Babydoll

The February challenge over at Bra-maker's Supply was a Baby Doll. 

This reminded me that I had a length of stretch silk georgette in my stash that I bought (possibly 8 years ago), with plans to make a Baby Doll.  Not because I wear Baby Doll style pyjamas, but because I was working my way through the drafts in Kristina Shin's "Pattern-making for Underwear Design".  Whilst I can't submit this in the Bra-maker's challenge because I have not used a Pin-up Girl's pattern, the challenge did give me the motivation to dig this project out and complete it.

Here is my finished Baby Doll.  You can see that it is much longer than a Baby Doll.  I decided I was more likely to wear it as a slip, so I lengthened it to above the knee.

Bra-making is always a good mental challenge, as there are lots of components.  I have a stash of supplies, but they often don't match up to a project, so I have to figure out a way to make my stash work for me.  This often means changing the construction techniques as well.  It is always tempting to go on-line and buy more supplies, but I'm finding that I have perished elastics in my stash, so obviously I am better off using what I have before it goes off than buying any more.

Initially, this project was going to be all black.  I had lots of black components, but my strapping was too wide, the power mesh very stiff and the hook and eye was poor quality.  Whilst I don't expect to wear this often, I do want it to last a long time, so I wanted to use quality components.  I was using a black and beige lace, so I decided to have beige straps.  I found that a beige under fabric showed off the lace better than black.  You can see that I switched from black thread on the floral part of the lace to beige thread.

I used beige power mesh and after vacillating for a while, went with beige elastic instead of black.  Initially I used a black picot elastic to finish the skirt keyhole opening, but it didn't sit flat so I unpicked it and went with a narrow hem instead.  The fabric behaved really well for hemming, both on this opening and the bottom hem.  On the bottom hem, I used the technique of triple stitching to make the hem....one row of stitching around the hem, fold it up and stitch a second round, fold this up and do the final hem stitching.

I used detachable straps, so I can easily switch to a cross-back or halter style.  The straps were ready made from an old bra, so I didn't even need to make them.  Bonus!

This close-up shows such more construction details.  I used a lightweight beige tulle to support the lace.  The bottom band elastic is a wide beige foldover elastic sewn over the seam allowance and then stitched down, so that the seam allowance of the black skirt does not show through the beige power mesh at the back.

The bra pattern for the top of the Baby Doll is one I self-drafted years ago, based on the 3 piece foam cup in section "3.3 The two-dart full cup lace bra pattern" of Shin's book.  Only I should make note that I need to add some height to the CF of the bra, as my full wires did not fit well and I ended up using my 3/4 wires.  It is a good style choice when you want to utilise the edge of some lace.

Bras are some of my favourite things to sew.  I think this is because of all the extra design decisions and thinking about construction that happens along the way.  I also love how you end up with a product that looks almost impossible to construct, even though it doesn't take so very long to make.

Simplicity 8634

I went a bit crazy when I saw all the beautiful printed lycras online at Pitt Trading.  Now I have to sew all the swimwear and leggings!

I recently purchased Simplicity 8634 for $6 in a Spotlight sale.  It seems a terribly good bargain, with leggings, sports bra with cup sizes and t-shirt included. 

My measurements were between M and L, and I sewed up the M.  I had to take in all the vertical seams.  My lycra is very stretchy, but even so, I would recommend sizing down in this pattern.

The leggings pattern includes large side pockets, which I love.  The pattern uses wide elastic for the waistband.  I cut a strip of lycra and encased elastic for my waistband.

I love a bit of matchy-matchy, so I made the sports bra out of the same fabric.

I normally wear a 34B bra, and after reading other reviews of this pattern, I decided to cut out a 32B, and I'm pretty happy with that choice.  I made a few modifications to the pattern.  I eliminated the V piece in the front.  I didn't use the binding on the armholes, instead I changed the order of construction and sewed the lining and outer together with a seam.  For this reason, my straps are narrower by a seam allowance than the original pattern.  I made the bra using 3 layers of fabric; the outer lycra, and inner soft nylon lycra lining and power mesh between the two.

Another happy fabric project :)

Sewing instead of exercise

Recently, I had to give up exercising altogether for a few weeks.  I usually exercise in the mornings, before the rest of my household has got up.  I was still waking up early, so decided to use this extra time at my sewing machine.  Seriously, I only exercise for health reasons.  I would much prefer to sew every day!

