Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern

Booby Traps’ Dart Pattern and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

Recently I saw a Booby Traps pattern for sale and thought it was quite nice. There are some similarities to the Pin-Up Girls Classic pattern from what I could see – a lace upper cup and an one-piece lower cup.

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Seeing as I have a bit of a pattern addiction, I was thinking of picking one up. This one was a private sale, and not my size, so I went to visit their web site. After looking at the patterns, I checked to see if they shipped internationally. On the FAQ page it says:

“Where do you ship to?

We ship within Australia and to New Zealand. 

Shipping outside these Countries is currently not available. “

Hmm. I’m never one to be deterred when I want something, so I sent them an email and asked if they mailed their patterns to Canada. The answer I got was: ‘Yes’. Great!

When I was sending off my initial email, I thought I’d throw out a hopeful idea just in case they didn’t post to Canada – I asked if they were going to introduce PDF patterns. Another yes! In fact, it was only weeks away at the time. That’s even better than shipping to Canada! For almost the same price I’d spend to buy a pattern and have it shipped, I could buy two PDF patterns.

I know. I said I don’t like PDF patterns, but a bra pattern is different. I’m not dealing with large pattern pieces, and there’s not usually much taping involved. I’m okay with a PDF bra pattern. However, I did just see a brilliant post by Sigrid on how to use a PDF pattern and not have to deal with a bunch of taping. You can read about it on her blog here. It’s really brilliant. I just may love PDF patterns again.

Back to bra patterns. The B003 wasn’t the pattern I chose to try. I chose the Dart bra.

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Isn’t that a beautiful bra? I love that lace in the second photo. It’s just incredible.

So, the first thing I had to do with my Dart bra pattern was grade it up. I’ve graded other patterns up, so that wasn’t too hard. The next thing was to make adjustments to the pattern to fit an Omega shape. Sigh. That’s harder. The good news there is I have lots of experience! A few years of it, in fact.

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There are a lot of darts that aren’t part of the original pattern in this photo. The good thing about trying a test cup on over an existing bra is the wire line is there and the correct shape for me. That really helps me know where to take a little more away from the outside of the pattern.

After the third set of alterations, I was beginning to wonder if this bra will work for me. Then some inspiration hit. I’d make a pattern from my Shelley pattern that fits; I’d make it out of cut-and-sew foam and then just put a dart in it.

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Well, that didn’t work either.

I’m not one to give up easily, so, I even-more-carefully-than-the-first-time re-drew the graded-up pattern. That’s when I took a few minutes to play with my pup and got bit. Yup. Same hand I’ve been trying to get better now has one more hurting spot.  Did I sigh already?

I sewed up the cup (at this point, I think I was on tester cup six), and it looked good. I was ready to cut into my good lace.

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I’m also hoping that the extra material there under the arm will be taken away with the elastic and gathering that is done there. That’s one area that’s always too big for me on patterns. I’d already put a dart in the pattern there, so didn’t want to shorten it anymore.

So, how is my Dart bra doing? Well, I’ll show you how far I got.

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I tried three different non-stretch laces. This is my widest non-stretch lace. I don’t have a lace that will work for this pattern… in my size. I thought about aligning the upper edge of the cup with the top scallop of the lace rather than the bottom, but this cup was already going to sit low on me. Still not quite ready to give up, I checked Bra-Makers Supply and they only carry 5″ or 6″ non-stretch lace. I checked Etsy, but not much there – I found two. I didn’t love either of them.  I have to admit defeat – at least for now.

I think I’ll pack this pattern away. The only sewing accomplishment I’ve had this week was to put some flexible wires into some bras I’d made before, and now they’ll go from my to-be-repaired pile back into my lingerie drawer.

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Let’s put my sewing week behind us and move onto the Bra-A-Week challenge! This is my last week hosting the challenge. I’ve had so much fun seeing all the incredible bras and lingerie being made by such talented creative people. Next week the challenge will be back in the hands of the ever-so-talented and capable Emerald Erin!

Our first submission comes from Amber. Amber made a Pin-Up-Girls with a downward hike, and the front made to look like a demi bra following instructions in Bra Makers Manual. She also added a nursing sling made from 15 denier- which she said she would not do again!

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And the upper cup is white duoplex, that has been printed with a rubber stamp and fabric markers. What a great idea! It’s so pretty.

