A Vintage Brassiere in Profile... 1940's Bra by Siva of Paris

Hello lovely readers. Recently, I've been working on grading a few of my 1940's bra patterns into larger sizes. While doing this, I tested a few for fit and accuracy by sewing a few samples and became SO inspired to sew more lingerie again! In a fit of passion, I pulled all of my vintage brassieres out to study their construction and was again delighted to see the interesting details that these little beauties featured.

If you ever decide to try your had at some historically accurate bra sewing, here a few details you might like to try!

This little bra by Siva of Paris is from the late 1930's to early 1940's. The fabric is a satin coutil, a wonderful, but very hard-to-find piece of fabric for lingerie sewing. If you can't find coutil, a great substitute is to buy a very lightweight satin and baste it to a soft cotton lawn or fine muslin. This has worked wonders for some of my bra sewing projects.

The closure is one of my favorite types, and adjustable length of elastic (with mini buttonholes!) with a hook. These are incredibly comfortable and are still my favorite way to finish the back of a bra.

Random Free Pattern Day

Hello lovely readers. Whew! It's been a while, hasn't it? I know, I've been putting blogging waaaay out on the back burner for quite a while now. To be honest, I don't know how often I'll be able to blog for the time being. I've been dealing with some rather intense chronic nerve pain this year and it makes it difficult for me to do anything, including sit at the computer for very long. I've had every test in the book and so far my half-dozen doctors have just given up and called it Fibromyalgia.
Soooo, that's been a whole heap of fun...

Today, to try and distract myself, I decided to play with some lovely vintage French magazines. I then stumbled across a lovely little sewing pattern included in one of them that I just had to translate and share with you all!

This sweet little pattern from 1939 comes as a diagram with measurements (in centimeters) that should fit a 10 year old girl. It can also be cut on the bias in stripes for a cute little chevron effect.

You can download the pattern for free at my website! Just click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click the "Add to Cart" button, checkout (no payment necessary), and the pattern will arrive in your inbox.

Happy sewing!