Fenway x Four

After batch sewing some undies, I decided to batch sew some bras, using a new pattern - The Fenway Bra from Orange Lingerie.

Bra patterns for me always require fitting adjustments (which is why bras are the most useful thing I can sew...it is hard to adjust RTW to fit).  Usually I start with a 34B, but sometimes I find the bands a bit tight, even though my measurements match a 34 band, so this time I went for a 36A instead.

After making a muslin and comparing the pattern to some of my other bra patterns, I took out some volume from the lower cup pieces, as shown in the photo below.  I also adjusted the upper cup piece to fit, but for some reason, I can't find a photo of that.

This is my first finished version, made up from beige materials from my stash.

I was pretty happy with the first bra, so I made up a second bra using a peach kit from Tailor Made.  The duoplex in this kit did not match the other bits and bobs as well as I would have liked. I am wondering if the sheer fabric was meant to cover the duoplex?

I wear a lot of sleeveless tops, often with cut-away armholes, so racer-back bras are pretty useful in my underwear collection.  I have dabbled with racer-back bra patterns before, but I find it difficult to sew the front-opening style evenly and sometimes it can be a bit of an effort to wrangle my way into the back opening ones.  For a while now, I have been meaning to adjust a pattern so that the shoulder straps are positioned more inwards.  I thought that this pattern would be a good candidate for that.  In the photo below, you can see the changes I made to the upper cup, to move the straps closer together.  I also changed the back piece to a T back rather than a U back.

I made this pattern up in black.  The lycra was stretchier than the power mesh used in my earlier versions, so I really should have dropped back to a 34 band.  Also, the black fold-over elastic is not as good a quality as the others.  Apart from that, my changes were quite successful.  

The bra has a bit of a sportier vibe than the original pattern, and you can see how closely I positioned the straps in the back.

I decided a pale version would be more useful than a black version, so I sewed a fourth bra using the leftover peach duoplex from the Tailor made kit with some lace from stash.  This time I dyed the elastics to match.

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out and have ordered elastics to make some fancier versions...but in the meantime, my sewing has moved in other directions.  I will be making this pattern again, but I don't know when :)

(BTW I edited my previous post to show how to convert an undies pattern to one with a CB seam, for those of you who were asking how I did this).