well. So, still a little work ahead of me, but I’m liking it so far.

And on some sewing news:

In some other surprising and sad news, ELingeriA is closing. They’ve set a closing date of May 31st. Currently they’re offering 20% off most items. Again, just click on their name to go to their website.

I will be sad to see them go.

And just an update, I worked on my new bridge over the weekend. I’m still not sure I’ve got it just right, but being as determined as I am, I know I’ll get it. Norma’s book , Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction, has been a tremendous help. Without a doubt, I recommend it.

Happy creating!

So, I want to take a quick look at where I was at: the new longer wires I’d tried weren’t fitting properly and it was almost like giving up all the ground I’d gained in getting a proper fit; the bridge wasn’t going all the way back to the chest wall – and I was really beginning to wonder if it was really possible!

I put in yet another call to Bra-Makers Supply with another question. And guess what? Bridges really can go all the way back to the chest wall! I’ve had success!

Something that would have helped me tremendously is Norma’s new book: Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction. I’d read on someone’s blog (I can’t remember whose blog to give her credit (sorry!)) there is a great section in the book on bridges, and that one section alone made the whole book worthwhile. It really is a great section! I’m hoping to have some time either today or Saturday to try it out. And even if you’re getting a great bridge fit, there is so much information in the book. Well done, Norma! and thank you!

However, I did have more success this week with my bridge. Is it perfect yet? Not quite, but it is actually all the way back to the chest wall. I think I just need to tweak the shape now.

Here’s my most recent Shelley.

Bra front

Most of the materials are from Bra-Makers Supply, but the lace is a wonderful lace I found in Merckwaerdigh’s store.

On this bra I lowered the bridge by 3/4 of an inch. This gave the bridge the room it needed to go all the way back to the chest wall. I also overlapped the wires at the top of the bridge. I tried a tester earlier in the week without overlapping the wires but I still wasn’t getting the bridge all the way back. So, now just to tweak the shape a bit. Even my hubby said this is the best fit he’s seen me get yet.

bra side

Here is the side view. I re-made my Shelley pattern for this bra, but still need to take a bit out of the underarm area – there are a few puckers there, but not so many that it’s unwearable. Everything else was really good. Well, I may move the straps in a tiny bit.

bra back

And the back. I am really loving the new way of attaching the straps. As promised, I took some step-by-step pictures to show what I did.

Top elastic sewn on

When attaching the upper band elastic, don’t take the elastic down around the curve to the hooks & eyes; end it at the top of that curve. This has been trimmed to be nice and neat.

new shoulder elastic pinned

Take some elastic – I’m using the same bottom band elastic here – and pin it on with the little scallops facing outward. Can you tell I like to pin things securely?

shoulder back pinned

Put a ring or slider on the elastic and fold it over. Since the rings & sliders come in sets, I’ve alternated which ones I’m using and they both work great. Here it is from the inside of the bra. And again I pinned it.

strap attached