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Isn’t that lovely? That makes me want to go out and buy fabric markers and stamps, Amber. Amber’s panties are drafted from Beverly Johnson’s Make and Fit Panties. What a lovely set, Amber.

Our next submission comes from Maddy. Maddy made a yellow lace Marlborough for her sister for her birthday. She says it fits her so well and she was super happy with it! Maddy was also pleased with the finish – she covered the side seams with left over underwire channeling to make everything clean and tidy. I know how that feels. There’s just something to making it as pretty on the inside as it can possibly be. That is so pretty, Maddy.

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Next from Maddy still is a pair of Ohhh Lulu Alice tap pants. Maddy bought a gorgeous torsolette a while ago, and although she loves it, couldn’t  justify buying the matching underwear. So she made my own! The colour match is almost perfect, and they’re actually super practical for wearing over the suspender straps.

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Gorgeous, Maddy! You’ll have to subscribe to read about these on Maddy’s blog, Miss Maddy Sews, as she hasn’t posted about them yet. If you go right away, you might still be able to enter her give-away!

Happy creating!

Movie Inspiration and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

Where do you get your inspiration? I get mine pretty much anywhere I see something pretty. I remember going through a mall with a friend, and I stopped to take photos of lingerie. My friend was so surprised. I asked her why she was surprised, and she said she just thought I’d make plain things. I remember thinking why would I make something plain if I could make something pretty?

Inspiration struck one night when I was watching The Devil Wears Prada. Have you seen the opening scene? There’s lacy lingerie coming out of dresser drawers; I paused the movie to grab my phone and take pictures. They were all so pretty.

This one inspired me the most.

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There’s an overly large generously-covered crystal bow on the front of this bra that doesn’t thrill me so much, but the rest of the bra? It’s lovely. That organza trim against basic black? Love.

This bra was my inspiration for this week. To complete my camisole and panty set, I used a little more of the mesh to make my own trim and made a not-so-basic black bra.

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I’m using the Pin-Up Girls Classic pattern, with the lower cup split and all my modifications added to make it fit me.

The bridge has some more of the leopard mesh – I couldn’t just leave it black. There’s also a pretty crystal and bow on the bridge.

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Lastly, I’m still deciding if I’ll add bows to cover the strap seam or not. I’m leaning towards bows. I didn’t want anything to distract from the mesh trim, but I don’t think the bows do. Below you can see one strap unbowed, and one strap with a pinned bow.

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 I was really wondering as the week went on if I’d get this bra done. I’ve hurt my hand somehow and everything hurt. Putting pins in hurt. Taking pins out hurt. Holding the fabric hurt. Seriously. I’ll warn you now, next week will be a light sewing week for me while I let my hand heal up a bit.

Some good news though, is there is enough mesh left after this bra to make one more thing – another pair of my TNT panties. I’m thrilled with my set and although I can’t say I’m looking forward to cooler weather, I am looking forward to wearing my whole set come fall.

Now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. This week we’re on week 31.

First off, let me say, we did have a submission last week. But technology got in the way. David sent his submission in time for the challenge, but it took over a day for it to get to me! It was in my in-box on Sunday night.

So, here’s David’s lovely submission from last week:

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This is stunning and so very delicate. I love how the elastic is threaded through the lace on the inner cup. David is a free-lance lingerie designer.

Our next submission comes from Emma. Emma made a Longline Watson Bra.

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Emma says, this is her first Watson, her first actual bra.  Emma also made a pair of high-waisted knickers.  You can read more about her beautiful set on her blog, A Hand-Stitched Life.

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What a gorgeous set. Well done, Emma!

Our next submission comes from Amber. Amber made a nursing bra. Amber used the Pin-Up Girls pattern for this and added a few alterations – a split lower cup, a nursing sling, and nursing clips. Pattern, fabrics, (duoplex & power net) and findings for Amber’s bra came from Bra-Makers Supply and BWear.

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Amber used power net for the nursing sling, and says it has worked very well; she also used power net with lace on the upper cups – which worked well for nursing as size needs can change throughout the day.

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What a great idea, Amber! It’s so pretty and really functional.

Our next submission comes from Lois. Lois knew as soon as she saw this fabric, it would be perfect for the scalloped border on the bottom of a corset.

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This border-embroidered organza is from Fabricland. The pattern is Vogue 8393 – an oldie from 2007. Lois used the plain Organza as the lining for the cups and then partially lined the back and side front. She also moved the separating zipper to the side, and used red bias tape for the boning casing.