My daughter seemed to be busting out of her bras, so I decided to sew her a couple of new ones, in the next size up.  The Orange Lingerie patterns seem to fit her well, usually only needing both the front and back straps moved inwards a little.

This first one is the Boylston Bra, with the upper cup modified slightly and all elastic straps.  Can you see where I cut a hole when I was trimming the seam allowances?  This is the first time I have done this.  Bummer.

I bought a few new patterns, for variety, and the next one is the Lansdowne bra.

When she tried these on, they seemed a little big.  I think she fluctuates in size, so then I dropped back a size and made another Lansdowne.  On the bra above, I didn't line the stretch lace, because it is not that stretchy, but I think the lower cup really does need to be lined if you use a stretchy fabric, so I mended my ways for the next version.  I dyed the lace, mesh and elastics used for this bra.

This fit her, but it didn't have the push-up effect that the pattern promised, so I took some of the volume out of the lower cup, mostly towards the side, and tried again.  This gave more of the push up effect, but I moved the straps in too much on this version.  The black fabric is a lingerie lycra, that stretches on one direction, but not in the cross direction, so you can use it for both band and cups if you lay the pattern pieces in the correct direction.  I love this lingerie lycra, but don't know where to source it again.

Time to move on from the Lansdowne and onto the Devonshire.  I dyed this lace and elastic yellow ages ago.  I saw something similar in a lingerie book.  the inspiration version was beige and yellow, but I decided I liked the ivory with this particular shade of yellow.

One of the things I love about the Devonshire pattern is that it has a chart showing the wires used for the pattern draft.  I have 34B and 34C  wires in two lengths.  It was easy to compare these to the chart and make the changes required for the pattern.  You could choose to cut down the wires, but I don't have the tools necessary to do a neat job of that.  I raised the CF of the cups by about 1 cm, to accommodate my longer wires.

I like the variety of the patterns, but I think the Boylston is the best fit for her.

That was altogether too much selfless sewing, so I sewed up something for me.  This is the Cloth Habit Harriet bra.  I spent ages fitting this the first time around, and now it is time for that fitting to pay off with a quick sew.

The grey fabric is a knit, so I lined the lower cups with the same material that I use to stabilise the bridge and front band.  It is not as soft as bra tulle, and afterwards I thought I might have to cut it out because it did not feel great, but I have worn it for hours at a time and not noticed, so I think I'll leave it in.

Happy sewing!

#BRAugust2019

Okay, so this is not Instagram, but in celebration of #BRugust, I thought that I would post some of my unblogged undies from the past few months.

First up is a pair of knickers cut from leftovers of a t-shirt I made my daughter. This is the back view.  The cotton is fairly substantial, so I made it a quick sew by cutting them as one piece and not even bothering with a gusset.

I made this sports bra to fit in with last year's workout wardrobe entry.  I modified the Sewaholic Dunbar sports bra  to have the strappy back and used fold-over elastic for the edges.

The next sports bra was made from some interesting fabric I picked up from Tessuti.  It appears to be two layers of nylon lycra bonded together.   I separated the layers in the non printed edge of the fabric to source fabric for the bindings.  It is a very supportive bra, but the fabric is not the softest, so I probably should have used something else for the bindings.  The pattern is one I made from cutting up a RTW bra years ago and have made over and over. I used the leftover fabric to make a super quick skirt for my daughter, which was essentially two almost rectangles sewn together at the side seams, with the top folded over to make an elastic casing, and not even a hem. 

The next set is more of a lounging set, as they are not particularly supportive.  It is the Barrett bralette from Madalynne, in a microrib knit.  One of the knickers is traced off RTW and the other is the Megan Nielsen Acacia. 

Next, the Hanna bralette by Studio Costura.  I'm not sure, but I think these knickers might be the Watson brief, by Cloth Habit.  I don't have a favourite underwear pattern.  I have a collection of maybe 6 or 7 patterns and just use what I feel like on the day, taking into consideration the fabric I am using.  This set, made from Dutch knit t-shirt scraps, has become my go-to, as it is super comfy as well as being a little bit pretty.

This week I finally got around to making a matching Jalie3131 bra for these Jalie 3886 Julia briefs, which are also Dutch knit leftovers.  You can see the briefs have faded already.  I tried to make a Julia bra, but it was a disaster, due to my elastic choice and pattern size.  The elastic on the bottom of this bra band is so firm that I have had to add an extra set of hooks to get it to close.  I haven't worn it yet, but I'm hoping it is as comfy as my previous versions.

