Sports bra prototype

Well, I already posted this over at PR and on the lingerie sew-along I belong to but I thought I might share it over here too. I think my mom reads this sometimes so she can get a sneaky peak! (Hi Mom!)

Most women can attest that as soon as they find the perfect RTW bra it becomes discontinued by the manufacturer shortly thereafter. Well, this happened to Mom recently. So frustrating, isn't it?! Anyhoo, I had her give me one of her older, worn out bras to see if I could replicate it for her. This is the prototype I came up with:

The original is a sports bra with molded cups. I used the method suggested in Beverly Johnson's book about laying pieces out on a foam board and then using pins to "trace" around all the parts. I folded the cups in half until they laid flat and made a 2 piece cup from that. Here are the pattern pieces I came up with:

This was the first time I attempted copying a RTW bra and it went quite well. Faster than I expected. It sewed up extremely fast too which is fantastic! If it fits her I can whip her up a drawer full in a day! Cool! You can get a better idea of the style here on the form:

The original also has a power bar which I traced off but did not add to this bra. If everything fits I will add it next time. This here is just one layer of a heavyweight Victoria's Secret Satin that I got from Kathy's Lace & Elastic Outlet (see side bar for link). She get's fabric from them every once in awhile and I was lucky enough to snag this.

I'm currently working on a bra for me! I really need some more and this one is going to be red and black. Va va vavoom! I have quite a bit of red 50 denier tricot I bought from Needle Nook so that's what I'm using for the cups. Well, the top cups are going to be from black and red lace I got from Elingeria in a grab bag. It should be cute and maybe a little sassy....

Well, I'm off to get laundry started and load the dishwasher. Gotta get this joint cleaned up a bit!

Have a great Monday!

Oh, on an end note... Here is another hightlight from Colorado!

The dinosaur museum in Woodland Park was actually the first thing we did after checking in to our room. I had forgotten! My son LOVES the dinos so it was a highlight. Here's a funny tidbit: another little boy came up to Conner and told him not to touch the bones and that there was a sign that said "Do Not Touch" (I'm guessing he had heard this a few times himself). Well, Conner didn't like that too much so after the boy walked away he promptly turned to his daddy and said: "The dinosaur bones come alive and eat that boy!!" How stinkin' cute is that!? Somewhat violent....but funny, and a good story to tell!

Home!

Well, we're back. We actually got home late Thursday. And can I just say, I feel like shit! I caught some kind of cough while we were there and it really sucks! I'm feeling a little better today though so that's good. We had the best time and I really didn't want to come home. You know, back to the real world of laundry and dishes. We crammed so much into the 5 days we were there. It rained on us 4 out 5 of those days but it was cool 'cause we got everything done in the morning and the rain didn't come till the late afternoon. Well, except on Saturday. We got to our motel pretty early and decided to go check out the Garden of the Gods. The picture above is from there. It is just gorgeous there and we went walking around and hiking on the little trails. The sky started rumbling over the mountains and we saw lighting far off. We decided to make our way back to our car and, of course, it starts sprinkling. Then comes the downpour! So, everyone in the park runs screaming towards the rocks to find shelter. We were completely soaked through! It was fun though. Probably when I caught this damn cold.

More highlights to come!

In vacation mode!

Tomorrow we are off to Colorado for 6 days! Whoohoo! I haven't been in several years and I can't wait to get back. My little family has never seen the mountains so it should be exciting for them, too. We're going to be in the Colorado Springs area and see all there is to see (well, a lot of it anyway). Plus, it's hopefully a lot cooler there. It's supposed to be like 109 here or some such bulls@#t. Man, I hate hot weather!

I'll see y'all on the flip side!!!

It was time....

