Bustin' Some Stash!

I just read about Zoe's stash busting over at the Colette Patterns Blog and thought it sounded like a grand idea! I have absolutely NO extra cash for buying new fabrics and certainly not any extra space so I think I'm going to join along with my other sewing sisters who are also diving in! I have so much fabric it shouldn't be a problem! I've posted the little graphic in my side bar over there. I'm also thinking about going through my pattern stash and selling some of them off. I have quite a few vintage patterns that I will never use and it would be nice for them to have a new home where they can see the light of day. Keep your eyes peeled for that. I'll be listing them on my etsy shop!

In sewing news, I did NOT finish my bra and panty set for the Lingerie Contest at Pattern Review. I've just had too much going on. They are both cut out and hopefully I can get it finished this week! I'm babysitting again so I probably won't get anything done today. Here's a little sneaky peek:

Bra sewing again!

I've finally carved out a little time to make myself some new bras! All of mine are getting worn out and after having several conversations about bra making with Kristin, my juices got flowing to make some. Also, Pattern Review is holding a Lingerie Contest. It ends Feb. 14th and I thought I should get busy! LOL! The bra above is a mock up of one of my custom drafted Danglez patterns. If you look closely you can get a glimpse of the fabric I'm using for the contest piece. It's a really fun animal print with swirls and little silver paillette thingies. This bra has a diagonal seam cup and I just love how it fits! The details are more visible here on my dress form:

I wore it all day yesterday and didn't have to tug or adjust and I just love that! The contest bra is proving to be a little bit more difficult than the trial bra. It just sort of sewed itself. The print fabric is really stretchy and lightweight, almost to the point of being a mesh. Needless to say, it has to be fully lined and that makes things fussy. I'll cut a panty or two to go with it. Hopefully, I can get it all done before the weekend!

I know, I'm sorry....

I haven't updated this baby in a super long time! Ugh! I've just been totally bogged down lately with a big custom order and a sick child. She's pretty much well now but was home from school for almost 2 weeks with bronchitis and a throat and sinus infection. Yuck, poor baby! It *almost* turned into pneumonia and thank goodness it did not.

I'm almost finished with the custom order but I ran out of the ribbon so I'm waiting on more of that. I did make some progress on the bra I'm making for my friend Amy (Hi Amy!). The last fitting went really well, I think. We're getting closer to a good fit.

I finished my black and red Danglez bra and a nude Queen Elite some time ago. I think I've finally got a good fit with the QE. The red and black fits good but I think I need to tweek the cups just a tad. There's just something not quite right yet. I might stop sewing bras for myself for just a bit since I've upped my exercise routine and will hopefully start losing weight again. I joined an aqua aerobics class and I still swim in the morning with DH. I love this class though! It's really fun and everyone is sooo nice. It's at our local community college and I was so worried it was going to be full of cute-n-tiny college girls. Well, I'm the youngest by at least 20 years and there are all sizes. Yay!

I have no pictures of the new bras as my camera is sorta jacked up at the moment. It's dying and just needs to be replaced. I can borrow DD's so I can at least post some pics here and at PR.

Well, I better go and get busy. I rearranged my living room yesterday and just have a few more books to put away and need to vacuum under the couch.

*Oh* I have to tell you all that hubby and I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on Sept. 1st! I cannot believe it has been that long, it's gone by so fast. I've been with him since I was 16! How does he put up with me?!

Have a great weekend!

Bra band tutorial!

Finally, huh?
This tutorial is how I make the lower bottom edge fit a bit better under the cups. It also gives the illusion of a partial band bra. Okay, I have a combination of large heavy breasts and a protruding belly. Nice. This can make wearing bras pretty uncomfortable when the band is too wide under the cups. The tummy pushes up against the breasts and underwires and it can rub somethin' awful. When the band is too wide it flips out or sometimes in and is often really painful, causing rashing and other yuckies. I have found using this method relieves a lot of it. There are also several women out there that like the look of a partial band bra but hate wearing wires and wires aren't necessary in a full band bra. I suggest using a really good channeling, though. The stuff I'm using for this bra is from Sew Sassy and it's friggin' awesome! It's the #922.

Okay, seriously, I'm not the greatest tutorial maker. I've only done one other. If you ever have any questions regarding this or bra-making in general please leave me a comment and I'll get back with you.

On to the good stuff!

First things first: Trace your pattern on to tissue or whatever you use. Now, I mostly use European bra patterns and they do not include seam allowances (I'm using my custom Danglez DB3) . If this is the case for you too add your normal seam allowance to all edges except the lower edge on your band. If you're using a Kwik Sew pattern or another company that includes seam allowances you might find it beneficial to just draw them in real quick for future reference.

