I wanted to draft a bra with a power bar after reading Emerald Erin's post on power bars. When I went looking for information, I found that Silver Lining Atelier has a great series of posts about power bars, providing inspiration as well as drafting techniques. I also found some good information in Beverley Johnson's Bra Maker's Manual.
The photo below shows my result. Apart from the lace, most of the fabric and findings are from Bra Maker's Supply. I used Duoplex for the power bar and power net for the band. The duoplex looks like a different colour in the photos, but in real life, the colour match is very good.
For the matching knickers, I combined the lace with a lovely stretch lining fabric, which I think was marked Donna Karan at the Fabric Store. I only had leftover scraps of this lining from another project, but it was worth saving the scraps for these knickers because the fabric feels so lovely.
The draft was derived from my self drafted bra pattern, and fits nicely, but it doesn't really give me any extra lift or support (well, not that I noticed). When I thought about it, I realised that my base pattern doesn't give me any lift, and I could probably modify it for an improved cup shape. I started with my self drafted pattern for a 3 piece cup with lace upper edge. I took out about 6 mm along the horizontal seam line and trimmed a bit from the wire line, near the armhole. The resulting cup has a lovely shape on. Now I need to go through all my basic bra patterns and take this same amount of volume from the cups.
I had only a little bit of lace left, so this bra is more duoplex and less lace. I actually prefer the fit of this one to the power bar version.
I recycled the bra sliders from an old RTW bra, because I thought they were such a good match for the lace.
Then I used the last scrappy bits of lace and lining to cobble together a matching bikini style knicker.
12 comments:
I agree, black white and beige are by far the most wearable colours. Your set is lovely and not at all boring.
Agreed..not boring at all but very practical with a bit of spice!
Love these! I'm a flesh tone girl myself. And the bits of lace on these just make them look so elegant & expensive that I want to steal them! ;-)
Actually in my recent Bridezilla mood I almost talked myself into making my own bra because I couldn't find any RTW ones that would work with a cropped & open back Indian blouse that will still lift my aging boob. Then I so some sense & stopped myself because I haven't even made a single bra yet. It's just too crazy to attempt this with only a couple months left including some travel days.
I will attempt my first after all the craziness subsides though. I must since I already ordered some beige kit from Bramakers.com. And I must come back & hunt around your archive to rEmin myself how you drafted your own pattern.
So to be clear, the power bar didn't work as intended this time? And your adjustment for the second bra, can you show a comparison of this cup pattern vs the original? I can't visualise the wireless reduction bit. Are your cups wired? Did you have to use a different size wire after the adjustment? I got a bit confused about what wire shape & size I should be using, especially as my goal was to manipulate my girls into a more uplifted shape rather than just mirror their natural shapes.
Sorry about all the typos! Ah the joy of typing on a phone with silly autocorrect! }:-)
Sorry about all the typos! Ah the joy of typing on a phone with silly autocorrect! }:-)
Love these! I'm a flesh tone girl myself. And the bits of lace on these just make them look so elegant & expensive that I want to steal them! ;-)
Actually in my recent Bridezilla mood I almost talked myself into making my own bra because I couldn't find any RTW ones that would work with a cropped & open back Indian blouse that will still lift my aging boob. Then I so some sense & stopped myself because I haven't even made a single bra yet. It's just too crazy to attempt this with only a couple months left including some travel days.
I will attempt my first after all the craziness subsides though. I must since I already ordered some beige kit from Bramakers.com. And I must come back & hunt around your archive to rEmin myself how you drafted your own pattern.
So to be clear, the power bar didn't work as intended this time? And your adjustment for the second bra, can you show a comparison of this cup pattern vs the original? I can't visualise the wireless reduction bit. Are your cups wired? Did you have to use a different size wire after the adjustment? I got a bit confused about what wire shape & size I should be using, especially as my goal was to manipulate my girls into a more uplifted shape rather than just mirror their natural shapes.
Pretty - and they look really professionally done. I like color too, but have recently made some beige/nude lingerie with black lace trim. I've been thinking about the power bar too, and so this was really interesting. I'm tempted to sew an internal power bar into my RTW bras to see how it works out for me first.
Really lovely lingerie. Love the different ways you were able to use the lace and its scalloped edges
Lovely bras!! The lace is SO pretty, the scalloped edge looks so elegant on both bras! Usually I'm not a fan of beige lingerie, but your bras may have changed my mind ;)
High class lingerie.
What gorgeous coordinating sets! You did a beautiful job in design, drafting and execution!
Thankyou! I will photograph the pattern changes and pop them in this post when I get the chance. My bras are wired. I did not change the size of the wires, just the volume of the cups. My first pattern draft was made by following Shin's Patternmaking for Underwear Design. She drafts for a 34B, which is my wire size, and I made many alterations from there. She does not show how to grade to different sizes.
Have you seen this bra? It might be good for cropped, backless styles
http://www.nastygal.com/clothes-lingerie/nasty-gal-midnights-lace-bra
Post a Comment