Sew-Along

A Sports Bra Muslin and a Few More Plans

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

I’m starting to work out with a Personal Fitness Trainer. You’d think if your son is a Trainer, you’d get free training, but no. He said part of his education was enforcing repeatedly that they are not to give their services away for free. I do understand that. It’s the same as people wanting me to sew for free. I rarely offer that. My boy is charging both me and his Dad. We do want to support him and we want to get in better shape, so it’s a win-win.

Working out brings a whole new set of challenges for me: sports bras. From my reading in the Bra-Makers Manuals, I need more support than a compression-type of sports bra will offer. Anyone over a C cup does as well, which I bet is a surprise to many women out there. I haven’t seen much in terms of sports bras that aren’t compression, and they never fit me very well, but that’s all I’ve seen in the stores and all I’ve ever been able to buy in the past.

The other type of sports bra mentioned in the manual is the encapsulated style of sports bra. Bra-Makers Supply just happens to have a pattern for one too. The Pin-Up Girls Kerri Sports bra.

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BMS advertises this as a ‘no bounce’ bra. That sounds great! They say the design is based on an Indian sari blouse – using darts to give the shape. It’s all sounding good… until I consider my shape and alterations needs.

I bought the pattern and some gorgeous fabrics to make the bra. But before I’m cutting that gorgeous fabric, I made a muslin. Actually, I made two. I made the first one in my normal cup size, but then after re-reading the sizing information again, I realized I could fit into a smaller size and (hopefully) have fewer or less drastic adjustments to make. So I made a second muslin right away after making the first one and made it two sizes smaller.

Front-Size-look-right

I have this tried on over one of my bras that fits, with foam in it to fill it out. Looking at this, the strap looks the right length, the front center looks good, the cup depth looks good.

Slight-Gap-underarm

You can see here there’s a little pucker at the underarm, but I usually need a dart there. Remember, this is as is – no adjustments yet – just so I can see what I’m going to have to change or adjust.

Gap-Under-Bust-from-front

The next thing to do was to try it on me. I tried it on over my bra so I had something to pin it to. The shoulder strap could be shortened 1/4″, and I’ve pinned out the excess on me under the bust, which isn’t quite as drastic as on Catherine my dress form. I’m pretty much straight from my underbust to my waist, but she keeps going in. I was out of material to make another muslin, so a trip to the fabric store was in order.

I won’t buy regular muslin material. It’s $15/meter and never on sale. That’s just too expensive. I look for any non-stretch material, so if you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ve seen many patterned muslins on my posts. This time it was just some basic black cotton. I got a great deal – buy one get two for free. They actually gave me a choice – the material was 60% off, so I could chose to pay for three meters at that price, or pay full price for one meter and get two meters for free. The first way it would have been $28.80 for the 3 meters, the second way I paid $16. I love deals! Guess which one I chose?

While I was there, I also picked up material for my next sewing project (after I get my sports bra done) – The Conference Tote Bag. There’s a sew-along that’s happened already, but all the information is still on the web site right now. The video on the web page shows many of the beautiful bags people have made. I heard so many great things about it and I’ve wanted to make a bag for a long time now. It became my next project.

Here’s the material I chose for my Conference Tote Bag.

material for conference tote

I knew I wanted black and gold, and I looked at a lot of options for my second color. Then I saw the material on top. Everything is outlined in gold as well. I love them together. They look better in person than the photo shows even. Going into fall, I didn’t want anything bright. I’ll save that for spring. The rest of what I need for my bag isn’t on sale for another few weeks, so I’ll have to be patient. It will give me lots of time to finish my sports bra and establish my exercise routine.

One last mention, the Bra-A-Week Challenge is back in the hands of the ever-talented Erin. Pop over to Erin’s blog to see all the incredible makes this week!

Happy creating!

Butterick 6031 and The Bra-A-Week Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 12 Comments

Have you seen any of the Patterns by Gertie? She has some lovely patterns, and her Butterick 6031 is one of my favorites in my lingerie pattern stash… and it was time to pull it out.

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It is so pretty! I love that slip – black and white – such a classic!

Another admission I must make is I love watching The Shopping Channel. There are many Today’s Showstopper items in my house. This camisole was something I found on their website and was an inspiration for me. This, as well as some gorgeous material a friend sent me. The photo is the Rhonda Shear Leopard Lace Cami.

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I saw this and loved it, but I wanted something a little looser. I have a favorite camisole, and it’s not a snug fit, so I wanted one more like the one I have. That leopard lace? Love! Yes, it was time to pull out the leopard mesh I have in my stash and make something with it. Adding lace just makes it perfect.

Here’s my B6031 camisole.

Cami

Love, love, love. However, I did have a bump along the way. I’m still trying to figure out what happened. Somehow, after cutting the mesh material for the cups, I ended up with two right cups. Excuse me? I’m completely baffled by this. I really have no idea how I cut out two the same, but I did.

right-cups

That was upsetting. I didn’t want to waste any of the material. I will be able to use the material to make a Shelley though, so I’ll save it for future right and left cup pieces. I wasn’t alone this week though, I was reading on another blog how the blogger cut out two left sides of her top.