Normally, I place my elastic on the bottom of my tracing to find my seam allowance:

So, pretending that my pattern below is the fabric, when sewn it will look like this:

With the picot edge peaking out and a nice wide band.

Instead, we want it to look a bit more like this when finished:

With the picot edge essentially peeking out from the bottom of the cup.

My band pattern is in 2 pieces. To get my tracing I butt them together.

I want my elastic to finish where my finger is pointing in the picture above.

I lay my elastic on the pattern, flipping it over and lining it up to that point:

Below, I made a mark where the elastic ended. I moved it up a little so you can see better.

Usually, I use my handy dandy attachment on my rotary cutter to make my seam allowances:

As you can see, the narrowest I can get it is too wide so I can't do that this time.
I measure the mark and get about a 1/4" (6 mm) seam allowance.

Using my ruler I mark my seam allowance all along the bottom.

Now, cut!

Here's the finished band pattern:

Now it's time to cut out your fabric and sew the cups and band together following the pattern's instructions:

Place your elastic along the bottom, lining up the edges.

Line the fabric and elastic up so the needle enters just outside the left edge. When you start sewing grasp the threads and gently pull them while you start stitching. This will help get everything moving along smoothy. (shown above)

sew, sew, sew

Your elastic should look something like this:

I trim my seam allowances. Not absolutely necessary.

Measure down about 3/8" from the top of the band and start sewing on the channeling:

Trim seam allowance.


Lay the bra right side down on your table and flip the elastic to the inside. I pin the elastic down close to the cup/band seam allowance and use my fingers to feel the seam.

Now for the part that sort of gave me a heart attack the first time I did it. Grab your scissors and *GASP* cut the elastic (!) trimming it to fit along the seam. Do this for both sides.
Below, you can see my trimmed elastic and on the table the little piece I cut out:

Move everything over to your machine and start stitching down the elastic as you normally would. I use a 3-step zig-zag.

When you get to the elastic under the cup narrow your stitches to fit and be sure you don't catch the cup or channeling :

Begin stitching down the channeling with a straight stitch:

When you get to the bottom of the cups just stitch right over the elastic. This encloses the raw edge so your elastic will not ravel. Now go sew the channeling down on the other side.

Oooo... that looks nice!

You can see how the elastic/channeling just barely peeks out from underneath the cup. Stitching the channeling down over the elastic it helps it to not flip up, too.

Below is the oustside with wires inside the channeling:

Here's the inside view:

Finish up your bra per the instructions and VOILA! You have a GOR.GE.OUS new bra!

Sewing along

I finished up the danglez DB3 custom bra the other day and here it is on me:

It's really droopy because I didn't add any support or lining. It's just one layer of fabric all over. BUT, the fit is much better! The top cup is a bit large but I think it's due to the lace being a little too stretchy and the bottom cups need about 1/2" shaved off the bottom. I sent some pictures to Dini and she sent back a PDF with the alterations to make to the cups. Groovy! So, that'll be my next project. Also, in bra making news, I joined Sigrid's Lingerie Sew-Along. It should be fun and hopefully I'll learn some more. I'm hoping to get that dang tutorial done too. I've been trying to organize it in my head but I've never done a big tut so I hope I do it right and don't ramble on like I usually do!

I'm currently working on my Beignet skirt from Colette Patterns and I'm so excited about it! I got the pattern cut out and will try to get the fabric cut today. With babysitting and all I just don't get into the sewing room much. Today is the last day though so I should start crankin' more stuff out soon. There won't be any sewing this weekend though because my hubby's band has a gig in Borger, TX tomorrow and I'm an unofficial roadie. Yep, I help load/unload/tear down all their equipment. It's tiring for sure but I enjoy watching them play so it's okay. :-D I also have fun drawing logos for them. The pin-up on the website is mine and I drew the original pin-up that they use on their t-shirts. (Wow, that was a shameless plug, huh?! LOL!) Anyhoo, we won't get back home until early Sunday and we'll be totally exhausted.

I never did get pictures of my new vintage lingerie! Oh well, it'll have to wait till next week. I hope you all have a rockin' wekend!
xoxo,
Heather

New bra!

I got busy yestersay and finished up the Danglez bra from my custom drafted pattern.

I just need to shorten the straps a little and then it will be done. The cups are still a bit big but I think it'll be okay to wear. I'm sort of afraid to make anymore bras since I've started losing weight (3 lbs so far! wOOt!!!). I always lose boobage so I dunno what to do. Anyhoo, I think I will shave off a bit from the bottom cups next time and see how that works. The cups should fit into the band better too since I seem to have to stretch the band to fit the cup. I'm not really sure if that's the way it should be.

