22.2.13

Longline

Last year, Amy (from Cloth Habit, whom you would all know from her bra making sew-a-long) and I did a pattern swap for self-drafted bras (what fun!).  She sent me her pattern for a long-line bra (you can see her purple silk version here).


I made up a muslin.  I was pretty happy with the muslin, just needed to remove a little volume in the upper cup,  but I decided that I would prefer the cups to be longer and the straps to be wider placed.  This caused me all sorts of grief.  Many, many muslins.  I was getting up in the middle of the night just to try another muslin, when I should have been packing boxes to move house.  Eventually I called it quits and got on with moving house and this project went into the "too-hard" basket.


Last weekend I pulled it out again.  I finally had my "A-Ha!" moment and realised that I needed to adjust the seam direction from the base of the cup and not just in the top half.  By just changing the top half, I was ending up with all sorts of weird S-shaped curves.  My final pattern is shown below.  Amy's pattern is the beautifully labelled white pattern and mine is on the tracing paper.


The fabric that I used for my final version was a teal, paisley lingerie lycra.  It is pretty cool because it only stretches in the width and not the length.  That means you can use it one way for pieces that you don't want to stretch (front) and use it the other way when you want the stretch (backs) - no need to find matching power mesh.  The main fabric and the very pretty straps were given to me by my sister.

The elastic that I used around the edges was from Lincraft.  I don't know what it is called, but the edge looks like a shiny piping.  After I zig-zagged it to the edges. I used my coverstitch machine to sew it down (see how well my centre front V comes together...I was pretty pleased about that!).  I also used my coverstitch to top-stitch the seams.


One of the things I love about this pattern is that the back sits lower than a traditional bra, which is great for lower backed tops.


I like the look of full-waisted knickers with long line bras, but I don't really wear them.  So I made up Zoe's free knicker pattern.  Only then I thought the style didn't match the luxe of the top, so I added a band that came down to a V at the front.  I was really happy with the result.


 I think the final result is very luxurious.  Thanks Amy & Zoe!


15 comments:

thornberry said...

It's a beautiful set. That "piping" around the edges really sets it off. You should be very proud of yourself!

Uta said...

This is a lovely set! I can't imagine what you would pay for this in RTW. The "vee" in the panties was a great idea, I bet it's very flattering!

Karin said...

Ooooh la la!
These look great!
Really lux, but also comfortable. The V on the panty waist is a lovely touch.
Thanks for linking to the patterns.

Marie said...

Such a lovely set. It's a great pattern, can't pick which piece I like best.

Robyn said...

They look fantastic - adding the extra band on the undies was a great idea.

liza jane said...

Sooo pretty. I love the look of a long line bra.

Andrea said...

Pretty set! Love the added band on the bottoms.

Pam said...

I adore this longline bra - great job - this is a goal of mine this year and yours is simply brilliant!

MushyWear said...

Luxurious indeed! How awesome to finally have that Aha moment which allowed you to adjust the pattern so that it was successful. Nicely done!

Crab and Bee said...

Wow, these look really nice! And very cool that you'll have your hard-won bra pattern all ready for next time.

velosews said...

They look lovely and very RTW.

Gail said...

Luxurious is a very appropriate adjective.

ginny said...

So fabulous! Beautifully constructed along with wonderful fabric and style --- well done :D!

Zoe said...

What a lovely set of undies!!! Thanks heaps Katherine for leaving me the link to your post. Your undies are an inspiration xxx

Amy said...

Hi Katherine, I'm late to the party but I'm glad you sorted out the fit! What a cute set. Thanks for experimenting with me, too. It's fun to learn together. :)