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How very beautiful, Lois!

Such beautiful submissions this week! Thanks everyone! And Happy creating!

Matching Panties for A Modern Floral Shelley and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 16 Comments

This week I have a couple of pair of panties I made to co-ordinate with my Modern Floral Shelley.

I love cotton, and this Indigo cotton spandex is from Bra-Makers Supply. The lace is from the Merckwaerdigh kit I used for the bra, and the elastics are from Frog Feathers on Etsy.

2 panties

On the first pair I made I used a bit of the lace I used from the bra and then some Ivory lace elastics – Ivory also being a color also in the Lycra. I’d wondered if maybe there was too much lace, but then decided there can never be too much lace. I love them. They’re so comfortable.

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The second pair, which is my favorite style to make, uses the same lace from the kit for the whole front panel. On this pair I used Navy lace elastics.

Fav style of panties

Both pairs of panties are from my TNT panty pattern – Kwik Sew 2286, which I have fun with by changing the lines or style, but using the pattern as a base or starting point.

I also picked up a couple of pair of panties in some coordinating colors, not so much because I wanted or needed the panties, but to clone them for patterns. I really like the top pair – how the back part of the panty wraps right around the front in a little V across the hip, and the lace elastic in the design. Very pretty. The bottom pair is simply a high cut style, but still fun.

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Now our Bra-A-Week Challenge. We’re on week 26 of the Challenge! It is so very inspiring to see everyone’s submissions.

This week we have a beautiful bikini from Diana.

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That is so lovely. Diana wrote about this on her blog poetsie.blogspot.nl. If you don’t read Dutch, it helps to open it in Google Translate. You can read it that way in your own language. Check it out here for English.

This is so colorful and fun. It’s really lovely, Diana.

Our next submission comes from Maddy.

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Maddy made the Marlborough bra. This is her second time making the Marlborough; she made a few modification to the pattern and got an almost perfect fit. That perfect fit (or almost perfect) feels so good!

Maddy also mad a matching pair of Ohhh Lulu Grace panties.

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This was Maddy’s first time making the Grace panties, and she really loves the style and fit! That is so good to know because the Grace panties are on my to-buy list. Thanks for recommending them, Maddy!

You can read all about Maddy’s Marlborough and Grace panties, with more pictures and details about the alterations on her blog:  https://missmaddysews.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/something-wicked-this-way-comes/
Our next submission comes from Monserratt. Monserratt is a Pin-Up Girl like me, and made her bra from the Classic pattern.

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I love these colors! So gorgeous! You really need to see take a look at Monserratt’s blog: https://monserrattlopez.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/we-are-stardust-bra/ – she has a lot of information on there as to what she’s done in the way of alterations, but also a lot of photos. You can see her lovely makes, and her great photos!
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Love that blue and gold! So very pretty.
Our next submission comes from David.
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 David’s bra features black lace across the front overlaid with the straps. This is something like a short corset, bandeau, sport bra and strappy.
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 But there are two different laces used here. You can see the second lace on the back.
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 Isn’t that stunning? Just gorgeous. David is a freelance lingerie designer, his label is: Bonnet Bleu
Our last submission is from Erin!
Erin made this is a bikini for her sister’s birthday.
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 Erin’s sister picked out this fabric and wanted a cute itsy-bitsy bikini, but with a little more structure (underwires & foam). It’s a vertical seam cup, low cut with short wires. (Erin thinks she’s the equivalent of a 34C although she drafted this pattern off her measurements).
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 The details are a cute tie in the front and on the sides of the bottoms and nice double stitching on the outer fabric for the cups, gold rings and G-hooks. Erin said it was lots of fun to make – and hopes it fits her sister perfectly!!
What a nice birthday gift! You can read more on Erin’s blog: http://emeralderin.blogspot.ca.
I’m loving summer hosting the challenge – it is so exciting and fun to see all the makes coming in!
Happy creating!

Basic Black Butterfly

~ Michelle

This week started with me drawing, re-drawing, and re-drawing vertically seamed cups. I think I have a good pattern to cut out, but after all that work, I wanted to sew something that I was sure would fit – back to my Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern. So once I test the vertical cups, my next bra just might be my Prima Donna Milady copy. I don’t have the bra, so can’t make a clone, but will just make something similar based on their lovely bra.