I recently found a new independant patternmaker! They are Colette Patterns. They are gorgeous! I purchased three so far and I'm thinking I need the other two!

These are the three I got. I'm thinking about making up the skirt first. From the people that have made up her patterns so far they are drafted tremendously well and the garments fit like a glove. Plus, the pattern sizing is more like RTW and they all go from size 0 up to an 18. So I'm talkin' 46" bust, 38" waist, 48" hip for the size 18! Cool! I personally think that's awesome. Also, the packaging is sooo pretty. Each one is a little booklet with stitched bindings. The instructions are very thorough and include several well drawn diagrams. Yay!

I didn't get the pictures of the vintage lingerie since I was sewing ALL DAY yesterday. I'll try to get that done during naptime this afternoon (maybe). I also took pictures as I was going along so I'll have the tutoral for making a full bra band look like a partial.

I better get going for now. Gotta take the little ones outside for some playtime!

Whoo hoo

Yippee! I got my custom bra pattern from Danglez yesterday! I held up my original tracing to the new pattern and it is considerably smaller. In a good way I think. Dini was also very generous in that she included a patterns for a diagonal seam and vertical seam cup! Cool huh?

I am working on Butterick 5181 view B right now, though. I think I've got the bodice fitted. Well I tissue fitted it and today I want to get a muslin made up to make sure it fits in fabric! I had to do a 3" FBA so we'll see. It's a cute dress and as I've mentioned before I really like this maxi style so I hope it works on me. I'm thinking about wearing it with a little cardigan or something to cover my heavy upper arms. Of course when it's super hot this summer I'm not going to give a crap about my arms! But for now....

I'm totally exhausted this morning. Gene and I started up our swimming again after being off for 3 weeks. We were all sick with coughs and crap but all better now. It's amazing how much strength is lost in 3 weeks! I've also started reading Jillian Michaels' new book Master Your Metabolism. I just started and am only about 1/4 of the way through but so far it's a good read. She talks about all the chemicals and crap that are in our food and environment that are messing up our bodies and how it in turn makes us fat. Very interesting and kinda scary!

Well, I think that's all I have for this post. Will get some pictures up when I have more done on the dress. Also I know some of you are waiting for that tutorial on how to make the front bra band narrower. I have not forgotten! I will get to that ASAP! ;-D

Until then, have a good one!

Merckwaerdigh finished

I finished the Merckwaerdigh CUPL16 bra up yesterday. Here she is:

Here's the cool strap detail:

It threw me for a loop for a little bit. The English translation of the instructions were slightly vague on how to do the whole thing so I just storta went for it and I think I did it right! It looks like the picture....so I say screw it if I did it wrong 'cause this worked and that's what matters!

I do think the fabric is a bit too stretchy. A ridge formed over the seam allowances as seen here:

It shows through clothing and my husband so lovingly pointed out that I look like I'm nippin' all time. Nice. Thanks honey, just want a girl wants. Anyhoo, I'll try it again in a slightly firmer fabric. Maybe 30-40% stretch (this has about 60%). Some other adjustments I'll need to make are:

1. Alter the top cup to bring the straps in by about an inch. As it is they are spaced too far apart so the straps slip off my shoulders occasionaly. Not as bad as my RTW bras but enough to be an annoyance.

2. The band under the cups is too wide so it folds up under my breasts especially when I sit. I'll simply trim the seam allowance so the band elastic is barely visible from the outside. The front band folding up is a common problem for us curvy girls since we tend to have a "shelf" under the breast. The shelf being our tummies.

I'll take pictures as I go along so ya'll can see what I've done. I know several of you out there are making bras for the first time so hopefully this advice will help you along!

My custom pattern from Danglez should be here in the next few days and I'm really looking forward to testing it! I've been stalking our mail woman and all she brings are bills and crap. Well, yesterday she brought me these:

So, I guess I'll forgive her. For now. The two on the top left will be maxi dresses. I'm all about maxi dresses this summer! I LOVE 'em! The pattern on the bottom left is for some very pretty head wraps. A group of us on PR are making caps for people who are undergoing chemo. I haven't had an opportunity to make any up yet since I've been concentrating on bras. I haven't even mentioned it here yet but will go into more detail later. These caps will be donated to my local cancer center. Here's a link to a free pattern if anyone is so inclined to make some up or donation. If you make any up send me link to your pics. I'd love to see them!

xoxo,

Heather

More boobage!