To make the camisole I also had to do a Full Bust Adjustment. I’ve done one before when I made my moulage from Suzy Furer‘s class on Craftsy: Patternmaking Basics: The Bodice Sloper.

However, this time I used the information on the sew-along from Gertie herself to adjust my pattern following her instructions. I’m glad I did. The instructions I have would have had me add 3/4″ more than I added. The 1″ Gertie suggested was perfect.

I decided I’d follow along on the sew-along, and the funny thing about following along is once I got started sewing, I forgot about following. I was 3/4s done and remembered. I went back and read through it just to see what it said. The sew-along is for a slip, but all but the hem treatment is exactly the same as for the camisole. I’m thinking of trying the panties from this pattern too. They look really cute and are similar to my favorite TNT Kwik Sew 2286.

I also had some fun making my own bows again. I often like to find some way to do something different or unique. I did that with my bows. The first bow shown here has some mesh with the ribbon, and they’re both tied into the bow, the second bow is ribbon tied with the mess, and the mesh tails hanging down. Both were so fun to make.

Front-bow

Strap-Bow

The materials I used came from BMS (power net), Frog Feathers (lace), and a dear friend, who just happens to be in our Challenge this week, (leopard mesh). Thank you, Ginny! I love how beautiful my camisole is, and will treasure it even more because the material was a gift.

Now onto the Bra-A-Week Challenge. This week we’re on week 29 and we have a great week!

Our first submission comes from Karin of Mrs. Weaver’s Finest Unmentionables.

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This is the Marrakech bikini. It’s based on the Rebecca bikini from the 3 Sisters pattern, a Pin-Up Girls pattern. Karin altered it to make the cups a little more flattering. The back detail is gorgeous and the fabric amazing!

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That is gorgeous! You can read more about this beautiful bikini on Mrs. Weaver’s blog.

Our next submission comes from Amber. Amber made this beautiful bra for her friend, Helena. She started a while ago, but got interrupted in her sewing by having a son. Congratulations on your son, Amber!

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Amber started out planning to make a basic bra, but then saw this lace and wanted to try a couple of different techniques.

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Look at that starburst. So very pretty! This is the Pin-Up Girls Amanda foam cup pattern. The pattern, fabric and notions – except for the lace are from Bra Makers Supply or BWear. It’s beautiful, Amber!

Next we have a beautiful bra from Maddy.

Maddy made her third Marlborough with matching Ohhh Lulu tap pants, in coral lace.

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Maddy says, ‘I love this set so much! The fit is lovely and comfortable, and I’m so in love with the lace (and its remnant price tag!)’

I agree with Maddy on that – it’s lovely! And beautiful remnant always feels better than full price. It’s gorgeous! You can read more about Maddy’s Marlborough on her blog, Miss Maddy Sews.

Next we have a beautiful bra by Sofia.

Sofia made a very lacy bra. Is there anything more delicate looking than an all lace bra? She also made a few alterations to her pattern. You can read about that on her blog, Silver Lining.

Lacy-bra

Beautiful. That bow really looks awesome, Sofia! Sofia made her own bow for this bra. It really pops with that deep color.

Our next submission comes from Ginny. Ginny made the Boylston Bra, the newest pattern from Orange Lingerie, and she made it for her niece.

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Oh, that is pretty. Ginny describes the Boylston as ‘a sleek balconette style with self fabric straps’.

Ginny also made some matching panties for her niece. Here is Ginny’s first set featuring Make Bra’s DL21 panties.

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That is lovely. Ginny, your niece will love it! Here’s Ginny’s second set now featuring Ohhh Lulu’s ‘super comfy’ Grace panty.

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I love that floral lace on the sides! You can read Ginny’s guest post on Sewcialists‘ blog.

Our final submission for the week is from David.

David front

David made this bra with pink cups with black lace. The upper part of bra cups are made with black embroidery on tulle.

David side

This bra has a double strapy back and a neck strap.

David back

David is a free-lance lingerie designer. This is really beautiful.

Happy creating!

Sewy Rebecca from the Sew-Along

~ Michelle

The Sewy Rebecca is a lovely bra, and I am quite pleased with the results I had on the Sew-Along. I did do three testers, but that was more my experimenting with fit. The cups in my size actually fit very well.

However, anyone who has read a previous post knows, that’s not my only consideration. I was able to make the adjustments I needed to easily fit the cups into the bra’s cradle, so I had no difficulties there either.

Here’s my finished Sewy Rebecca.

Front view Sewy Rebecca Beige

Here’s the Rebecca on a dressform. But I was also in a bit of a creative mood, so please indulge me. Here is the Sewy Rebecca with a little more flair in the picture:

Creative front view Sewy Rebecca Beige

I made little forms to fit into the cups because my dressform here and I are not the same size. Usually, I put a foam cup into the cups to fill them out for pictures, but I wanted to try something different because the foam cups don’t fit perfectly into the bra cups. I took an idea from the Bean-a-Boob concept and made little bean-filled forms to fill out the cups for pictures.

