Jalie Coco Sport Bra

I get excited when Jalie launches their pattern collection each year.  Normally I select all the ones I want and get them all in one go to minimise shipping.  Shipping to Australia has been disrupted lately, so I decided to go ahead and download the pattern that I was most excited about, and I will order paper copies of the other patterns later.  First up is the Coco Sport Bra.

I've come to realise lately that my collection of Jalie patterns is under-utilised, largely due to sewing the wrong size first time around and not taking the time to sew a different size or make the necessary fitting changes.  This time I was determined to stick with the pattern until I got it right.

Version 1

My first version is made out of the merino scraps on my sewing table after sewing a bunch of merino tees and singlets.  I have read blog reviews of merino bras and been curious to try them, but not wanted to pay the RTW price tag.  I started with Size V.

I didn't have enough merino for the whole thing, so the straps are from a wicking sports fabric.

My cover-stitch machine struggled with all the layers to attach the band.

I have only worn this for one run so far.  The merino is more comfortable than I expected, but overall the bra is too big.  It might be good for hiking in cold weather.

Version 2

I went down a size to U for my second version.  The outer is supplex and the inner is a wicking cotton.  I have put an extra layer of power mesh in the front cups.  I used the same mesh for the inner centre front panel.

When I was trying this on, before adding the band, I decided that there was too much length in the bra overall.  Instead of cutting off this extra length, I decided to add the elastic directly to the bra and fold it to the inside, which you can see on the inside shots.  This elastic does not have as much give as regular elastic and has a fluffy side which sits against the skin.

This one is comfortable to wear but it feels like the straps are a bit long.  I am happy to finally have a bra to match my leggings in the same fabric, as sherbert orange / yellow / pink is more difficult to match that you might think.

Version 3.

For my third version, I removed 2 cm of length from the bottom of the pieces for size U.  I also removed 2 cm from the straps.  The outer is from supplex scraps and the inner from lightweight cotton knit.  Again, I put an extra layer of power mesh in the cups.

I skipped the coverstitch machine and used a zig-zag stitch on my regular machine to attach the band.

Here is a photo of the bra on me (sewing in my pjs!)

I wore this for a run this morning and it worked well.  I am unsure whether I should go down another size.  With the pools shut, I haven't been swimming for a while now, and I have lost a couple of cm circumference across my back, so I think that this will be the right size if I take up swimming again. 

For all of these, I used a narrow 6mm rubber elastic in the seams.  

I'm glad I took the time to play around with the fit of this bra, as it is a great pattern for using up scraps.