Pretty good scrap busting!  I like my underwired bras, but bralettes are fabulous for using up scraps, and new knickers are always welcome.

Underthings

I'm bundling a few projects together in this post.

The above photo shows a batch of bras that I made for my daughter.  I never thought that I would sew bras for anyone else, but I like sewing, and I have enough clothes for myself, and she needed bras, so there we go.  The bottom one is the Marlborough, and sadly, it was too small.  The top 3 are variations on the Boylston bra, which I have never made for myself, but I thought would suit her.  It is actually more fun sewing for her because the only fit changes I needed to make were to move the straps in, at both the front and the back.  I need a whole heap of fitting changes to get a bra pattern to fit me.

These cute swan knickers were made using Jalie 3886 Julia, using a cotton knit fabric left over from a dress for my daughter.  This panty pattern is great, but the matching bra I made was such a disaster that I didn't even finish it.  I think for the Julia bralette, I need to choose a larger size for the band than the bodice.  The band was way too tight.  Also, I find fold-over elastic to be too flimsy for bra straps, probably more so because this cotton knit is quite firm.  Also, the bralette darts seemed a bit odd.  I haven't given up on this pattern though, and will us it again, choosing a different size and different straps.  I still have enough of this fabric to make another bra, but I think I will make the Jalie 3131, as my last two versions were worn until they fell apart.  

This bralette is made using the free Barrett Bralette pattern from Madalynne.  I made this on the morning before I left for a long flight, and it was so comfy for the journey.  I am surprised by how often I reach for this one, because usually I prefer underwired bras to bralettes.  I did change the position of the straps at the back, as I have a lot of tops with cut-away armholes.

Another bralette pattern I like is the Hanna Bralette from Studio Costura.  I modified this pattern to make a couple of bikinis; two for myself and one for my niece.  They are good enough to swim laps in, or catch a few waves at the beach.

It seems to be getting a bit harder to find fabrics and notions for bar-making in Australia than it was a few years ago.  In spite of my extensive stash, I had to order a few bits and pieces to make the bras for my daughter, and I ended up ordering some duoplex and elastics from Nellie Joans in NZ.  I know about Booby Traps, but if anyone can give me info on Aussi suppliers for bra-making, it would be appreciated.


Happy Sewing xx

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). 

Cotton + Lace

I always meant to improve my sewing efficiency by sewing in multiples and what better time to do this than sewing underwear?  This was my first project for 2018.  Not shown here is my first pair, which were sewn using Simplicity 8436...I like the idea of a lace back, but these did not have nearly enough coverage for me.  I also own the Evie La Luve Frankie pattern, which has a variation with a lace back, but my plaid pair made from this pattern do not fit me so well, so I decided to draft my own.

I started with a pattern for a bikini brief traced from a RTW pair that I like.  The website "Pattern School" no longer exists, but I used the technique I learnt there to alter the pattern for a centre back seam for a closer fit, and to enable the back to be cut from stretch lace.

This is my favourite pair.

The cotton front makes them comfy enough for everyday wear.

I have a large box of lingerie sewing supplies.  Until now I have been restricted in sewing it up because I was always wanting to sewing matching bras and knickers, and it is tricky to get all the right fabrics in the right weights and stretchiness to go together.  This year I have decided to liberate myself from the matchy-matchy.  This means more fun for sewing, and less time to get dressed.

This is my first pair, sewn from remnants.  The front is a silk jersey.  I forgot to photograph the back to show the cut-out at the upper back that results from using a narrower lace.  It makes for a cute feature, but is the reason my the top edge is finished with fold-over elastic instead of regular lingerie elastic.

I'm really happy with this pattern and will be using it many more times.  I did tweak it several times over these iterations, with the final pattern probably being about 1/2 size bigger than my starting pattern.  Now that I have been wearing these for a while, I would make one last tweak, by cutting the leg curve in a smidge higher.

A couple of people asked how I created the pattern piece for the back, so I have edited this post with a few extra photos.

This is my starting back pattern piece.  I have marked the side seam, waist, leg opening, crotch and CB, as it is really easy to rotate the pattern and cut or sew it the wrong way.

Make several slashes from the leg opening to the CB.

Overlap each slash at the CB.  Depending on the pattern you start with, the total overlap could be up to 6 cm.  Mine was less than that.

Now you need to add on a seam allowance at the CB.  If you are cutting the pattern out of lace with the scallop edge on the leg-line, you can straighten the leg-line and remove the elastic allowance on the back leg-line.

That's it, easy peasy!