Here are the little forms I made:

Forms to fill out bras on dress form

I think this pattern is very pretty. The lace upper cups are a favorite of mine. When I’m out looking at bras for ideas, it’s the lace that catches my attention.

Side view Sewy Rebecca Beige

The little forms do a pretty good job filling out the cups, but not perfectly, as you can see above.

And my more creative picture of the side view:

Creative side view Sewy Rebecca Beige

It’s very difficult for me to throw away all those bits of lace that are left over after cutting out the upper cups. And I’m always looking for places to put them on the bra. On this one, I put one on the bridge and two here on the side where the side panel meets the band. I’ve also put it on the straps at the front for decoration, but not on this bra.

And here is the back of the bra. It looks nice enough, but… I’m really not comfortable with the straps that far apart.

Back view Sewy Rebecca Beige

I didn’t catch this aspect of the bra’s fit with a tester bra and I wish I had. I’ll know next time to look for that when making a tester.

And one last creative perspective:

Creative back view Sewy Rebecca Beige

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with the Sew-Along and would gladly jump right into another one. I’m also glad I went back to the Rebecca.

I made the Rebecca once before, but used Lycra. I must say, Lycra is not my friend. No, Duoplex is my friend. Nice, strong, non-stretching Duoplex. I may use Lycra again in the future, but underneath there will be Duoplex.

Oh, just remembering something else on the Rebecca. I didn’t use elastic only for the straps. I made fabric straps to match. So I ventured out on my own for that part of the pattern. They only use the elastic on the pattern, and again, just not a friend to me.

The pattern here is from Sewy.

All the materials & findings are from Bra-Makers Supply.

I think the next bra I make will be the Shelley bra. I added my seam allowance SO long ago and have been meaning to get to it again since that time. However, with the Sew-Along suggesting we make tester bras, it was the perfect opportunity to try a new pattern.

I’m also waiting for some jewelry components. Once I get them I will post pictures of what I’ve made – I’ve had these plans for quite a while, but it’s taken me a long time to find that perfect piece.

Happy creating!

Sew-along Test III

~ Michelle

I really have to admit I don’t like the challenge of having to alter patterns. It is my reality, so I do need to just get past the dislike of it and do it. But I do ‘wish’ every time I’m going to sew, that I could simply make the pattern as is, or much closer to as is.

My tester of the Danglez bra didn’t go past the tester bra. I decided from my experience with the tester that it wasn’t going to be something I’d love. The band was very wide, and seemed too wide for a smaller frame. The band also sat very low on my body. I could try the cups again but with a different band, and I may do that at some point in the future.

I did decide to tackle the Sewy Rebecca Bra again. This time I used Duoplex for the lower cups rather than Lycra.

Another one of my must-admit-to-self truths is I need the support the Duoplex offers, and Lycra just won’t do it for me – even when it’s been interfaced.

So, I pulled out my Rebecca pattern again, and this time made three testers. My first tester was a complete experiment. I made my normal upper cup and 2 sizes smaller lower cup. That didn’t work, but the lower cup fit perfectly into the cradle.

For my second tester, I tried one size smaller lower cup. I must say I was impressed with the ‘oomph’ it gave, but it didn’t really fit either.

So, for my third tester, I made both upper & lower cups in my size and took in the lower cup with small darts to fit it into the smaller cradle.

Tester bra III front view

Here’s my tester from the front. I used black & brown Duoplex, so it doesn’t look the best, but hey, this is only a test.

I also made the bridge a little bit smaller; so much so that the wires actually cross over one another at the top of the bridge.

Tester Bra III inside view

Here is the inside of the tester. For the tester I also used Vertical wires rather than the normal long wires. I’ve decided I really do like the fit of them better, so will adjust my patterns to be a little higher at the underarm side of the cradle to accommodate them.

Long wire compared to Vertical Wire

You can see here the difference between a 38 Long and the 40 Vertical wire. The Vertical one comes up and in a little more. Even though I did like the fit,  my pattern had already been cut when I thought about trying this.

I must say, I LOVED the experience of a sew-along, and all the wonderful learning from one another. It was like taking a mini-course. I’m actually thinking of printing it off and putting the Sew-Along in a binder to refer to easily when sewing. Amy did a GREAT job! Norma was a tremendous help to all who had questions too, and everyone’s input really made it.

I definitely will make tester bras again in the future – likely every time I try a new pattern, but my next bra is going to be the Shelley again. I have some beautiful fabrics just waiting for a TNT (Tried ‘n’ True) pattern, and I think I’m ready for a pattern & sewing experience that will work out because the hard work’s already been done.

Next the finished Sewy Rebecca, and a few jewelry pieces I LOVE.

Happy creating!