My son's hair has been long for the past few years. Ranging in length from just below his ears to past his shoulders. We had a new family move in next door recently and they have a little boy who is just a teensy bit older than our li'l guy. Well, they hit it off, of course, and soon Conner was saying he wanted short hair like his new friend's. Oh, uuummmmm.....okay. Well, this went on for a few weeks and we kept asking him if he really wanted to get his hair cut short. He continued to answer in the same way: "Yes!" I think we were asking ourselves if we wanted him to have short hair, really. My husband and I love his long hair! So, a few days ago I gave him a trim and cut about 2 inches off his hair (I've been his barber since birth) to just below his ears. Well, that just wasn't enough for him! He wanted it short like his friend's. Oooookay.... we made the decision to take him to a real barber, the same barber that gave my husband his first haircut and subsequent haircuts as a child and adult (now he just shaves it all off), partly because I'm not a trained hairstylist and because I didn't want to start crying in the middle of cutting his hair and really screw it up. I made my husband take him. I just couldn't. My daughter and I went the the grocery store and the boys went to the barber. Gene took the camer along to document this most monumental occasion.

SO, here he is at the barber's smiling big. That's Jerry the Barber in the background.

Whoa...here goes!

Sorta Emo now.

Making the spikies. Conner calls it 'making his hair sharp'.

Ta Daaa!

When we got home from the store they were already back and he came running to the car. Meghan and I both squealed (literally) "OMG, He's soooo CUTE!!!" The neighbor across the street was outside watering his flowers and he probably thought we were half crazed! He looks so different, though. I was nervous but I really love it!

Love ya big guy!

Colette Beignet

I finally got my review up on Pattern Review for my Beignet skirt. I still haven't made the belt but, oh well! I thought I'd post my review here, too. And can I just say that I never realize just how big my rack is until I see pictures of myself! I mean, good grief.... Okay, sorry, TMI.

Pattern Description:

From website:

High waisted straight skirt provides a very flattering shape with paneled styling: not too loose or too tight around the hips, with a very fitted waist. Buttons up the front, has side seam pockets, and includes a self tie belt, which can be swapped out for your own narrow belts. Skirt has a faced waist, button placket and full lining.

Pattern Sizing:

0-18. Sizes run similar to RTW.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?


I think it looked pretty close considering I'm a bit more on the ample side! LOL!



Were the instructions easy to follow?


Oh, the instuctions are great! Seriously, I think that a beginner could easily follow along. Plus, Sarai has a glossary in the back with some of the sewing terms she uses throughout. The diagrams are wonderful, too!



What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?


This pattern is so well written and beginner friendly! It has quite a few pattern pieces including all the lining pieces but I really found it to go together quickly. The subtle shaping at the waist and hip just skims over the body and it fits so nicely!
Back.
Another front view.
It also comes in an adorable little booklet format and it's binding is, fittingly, stitched! CUTE!



Fabric & Notions Used:


I used a peach-y/coral-y cotton twill I found at the thrift shop last summer. The lining is just some white nylon tricot. The buttons are some big ol' fat buttons that came in one of those big button grab bag kinda things you can buy at Hobby Lobby and the like. I couldn't believe I had twelve of the exact same button. They are a bit too thick though and are more intended for a coat or something. Next time I'll use a smaller button. Do be sure to read through the pattern to see what all you'll need. I noticed the supply list on the back has a few errors. I'm sure it will be fixed in the next printing but just thought I'd put that out there for ya!



Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:


This pattern goes up to an 18 and my measurements would put me at a 20 if the sizes had continued on. Each size increases by about 1/4" so I just added that much to each piece where the sizes graduated up and not to every seam. Does that make sense?? One thing I should mention, too, is that although the pattern calls for 2 1/2 yards of fabric I used maybe 1 1/2 yds or just a tad more. The extra length printed on the pattern is due to the length of the self tie belt. If you piece the belt instead of cut it as one long piece you should be good to go with less fabric. (I still need to make the belt, btw. I just haven't gotten around to it.)I was also able to squish the pattern pieces closer together using even less fabric.



Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?


Oh yes, I'd really like to make this again. This was more or less a test garment to see if I'd like this shape on me. I don't normally wear skirts this short but I think it looks okay on me! I do recommend it as well! I think this style will look great on lots of different body shapes.



Conclusion:


This is an awesome new independant pattern line and the designer, Sarai, is super sweet! I love all her designs and have most of them so far. Go out and support our independant designers!!!