Bra-vo!

Review here.

A couple of comments on the dye job. I am NOT a dye whiz. The dyes I used I purchased a long time ago from Elan when they still had a website. They are powder "jacquard" dyes which seem similar to the Acid dyes Dharma sells. You only have to add vinegar to the hot water/dye bath. I did this in a stainless steel pot. Most bra fabrics are nylon, which dye very well (and very fast). Polyester won't dye at all at home. If you don't know what color you want when you're done, sew with nylon thread (YLI makes some) so the thread will dye too. That's about the extent of my dye knowledge.

Progress Report - Update

Since first typing this blog entry a couple of hours ago, I finished sewing the bra. It fits great. The fit on Zillie is not as great, but good enough for a pic. No cup alterations were necessary.

Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to dig out the dye and be able to call this one done. I'm very impressed with this pattern and will be writing up a proper review on PatternReview.com soon.






I still have a little more left to do to finish this bra. I've been in and out of the sewing room all day, splitting my time between sewing, cleaning, shopping, web surfing, etc. I do plan to finish it tonight.

I have a concern about the areas highlighted in green. It seems "poofier" than any of my other bras but I won't be able to know for sure until I try this on. I'll be able to sew out the excess if needed. The inside won't be as nicely finished, but it's not like I'm lifting my shirts and letting people look at the inside or outside of my bras. ;-)

Looking for a 30-hour day

There just aren't enough hours in the day. I had to stop on the bra for today and do some household things, like setting up the new bed that was delivered today for DS#2. He's been away since Tuesday at a State Drama "thing" in Tampa with his high school and many more high school drama departments from all over Florida. Dramatic Teenagers all over downtown Tampa, as if they weren't already dramatic enough. LOL! Anyway, he'll be surprised when he gets home tomorrow. He's going from a twin to a queen.

So, back to the bra … this pic is just a little before where I left off. This is the next one cut, with construction started. Right now, it's white with copper stretch lace. But I'm sewing with nylon thread and plan to dip the whole thing in dye when I'm done (and if it fits, of course).

I took this pic to emphasize that when you are sewing a bra, you should be very careful with your pieces. Keep them laid out on the table as they will be sewn. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to mix up a left and right piece. I learned this the hard way a few years ago.

That's my helpful hint for this evening. LOL!

I plan to get up tomorrow morning and work on this some more. I'll post again when I have progress to show.

We Knew There'd Be Alterations

But that's why I'm sewing my own bra, right? To get one that fits *me* (and the girls). Really, though, this one is pretty darn good for a first go. I'm thrilled.

Here's the ugly muslin. Yes, those are fish. No, I have no idea what I was thinking. I hope I was thinking to use this for a muslin but it's been so long since I bought it, I can't swear to that.



I sewed this tester just as you see here – simple straight stitching, no seam or edge finishing. I did not use channeling, wires, edge elastic, or even powernet. This muslin was just to test the fit of the cups and to get a starting point. I did use some strap elastic and real hooks, though. Safety pinned bras are just too hard to get in and out of. Trust me, I know.

Because there's absolutely no support in this muslin, I tried it on over an existing bra to see if:

1. Do the cups contain all they need to contain? Yes. The bottom of the cup is perfect. The top edge goes high enough.

2. Are the seams hitting in the correct spots? Yes. The diagonal intersects the apex.

3. Does the band go all around me? Yes. It's a bit big right now, but powernet instead of Lycra fish will fix that.

4. Does the center panel lay against the breastbone? Yes. It's hard to tell over the RTW bra because the RTW is not as good in this area anymore since its wires are misshapen from age and wear.

5. Are the straps in a good place. No.

As you can see, there's only one area that needs adjustment. At least at this stage. I may change my mind after sewing the next bra, which will be a "real" bra with all the support-y things I left off of this muslin.

Here's what it looks like on me. That white stripe down the center is just the odd fabric.



And with the seams drawn in:



Using the bra I was wearing underneath as a guide, I used a narrow strip of yellow duct tape to "draw" a line where these pieces should end on me. I actually just happened to have this duct tape in my sewing room. Serendipity!



I haven't given it much thought yet, but I believe I'm just going to lay my pattern tracings over this edge, mark the adjustments, and trace two new pieces. I suppose this would be a "narrow shoulder adjustment" in a bra. ;-)



As I mentioned, I did sew on strapping elastic and hooks. But I used a zigzag and contrast thread so it would be easy to rip and use over. That's a little tip in case you didn't recognize it. ;-) I'll leave this test assembled for now, at least until the next one is sewn.



Next, I'm going to hop in the shower, take the dogs for a walk and then get back at this while the Mojo is still strong.

Weekend Sewing

OK, the panties are done so now it's time to get busy on the upper half. I've sewn my own bras before but for the last couple of years, I've been doing OK with finding RTW that fits. Until it was discontinued. And my supply of every last one in my size that I could find finally gave out.

An old PatternReview.com thread on plus-size bramaking was recently revived and Heather posted some photos of a Danglez bra she's working on. Together with seeing that and Sigrid's beautiful Sewy bras over the last year or so, I was duly enabled. Off to ElingeriA.com to buy some European bra patterns, all of which are different enough from the few American patterns available that I just had to try them.

The ElingeriA website is both German/English (look for the little flags in the upper right corner) and Michaela, the owner, is very helpful if you need assistance choosing sizes, etc. Note that Paypal doesn't always work when checking out so if you run into that problem, choose bank draft and leave a note for Michaela to send a Paypal invoice and she will take care of you within 24 hours.

I ordered my patterns last Saturday the 18th and they were in my mailbox today — from Germany! Here's what I bought:







After dinner, I traced the Danglez DB4 (first one above) and added the seam allowances. The instructions for these patterns are in German only and have no illustrations so if you don't know how to sew a bra (or read German), you'll need a reference. Correction: The Sewy is well-illustrated. The Danglez are not. But Michaela does have an English instruction PDF for the Sewy bra on her website and those instructions transfer pretty well to the Danglez patterns too. However, specific basic techniques applicable to all bra sewing are not fully covered so bramaking beginners may still need a reference. The cheapest instructions would probably be a Kwik Sew pattern. More expensive references include Making Beautiful Bras and The Bramakers Manual. I have the former and the latter is on my wishlist. But because I don't really *need* it, it's still on the wishlist and not on my bookshelf. Although I did just get my first tax refund in about 15 years direct-deposited into my checking account today ... hmmmm .... ;-)

After the pattern work, I went ahead and cut out a "muslin" using some very bright fabric I bought years ago for bras. I'll sew it "down and dirty" and will not expect a wearable bra out of this. I just want to know how it fits and for that, I need to sew the whole thing.

I'll start sewing in the morning. It's been a long week and I may pass out over the sewing machine if I try to do any more on it tonight.

A note for Marie-Claude: While you're correct that this is a Dutch pattern company, this is the German version of that pattern (I bought it from a German site). I believe the Danglez patterns do also have English instructions and, of course, Dutch, if you buy directly from their website.