I went back to basics colors this week, but wanted a little something special, so I added a Butterfly Effect. It’s really a lovely effect, and doesn’t take a lot of lace.

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The lower cup on this bra has been split, which I’m told is always helpful to someone with an Omega shape. I also made a few fitting alterations to the pattern. On this bra, I took in the lower part of the cup along the wire line so it fits into a smaller cradle – no gathers this time. I put darts in along the wire line to take out the excess. The cups really do look a lot smoother in the bra. Those tiny gathers aren’t anything that would be visible under clothing, but I like that little extra of the cup fitting perfectly in the cradle.  I also made the underarm area smaller by putting a dart in the pattern there. I used my custom bridge, which is altered for a flat spot and also lowered 1/2″, and I thinned the elastic under the cup.

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Here’s a close up of the Butterfly Effect. It really does look quite a lot like a butterfly. I think the lace I used, which has a clear border, helps to outline that effect nicely. The upper cup is trimmed with loopy elastic, but it’s not showing very well. It seems to want to curl inward on Catherine.

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Here you can see how smoothly the cups go into the smaller band. (Here I go again.) I do really like that. The gathers, however, are an easier option, and really hardly show at all. If anyone reading this is making that adjustment for an Omega shape, do yourself a favor and do the gathers initially.

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I did change one part of the back. I made the back strap elastic join the bra with a slider attached to elastic on the band rather than attach directly to the band, so the back strap elastic is done in two parts rather than just one. This method seems flatter on the back.

From the comments I’ve been hearing this week from my dear hubby, this is the prettiest bra I’ve ever made! He really likes it. Then, I think he doesn’t want to upset me and says all the other bras I’ve made are pretty too, but this one is really pretty. He’s so cute.

I do want to do this effect again and cut away the Duoplex from behind the lace. That gives a sheerer look to the butterfly effect. I think that would be really lovely too.

I have some of the leaves from the lace cut out and ready to be sewn onto some matching panties, but didn’t have as much time this week to sew as I might have wanted. That will have to wait until next week.

A friend of mine came over yesterday to take some photos. She’d made a lovely shawl and wanted to use Catherine to display her shawl. I was happy to let her and took a few photos too.

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I watched as this shawl took shape, week after week, while we had a ladies’ night and watched Downton Abbey.

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Here’s a close up of the two fibers. I like the sheerness the one yarn has.

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This is my favorite part though – the little details are what always win me over. Julia unraveled some of the yarn on the fringe and beaded it. It’s just lovely.

Happy creating!

A Red Rebecca

~ Michelle

I knew when Erin from The Sewing and Life Adventures of Emerald Erin put out her Bra-a-Week Challenge, I wouldn’t be making a bra each week, but I have been trying to keep up with a submission every other week. And this week I have one.

My Red Sewy Rebecca.

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I can’t say enough how much I love sewing this bra. As the seams are coming together, they’re turned and then hidden between the lace and lining on the upper cup, or the duoplex and lining on the power bar. And the inside looks so very neat and tidy. It’s really a delight to sew.

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You can see here the inside of the upper and lower cup but there are no visible seams. Oh, that is such a nice touch.

The bra came together fairly easily, but I honestly think that’s because I have experience sewing bras. The instructions I have are the English instructions from ELingeriA and they’re not my favorite. I find I’m often looking at what they’re saying to do, and then ignoring it and following instructions from Beverly’s Craftsy class, or one of my Pin-Up Girls patterns.

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There are a couple of things I like about this pattern. One is the lower edge of the upper cup is quite straight. A straight bottom edge to the upper cup gives more lift. I do like that. Another thing I like is the underarm area is smaller and I don’t need to adjust it. The fewer adjustments, the better.

Again, on this bra, I gathered the cup to fit into the cradle. I had intended to adjust the pattern, but my week was going by quickly and I wanted to get sewing and forgot. Next time I’ll make some adjustments and show you what I do for that.

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The back of the bra is pretty basic. I do like the black findings kit with the red, and the red and black lace. All the materials came from Bra Makers Supply. I already plan to order more of that lace. It is so pretty. When I’d ordered the kit, I put it away for a little while and when I pulled it out again this week, I thought it was just black lace. So when I unpacked it, it was a treat to see those red flowers.

This photo is the inside of the bra. Look how neat that is! Here’s a close up:

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Love, love, love this!

