Ooh La La Pin-Up Sew-Along... Starting with Darts and Lining

So what's next for our bras? Sarah has put together another couple of great posts on sewing a long line muslin and cutting your fabric. She has made some very helpful adjustments to the long line version for larger cup sizes including adding stretch fabric to a couple of places.

The pattern we're using...

I'm using the same vintage peach rayon satin that I used for my corset, and I'm also adding another lace overlay to the top half of my bra cups. Like I did with the corset, I have cut out lace pieces and basted them to my two outer upper bra pieces.

My Front Uppers with lace overlay.

I have chosen to line my bra with the same satin I'm using on the outside so here's what I cut out:
4 Front Upper  (#1) in satin, 2 in lace for overlay
4 Front Lower (#2) in satin
4 Back (#) in satin.

I'm basically sewing 2 bras (minus all the trimmings), then sewing them together along the bottom and binding the top together.

Once you have all of your pieces cut out and your lace overlay (if you've chosen to go that route) in place, you can sew the darts in the Front Lower pieces (#2).

Start at the bottom of the dart (the wide end) and stitch tapering to a point at the tip. Instead of back-stitching, I recommend stitching right off the end and cutting your threads a few inches long, then knotting them by hand with a small bit of room under the knot. This can allow the dart to stretch a bit without popping the fabric (if you fill the cups pretty well and take a deep breath, the dart needs some breathing room too!)

Now, there is an alternative to sewing darts in a bra cup. Instead, you can also gather the fabric between the darts and stitch in place. The gathers can be good if you're looking to add the illusion of more fullness to the bra cup. I did this with the Pauline sew-along, you can see how here.

 Once you've sewn all of your darts, you can trim and press them. My fabric is slightly sheer so an untrimmed dart allowance shadow will show through with a vengeance if I leave it to its own devices.

My four darted and pressed front lower bra pieces for outer and lining.

 A pressing ham comes in really handy with a project like this. There are lots of rounds and curves to be pressed. For some reason, I have never gotten around to buying one, though I probably should. If you don't have one at hand, don't worry! I use a rolled hand towel to get the shape I need for pressing and it works nicely in a pinch.

What about you? What fabrics have you chosen work with?

On a side note, I want to thank all of you who have chosen to join Sarah and I for the sew-along. We're both really enjoying ourselves. We love reading your comments, your thoughts and lamentations, and we're always happy to answer your questions. Thanks so much to all 101 of you for making this such a fun experience for us!