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!