Okay, okay, I know I said the Little White projects were all done. And technically, they are: this project is the Little Black & White Bra!
And it’s also my first front-closing bra; I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, mostly because I wanted to try making a bra with something beautiful on the back, a very popular lingerie look right now. So even though I’m starting with Elan’s B510 pattern, it won’t look much like that by the time I’m done! Or at least not in the back. Fair warning.
Here’s the back of my almost-finished LBWB:
This is the back of my LBWB, just prior to the final adjustment: shortening this white lace panel, because I feel it’s coming up too high on the back of the neck. (The chartreuse fabric is part of a bias slip I’m making; it was already on the dress form, and I thought it looked really cool with this bra.)
My last post was an introduction of sorts to my current project: The Little White Bra, a.k.a. The Bra Before Dyeing (or just “Before”). Now, since this was the first time I’ve used this bra pattern, I’ll show you how I made it, including a few changes I made.
My pattern is Kwik-Sew 3300— I’m being adventurous and trying my first partial-band bra! For those of you who might not know the difference (and I’m not sure I noticed it myself before I started making bras), partial-band just means that, rather than a continuous band running all the way around the bra, including under the cups, the band comes around from the back to attach to the sides of the cups only, with a small bridge piece connecting the cups in the middle, like so:
The Little White Bra I just made, using Kwik-Sew 3300, View A with the lace upper cups and bridge. (Click the photo to see this pattern on Kwik-Sew’s site; right now it says it’s temporarily out of stock. Boo.)
Now that I’ve got my cups sewn into my third bra project, it’s time for one of the main things I’m doing differently than the pattern (Kwik-Sew 3594): adding underwires. That is, at this phase, I’ll be adding channeling to house the underwires, which will get inserted a little later. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
With my cups sewn into the band, I’m ready to tackle the underwire channeling. (Note: The embellishments won’t get sewn in place until the very end; they’re just here right now for inspirational purposes.)
I should trust my instincts. Even while I was making my lace-trimmed thong, I was thinking that I’d cut my lace band too big. But being so new to lingerie-making, how could I have known? And how can I fix this? What’s a girl to do when her thong goes wrong?
Pretty lace… but how much will it stretch when I wear it? (Click the photo to go to ArteCrafts, where you can purchase this lace.)
I’ve now made 2 versions of Ohhh Lulu’s Betty High-waisted Panty pattern, including this lace-overlay beauty, and I’m ready to try something new! The other day, I fished a lace thong out of my panty drawer (okay, it’s more like a bin), and it occurred to me to try modifying a thong pattern to make something similar. In this post, I’ll show you how I made the modifications, and get my pieces cut; next time, I’ll sew my thong together!
Here’s the pattern I’m starting with, Kwik-Sew 3881, which includes patterns for several basic panty styles:
Here’s the panty pattern I’m starting with; I’ll be modifying the thong (View D). Click the photo to view this pattern on Kwik-Sew’s website.
My idea is to replace the upper edge of the thong with wide stretch lace. Here’s the plan:Read More »
I’m now in the planning phase for my second bra! And since I started this blog only after the first one was completed, this time I can show you my process, from beginning to end. I’m starting today with choosing my pattern.
For me, this part is easy. I’m going to use the same pattern as for my first bra: The Marlborough Bra pattern from Orange Lingerie. I’m choosing this because, although my first one really fits amazingly well, there’s a bit of fine-tuning I’d like to make to the pattern this time around.
Tip: According to bra-fitting experts, if you’re smaller-busted, styles with rounder cups will help enhance your shape. Larger girls tend to benefit from the structure provided by cups with 2 to 3 pieces, rather than seamless cups. I generally wear a DD/E cup, so I’ve started with the Marlborough’s 3-part cup.
In this photo, you can see the some of the original pattern pieces (on regular printer paper), and a piece I traced from the original onto tissue paper. The red line is the cutting line, and the dashed green line is the seamline.
The Marlborough Bra pattern is the one I used for my first bra. Now I’m going to tweak some of the pattern pieces for an even better fit. (The book, Demystifying Bra Fitting & Construction, is by Norma Loehr, the designer of this pattern and owner of Orange Lingerie. It’s incredibly thorough, and has given me a lot more confidence about making changes to my pattern, and bra-making in general.)
Okay, it does sound a little weird to say this is my first bra, I admit. It’s been quite a while since the day I struggled to put on the unfamiliar little thing. Actually, my memory takes me more to the feeling of fervently wishing to have reason to wear my first bra! Oddly enough, it’s not that different than how I’ve felt throughout this process of making a bra for the first time: hopeful, nervous, excited, a little shy, and more than a little intimidated.
So, after some initial angst, a great deal of procrastination, a few moments of puzzlement (not to say frustration), and ultimate success, here it is:
My first completed hand-made bra (and matching high-waist panty). See the end of this post for a list of material and pattern resources and links.
myBratelier 