I started on another bra while I'm awaiting my custom pattern from Danglez. This one is Merckwaerdigh CUPL16. I got this from ELingeriA quite awhile ago but hadn't tried it yet. Debbie Cook made a gorgeous 3 piece cup bra from Danglez and it got my sewing mojo flowing to where I just could not wait any longer! When I got to lookin' at my Merckwaerdigh patterns I realized that I have a 3 piece cup pattern, too...duh! Good Lord, I have so much crap I don't even know what crap I have! (Um...not that these patterns are crap, they're actually very good! :-D) I made up a Q&D (quick & dirty) muslin of view B the other day and well.... I'm not to sure if it's going to work. Here it is on Gertie:

As you can see it looks like shit. I tried it on as well as I could and it's just a hot mess. BUT, I think it gives me a good enough idea on how it'll fit. I think. The right cup is the only one I put a wire in and it seems to contain everything. My left breast is bigger though so the cup is a little on the small side. The kicker here is that the pattern calls for a lingerie lycra. The fabric I used for this muslin only has about 18-20% stretch. Below I've used some lycra that I got from ELingeriA in a grab bag. It is like the nicest fabric I've seen in a long time! It's more like a heavyweight swimsuit lycra with about 60% stretch but I'm going to try it and hopefully the extra stretch will help with the fit.



This is how far I got last night. I still need to cut out the band. I'm seriously thinking about using the band from my Dangelz bra since it fits so well and these cups will fit into it.

I had to take a bit of a break since my MIL called this morning and said she knocked her bathroom door off the hinges with her motorized chair. *!* Good gravy! It was no big deal and I was able to fix it quickly. All we had were 3" wood screws so that baby better not fall off again! LOL! I told her if she bangs it again the door will probably splinter where those humungo screws are!! She said she wouldn't take the chair to the bathroom anymore....

Okie dokie, the little kid fell asleep so I'm off to sew some more! Whoo hoo!

Bra update and a tiny tutorial

I just wanted to post my bra after I made some adjustments.

As you can see (maybe), I made three tucks in each upper cup. It allowed me to salvage the bra even though it might be a little clumsy. I've worn it several times and must say it gives me the best support EVER!!!

Are you ready for the best part??? I posted my issues on Pattern Review to get some advice from the ladies over there. Shortly after that I got an email from the owner/designer of Danglez, Dini! She saw where I had problems and offered to draft a pattern just for me! I sent all the pertinent measurements and am awaiting my personalized pattern. Whoohoo! Seriously, how cool is that?! I mean, that is some awesome customer sevice. Dini also offers some really lovely bra making kits (look under Lingeriepakket) and I'll probably pick up a couple of those soon, too.

I'm sewing along with the Great Panty/Underwear Sew Along also on PR. I had a question from Arline and thought I'd post the pictures I sent her here, too in case someone else can benefit. She had a quesion about how to apply elastic to panties so the elastic won't touch the skin. Here's my method. I hope it makes sense. If you click on the pictures it will make them larger so you can read the text easier. Enjoy!

It's been rainin'

I think our apple tree will be most pleased with this and hopefully she'll give us some apples this fall! They are soooo good, let me tell ya! They're the sweet/tart kind htat are perfect for baking....mmmmm yummy!

I've still been sewing a lot ince my last post. I bought a bra pattern from the Netherlands recently and sewed it up the other day. For some reason it turned out incredibly huge! See all that extra fabric on top? Good gravy...

It doesn't look half as bad on Gertie there as it does on me. Of course Gert still has perky breasts. Bitch. Anyhoo, I'm trying to devise a way to save this bra. I really like the fabric and with all the work that goes into it, I just can't bear to scrap it. I'm going to try to take some tucks in the top cup and I unpicked the cup seam to take out a little fullness there, too. I think I might email the woman I bought it from too, who is also the designer, and see what she thinks about the crazy sizing. The band fits beautifully though! In fact, I've never had a band fit so well with absolutely NO adjustments! So, I'm going to trudge on a bit longer and we'll see what's what.

I've also been working on swimwear! That's something new for me. I swim 4 days a week now with my husband and my old suits are quite literally disentigrating. I've tried Jalie 2317 and McCall's 4848 so far with mixed results. I chose the "sporty" version of the Jalie with the legs and it just didn't work. The legs kept crawling up while I swam and it was super uncomfortable and the McCall's was okay except the top wanted to float up all the time. Neither one gave me the needed bust support I so deparately need. A lot of these issues are probably due to the fabric, though. I found it at a thrift shop, for cryin' out loud, so who knows where it really came from. I think with a higher quality fabric I wouldn't have most of those problems. I do want to try the Jalie again and just use the "regular" suit version and try to add an underwire bra inside. In the meantime I ordered a couple of Speedo suits.... yeah, I caved.

I want to leave you all with this video. Have you seen it? AWESOME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY