Plain Vanilla

Learning to sew bras is both challenging and fun. I'm still working on the basics and haven't made it to the really fancy ones yet. That's okay. It's like learning to fit any other garment. There's an order to things as I talked about in an earlier posting - the cup, the band, and the bridge - and then tweaking.

The first bra that I made for myself fit quite well. I had to work a little harder with the ready to wear copy but that was okay. It worked out. The first bra I sewed for my daughter and the one my friend Caroline made for herself also worked out well. Yes, they needed fine tuning but that's to be expected as there are pattern issues and fabric factors for sewing bras just as with other garments. Go figure.




Sharon said that even if her bra didn't fit, she was thrilled with everything she'd learned and was looking forward to learning more BUT... it did fit. We have some changes to the band and the bridge for next time but nothing major. The cup fit quite well right away. YES YES. It was a really fun day together.

While Sharon sewed her bra, I made another one for my daughter Jessica. It's a plain vanilla bra, nothing special, just a little lace along the cup. The first bra I made her was stretch taffeta and the second one was lace with absolutely no stretch whatsoever. Those were not good choices for perfecting fit. This time, I used the basic Simplex fabric and the same Kwik Sew 2374 pattern with some fine tuning.




As I've said before, The Bra-maker's Manual from BraMaker's Supply is an excellent resource if you can get through the horrible editing. On larger cup sizes, the bridge often sits away from the body. The solution is shown above - a wedge. Using this method, I added an extra inch to Jessica's pattern.




Another change was to curve the band to prevent it from rolling at the back. You can see the illustration above and the marked adjustment below. The book is full of all sorts of tips like this as well as information on how to turn a basic pattern into different styles.




Here's how the adjustment looked on the band. That edge then gets finished with the band elastic and makes a gradual curve from the outer edge of the cup to the back clasp. It worked quite well. I'll be interested to see how it fits once I mail the bra to my daughter.

Notice the band fabric? It's from SewSassy.com and - IMHO - is not nearly as nice as the band fabric from BraMaker's Supply. I've read a few postings on Bra Maker's blog and they seem to put a lot of research into quality products. I know that everything that I've used from them so far has worked really well while not everything from other sources has been as wonderful. I'm learning which parts and pieces to order from where and to avoid big orders from SewSassy in order to avoid big duty charges. Both times I ordered from them the border was an issue.

I'll use the SewSassy band fabric for bras with stretch lace so that the band can be covered although - to be fair - it doesn't look nearly as bad sewn up. I've used the black in one of my bras and the white in another and it wears quite well. It's also the same fabric used in my ready to wear bra. It's just not as nice as BraMaker's band fabric.




Here's Jessica's finished bra. I'll mail it to her asap and get feedback on the fit. If it's good, I'll use this pattern for fabrics with some stretch. If it's not good, I'll keep fine tuning. Once that's done, I plan to work on lace bras some more. I sent the earlier photographs of Jessica wearing the green lace bra to the instructor who taught the workshop that I took. She said the fit was quite good already and suggested with non-stretch fabrics to go up a cup size and then shave 1/4" off of the top curve of the lower cup piece to avoid a pointy look. I can see how that might work for both Jessica and myself.

Karen you made me laugh when you said "I love it when you get philosophical about your life and your goals." I'm sure my kids roll their eyes and go please, no more self-help only, I can't really help it. It's how I think, a part of my way of being.

Thanks Alison for the link to the video. I looked up the lyrics to For A Dancer. Some words to ponder. I'm not sure we'll always know the whole reason why we're here but I believe we'll know parts. As a wife, a mother, a friend, there are ways to do a better or a worse job. What I don't know - and will never know - are the ripples, where they go, how far they extend out into the world, how many lives they touch. All I can do is make them as positive as possible.

I got the giggles when I said that "I've done nothing" bit too K-Line. This big long list of stuff done and in my eyes, nothing. So nutty. I'm glad it helped you inject some reality. YES YES. A ripple.

What a FABULOUS idea Lorrie to put our relationships on a list and check them off. Did I talk to _____ today? About what? Was it meaningful? How could it be more meaningful? Was I demanding and discouraging or supporting and encouraging? Hmm... I wonder how listing would change our interactions with our spouse, our children, our friends. I wonder what gaps we would notice that could be filled simply because of that spotlight of attention. OH OH - something to think about between now and our coffee next Thursday. I'm looking forward to it.

For the past several summers, Kyle has worked at bible camp and one of the things he really looked forward to was me cleaning his room. I think it reaches an overwhelming stage and then he doesn't know what to do to stay on top of things. He's a keeper. I worry about his hoarding tendencies so I'm happy to dig him out from under at periodic intervals.

This year, he didn't work at camp and between all that was going on, I didn't get around to cleaning his room until yesterday. It took six hours. Everything is sorted and shiny clean now. His posters are protected in frames and the duvet is covered. I gave up on the top sheet, blanket, and quilt. Apparently those don't work well for him. It's too much work to make the bed and I want the bed made. Earlier this spring, I bought both Kyle and Aryck duvets and yesterday found quite nice covers on sale. Personally, I don't like the puffy look of a duvet. I prefer a heavily quilted quilt but... with a duvet the bed is made better. This is good.

Grocery shopping this morning and then - some sewing time. I hope. Seems like I hardly ever see my studio anymore. This being domestic stuff is hard work - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a shiny clean room