Enclosing the cup seams would be quite easy to do on any bra, just use some lining material and ‘sandwich’ it when sewing. Let’s talk about that using the upper cup and lower cup. Place the two cup parts right sides together as you normally would. Then the lining material, which was cut from the upper cup pattern goes on the wrong side of its non-matching part – the lower cup. You make a sandwich of the cup pieces with the upper cup material and lining as the bread, and the lower cup as the filling. Sew, trim, and turn the matching upper cups pieces so they are now together. Press, top stitch and enjoy seeing those enclosed seams hidden neatly inside your upper cup.

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You can see here the seam is exposed still, but has been trimmed. The lining will fold over the seam to meet its matching upper cup and then press and top stitch. It is so neat and lovely.

It’s the same for the power bar. Place the power bar with the cup right sides together – just the same as when you’re sewing it without lining it. Place the power bar’s lining on the wrong side of the cup; sew, trim, press with the power bar and lining together, and top stitch and now your whole cup is so neat and enclosed!

Happy creating!

A Marathon of Muslins

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I was so excited to finally have a bra that fit with the bridge going all the way back that I made a whole bunch of bra muslins to try on over that bra. I went through almost all of my patterns – there are a few that I likely won’t ever make – and I sewed up muslins for test fittings.

This first bra muslin I made was a brand new pattern just released. It was Orange Lingerie’s new pattern, the Marlborough pattern.

Marlborough

You can see here the fit looks like it will be really close and I won’t have to do very much in the way of alterations. The Marlborough doesn’t actually list my size in the size range, but I know all about finding the right size by the wire size. So using my ever-so-used BMM chart, I found the correct cup size to fit into my band.

Great! I marked the muslin where I’d need to reduce it a bit at the bottom where it overlaps the seam allowance on the actual bra, and pinned it to the pattern for when I’m ready to tackle making this bra.

Shelley

Next it was the Pin-Up Girls Shelley pattern. Again, the depth looks good, but it’s not perfect. I marked where the seam lines fell under the muslin, and I marked these right on the muslin. It’s now pinned to the pattern and ready for the alteration stage as well.

After Shelley, I did the Pin-Up Girls classic pattern.

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You can see I also wrote the pattern name and size on the muslin.

After I finished with my Pin-Up Girls, it was time to try a few of Merckwaerdigh’s patterns. This is where I had to do a re-do.

BHST2 B too small

I started with BHST2, but you can see the cup is too small in this size for me. It just won’t meet all those seam lines under it. I quickly traced off the next size up and that one was fine.

BHST2 B

This one gives me all the depth I need, and I’ll alter the pattern to fit my shape. Again, I marked on the muslin what changes I’ll have to make and pinned it to the pattern.

For some reason I didn’t trace of the CUPL-16 pattern I have. I must admit I was running out of steam by this point.

I did trace off my Sewy Rebecca. I wasn’t sure about the size,  and the size I chose was actually too big. So my next muslin of this will be smaller.

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You can see here the cup is clearly too big.

I was really tired after all this, but have a great place to tackle each of these bras now – one at a time.

Happy creating!

One More Fantasie Clone

~ Michelle

I was so close on that last bra. And at this point, I do have a drawer full of bras I can wear that mostly fit. But I must admit, I am like a dog with a bone when I want to figuring something out – and getting that perfect fit is my objective.

I’d recently read something very encouraging from Annele, the founder of MakeBra said:

“An older lady, who was running her own lingerie business only few years ago, told me that you need at least twenty test fitting sessions before the bra pattern is ready to go.”

You can read about it here. Oh, that was such a relief to read. Then I’m not obsessed, or a terrible sewer. Whew!

Thankfully, at one time I’d bought the same Fantasie bra, but one size bigger. I think it was one size bigger. For example, what would be the size difference between a 34D and a 34DD? The only charts I have are from Bra Makers Supply, and they don’t do the double letters.

Back to the bra. I’d cloned it, and then after wearing it for a little while, gave it to a friend because I found it a bit loose in the upper cup. However, I was thinking this size would be perfect  with the firmer Duoplex material. All the materials are from Bra Makers Supply.

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Here it is. I think it shows the cups are a little fuller than the last bra. And just because the cups are fuller, it doesn’t show here how the bridge is really narrow at the top. The channeling and wires completely overlap at the top of the bridge. And the bridge goes all the way back!

