Hello Internet Friends!
For the last post of 2019 I wanted to give an update on #operationbradrawer that I started earlier in the year. With that post I showcased the first bra that I’ve ever sewn, a mint and pink Berkley bra! Not only was it the first bra I ever sewed but also my first all lace bra that I’ve ever owned. I was unsure at first if I would like using a lace bra but I was quickly converted when I realized I was constantly reaching for it out of the laundry basket rejecting all of my old RTW bras. I was worried that I would quickly wear it out so I made a second navy version but then never got a chance to blog about it since it was either in rotation or in the washing machine. To start the new year off right (and to stop myself from continuously saying, it’s not that dirty just one more day then I’ll wash it) I decided to whip up 3 more bras during my winter break which I’ll be sharing with you today! At then end I’ll show case two more bras that I made this year that while functional aren’t my faves. So in total that means I’ve made 7 bras this year!!! 2019, the year of the bras!
First up is a long line Watson bra made from a really old blue velvet black bird fabrics lingerie kit. I decided I wanted to have a non underwired bra to add to my rotation so that I could give myself a change for days when I did need to wear a bra but didn’t want to have to wear an underwire, boobed people ya know what I mean! Since making my first bra I’ve discovered I really like the added support and band width that comes with 3 hooked bras so I went for the long line version. Unfortunately the kit had bought came with the small, 2 hooked finding kit so I tried to dye a white 3 hooked one from my stash but the powdered dye didn’t work out so great (I’ve had really good success dying with liquid dye so I would recommend that moving forward). Over all this bra is pretty comfy! I think I have a bit of a smaller than normal chest length as I’ve found with all my bras the amount of strapping is over kill so I think for the next one of these I make I’ll shorten the straps as well as the length of the bra at the front to accommodate for that.
The second bra I sewed this holiday season is a pink and gold Berkeley bra, bringing my Berkeley bra total to 3! I really love this pattern and it’s been a repeat in my sewing queue for a reason, the fit is really great and I really love the construction method for this bra. For this version I used some pink and gold stretch lace from bra maker supply and then dyed elastics from my bra making stash pink to match. I used liquid Rit dye for this and have had no problems with colour fastness or bleeding of the dye which is great! I’m so glad that my other two Berkleys will have a third in rotation to give them a rest and to make the elastics in them last longer.
The final bra that I made this holiday is possibly my favourite! I decided to try out the Black Beauty Bra from Emerald Erin after hearing the rave reviews of the pattern from the recent bra making intensive at blackbird fabrics when Erin was in town to teach this pattern. After making and wearing this bra I can also add my vote of confidence to this pattern, it’s simply fab! It has a bit more coverage than the berkley and a bit more support which make it a nice complement to the bras I already have. I sewed a 32E and it fits perfectly without any modifications! Another great thing about this pattern is that there are a ton of options for both non stretch and stretch fabrics as well as included pieces for using foam, which, after wearing this non foam cup version, I’m already adding as another project to my growing 2020 queue! The only modification I made to the pattern was to cover the power mesh at the back with a lace overlay. I recently bough this beautiful chartreuse and lavender bra kit from blackbird but I didn’t realize at the time that the lining fabric and the power mesh were white and did not match the lavender findings. I could have bought some more dye and dyed them lavender myself but decided to simply cover the power mesh with lace instead. It’s important to note that I didn’t replace the power mesh with stretch lace, just cut a second set of the pieces in lace to cover the power mesh, the stretch lace doesn’t have the required strength for that part of the bra alone.
For any future versions of the black beauty bra I will be making 2 small modifications, first will be to attach the back strapping before the final turn sewing down of the bottom elastic, as you can see in the picture above left, this is what is done with the Berkeley bra meaning that the bottom of the strap is concealed, with the way the instructions are written for the black beauty bra you can see that the strap is on on top of the bottom elastic and the cut end left exposed. I prefer the cleaner looking finish of the Berkeley so I’ll be copying that for my next version. The other thing I’ll be doing is to shorten the front strap length, since, as noted above, I have a short chest length it seams and I don’t have much room to shorten the straps as they are now as the strapping elastic stretches over time.
Now for the two bras that didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted. First is the Mystic bra which was supposed to fill a gap in my bra drawer for seamless t-shirt bras. Since this pattern calls for pre formed bra cups it came together quickly but with this version I get some annoying gapping in the centre front of the cups, you can kind of see it in the photos here. It wouldn’t be a huge problem if it didn’t sometimes show through on both woven and knit shirts. I still have a pair of the foam cups left so I think I’ll modify the cup a bit so that the strap attaches a bit differently to help with some of the gaping.
The second bra that didn’t quite turn out for me is this pretty but not so great Marlborough bra. I had gotten this pattern as a way to use up some of both my stretch lace and woven fabric scraps. The pattern itself was great and well written, i just don’t think this style fits me. It’s not super comfortable, I think the centre front bridge is too narrow for my frame which makes the underwires uncomfortable. I still wear it, but I find I only reach for it when all of my other bras are in the wash. While it looks really pretty I may end up scrapping it for parts to make a better fitting bra.
Well that’s a wrap to my 2019 year of the bras post! Hope this has inspired you to try out some bra making in 2020! Happy new year everyone!