As much as I loved the thin ribbon on the original Fantasie Vivienne, I couldn’t find anything in a beige or tan, only white. So I went with some bows I had for this bra.

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Here is a picture from the inside to show the wires and channeling overlapping at the top. It’s a bit tricky to sew this. What I do is sew the first channel down completely, and then the second channel is only sew down completely at the top and on the inside seam.

On the outside seam where the channeling pieces are overlapping, I do not sew it completely. There’s only maybe 2 cm opening where it is not sewn on the outside of the channeling. It has to be left open on the outside there so the wire can slide through that lower channeling.

On the top piece of channeling, I sew up to the outer seam line on the lower channeling, and it makes an attractive inverted V-shape in the stitching on the front of the bridge.

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And here is the back. I reduced this to make it a 2 hooks and eyes set again. This is how the original RTW bra came, so I wanted to do that again. It’s a wonderfully comfortable bra – and the bridge goes all the way back except for a tiny bit at the very top after I’ve been wearing it for a bit. It looks like I’ll be shortening my wires by 1/4″. But at least I’ll still have a full bridge.

Now I have a pattern that really works for me, the next thing I want to do is to take this pattern and use it to figure out what size I’d want to make in all my other patterns – the Sewy Rebecca, and the Pin-Up Girls Shelley and Classic, and the Merckwaerdigh E-BHST2 and E-CUPL 16.

And now I have one more pattern in my collection to try – Norma from Orange Lingerie just released a bra pattern! The Marlborough bra pattern. You can find the pattern at Orange Lingerie’s Etsy shop.

Happy creating!

Beige Lace Overlay

~ Michelle

With this Beige Lace Overlay bra, I feel I have my beige bra wardrobe complete. I have enough of a basic color to now branch out. I won’t be able to do that tomorrow, but hopefully soon.

Here’s my latest bra – the Beige Lace Overlay:

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This style is the same as the last beige bra I made. I was so happy with the lace on that bra, I decided I’d do the same again. My thinking was if the lace is different, then it feels completely different – at least to me. (smile)

All the materials are from Bra Makers Supply – including the pattern, but it isn’t the original pattern. What I’ve done is taken the Classic Full band pattern and altered it significantly to fit me. I’ve altered the cradle, the bridge, the upper cups and the lower cups, drew my own band based on a Prima Donna band. Heck I even alter the wires.

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Here’s a close up of the front. You can see here the lace doesn’t go all the way to the top of the upper cup – but lays over the upper cup. It’s a very pretty option for this style. You can also see how the upper cup curves with the style. This style is described in the Bra Makers Manual as a Fake Demi Cup. It still gives the coverage of a full cup.

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And this photo is just because I really love adding bows to cover the strap seam. It is such a pretty feature.

I won’t show the back or sides of this bra as they are the same as what I usually do – so no changes there. However, I do want to show you something else I thought to share with you. I remember when I first started making bras. Knowing where to cut the channeling was always a bit fuzzy for me. It was rather hit and miss for a while. Sometimes it ended up under the upper band elastic, but sometimes not. I would just zigzag over it in those cases. it still worked, but wasn’t quite as pretty as I was wanting. Then I figured out a way to do it.

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You can see here I’ve folded my upper band elastic over to where I will sew it, but it’s not sewn down  yet. It’s not even pinned yet. Then I lay the channeling over that. This gives me a clear visual to use. I’m holding the channeling here for the picture because it just didn’t want to lay flat. Pins come in so handy, don’t they?

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And once I see where I want to cut it – where the top of the channeling will lay under the elastic – then I cut it. I also cut it on a bit of an angle. I follow the slope of the band rather than cutting it straight across the top of the channeling.

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And here you can see how neatly the 3-step zigzag finishes that channeling. I hope this helps.

One last bit here, do you remember this?

scan0002-b

I’m in the hunting-gathering stage for this project. I’m collecting laces to put together to make my own version of this beautiful bra Amy Relf made. I LOVED this, and have the picture beside my sewing desk to remind me to work on this.

Happy creating!

Starting All Over Again?

~ Michelle

That’s how I felt – like I was starting all over again. And I wasn’t thrilled about it either.

I’ve been very close on every bra I’ve made, but I wanted better. I wanted perfect. You’ve all heard that before!

So, a few weeks ago I checked on the old Bra-Makers Supply web site to see if there was a teacher who lived close to me.

I found a teacher, and did a Google search to see if she had a class  happening near by. I found a class too! And it is happening just over an hour from where I live, and in only a month’s time. I felt like I had hit the jackpot!

I called the school where she teaches and asked them to have her contact me. She called me the next day, and after our talking for a bit, she said I didn’t need the beginner class and then offered to come to my home and give me a private lesson! I was ecstatic!

It only took a few weeks from that initial phone call until I had an official Bra-Makers’ teacher! And in my home!

So we spent all of Friday and Saturday together. She told me one thing I already knew – I was close, very close.

So, we worked together over two days and I think the best thing out of the whole weekend was finding an even better wire size for me.

Let me show you what I mean:

38 - 44 Regular Wires

Here is the wire I’ve been using compared with the wire that usually fits my cup size. The smaller wire better fits me, but the larger wire fits the cup better. That has led to numerous alterations to my basic pattern.

However, that smaller wire is also lower in the underarm, and really wasn’t giving me the support I needed there.

I had put in a call to Bra-Makers and asked Beverly about it and she suggested a Vertical wire, and said the corresponding wire to the 38 was the 40 Vertical. However, the 40 Vertical wire felt too tight at the outer base of it. So I went back to a 38.

With the teacher here this weekend, we talked about it and then decided to try a 42 Vertical wire (42V) to see if it was a better fit. I really didn’t think it would be. I thought it would be too big, but it was perfect!

42 Vertical Wire to 38 Regular Wire

I’m not sure if you can see that or not, but I have the 38 wire on top of the 42V. I drew a bright pink line at the top of the 38 wire so you can see the 42V comes up higher at both the center front & underarm. This now gives me the better coverage I needed, without coming in too much at the base & side.

But I was in a panic for days trying to figure out what changes I was going to have to make to my size cup to fit this new wire. I did find a bit in the Bra-Makers Manuals on how to adjust for this, but wondered if I was going to make the cup too big seeing how I’m always adjusting smaller.

Then I had a thought today to compare it to the wire charts and see what size it was closest too. And it’s closest to a 44, which is the wire size that corresponds with the cups size I’m using! What a relief!

That got me cutting and sewing again!

Want to see one more wire picture?

42 Vertical Wire to 44 Regular Wire

Here’s the 42V on top of the 44 wire. The 42V comes up a little higher, but is narrower too. When measured, they’re the same length. Wire problem solved.

So, I don’t have a completed bra yet. I have a tester I did and it’s very fun material:

Tester Bra

This is a Lycra, with a non-stretch lining in the cups for support. I’ve decided I prefer the non-stretch lining to interfacing – it’s a much lighter feeling cup with more flexibility, and I think, even more strength than the interfacing gives.

I’m making the Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern, and from there I’ll make a new Shelley pattern.

List of Adjustments

Here are the adjustments I’ll need to make. I really didn’t want to start over, but felt that would give me the best fit using this new wire. Thankfully, I’m not starting over in knowledge! I’ve learned so much in the past year. Hopefully I’ll have my new bra done tomorrow. I’m planning on taking the day to sew.

Happy creating!

Hmmm

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

Well, I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It fits and I’m actually wearing it now. But there’s something I’m not loving about it.

Pink Butterfly material

Maybe it’s just too pink! I thought it would be so pretty for spring. But I’m not loving it.

It’s the Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern. I got the material from Merckwaerdigh‘s store, and the lining from Bra-Makers Supply. It’s a cotton-Lycra blend. I lined the cups so they would be non-stretch.

Something  I tried that a little different is I added the strap to the top of the lace. I don’t think I love that. That, and all the PINK from the front view.

Pink Butterfly side view

When working on the bra, I decided to add a little of the lace to the side seam. It doesn’t look so bad from this angle. But that front view just looks SO PINK!!! Maybe it’s because I’m really more comfortable with basic colors and adding something to them like some color in black lace. Ha! Honestly, if you looked in my closet you’d find half or more is black!

This view shows a little more of the Lycra material. Isn’t that pretty? I think that’s why I bought it – all those flowers.

No, I’m really not sure how I feel about this one. I actually wrote this blog once and deleted it because I’m not crazy about this bra. But it does fit, and I am wearing it.

Hmm.

I’m looking forward to something a little more toned down for my next bra.

Happy creating!