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.

Lingerie Competition...Let the Voting Begin!

Lovely readers! The much-anticipated day has arrived! Your entries have been an absolute pleasure to see and I can't wait to share them with you.
Once again, there will be one winner and prize for each category (bra, corset, and panties) and contestants are allowed to win more than one category.

All votes (yours, your friends'; anyone can vote once for each category!) must all be in comment form on this blog post so that Sarah and I can keep track of them.
 Let's get started, shall we? And dare I say it, (I'm afraid I must) "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Here are the very talented contestants according to their categories. They will have little introduction. Normally I would gush but I'm supposed to be impartial (rules, boo!). To see more pictures of their entry, just click on the username under the picture. You can just vote for them by their numbers if you like!
(Please note, the numbering is random, and just there for voting convenience.)

The pattern we used...

#1 Bra by TroubleandStrumpet

#2 Bra/ Bathing suit top by Farmhouse Garde

#3 Bra by MissFloFlo

#4 Bra by Annei-Priscina

#5 Bra by Yvette

#6 Bra by Farmhouse Garde

#7 Bra by TogglesT

#8 Bra by PurplePinCushion

The pattern we used...

#9 Corset by TroubleandStrumpet

#10  Corset by MissFloFlo

#11 Corset by Charmel

#12 Corset By Charmel

#13 Corset by Yvette

#14 Corset by KLCreations

#15  Corset by KLCreations

#16 Corset by AnnabelleBumps

#17 Corset by Miss Charlie

The pattern we used...

#18 Betty Hipster Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#19  Betty Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#20 Betty Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#21 Betty Panties by Annei-Priscina

#22 Betty Panties by IndoorKitty

#23 Betty Panties by Yvette

Whew! And that's it! If I missed your entry, please let me know and I'll add it in. Everyone can vote once for each 3 categories. Invite your friends and family to vote for you, share on Facebook, Twitter and your blog, and good luck!

Voting will end on February 25th and we'll announce the winners on February 26th!

Ohh La La Pin Up Sew Along... Your Hook and Eye Closure

The pattern we're using...

All right Ladies, it's that time. Hook and eye time. First, allow me to disclaim a bit. This is not my very best work. I did this on day 4 of NO sleep (hurray for medicine side effects) so my pictures and sewing both are a wee bit blurry, I apologize.

This is a bit of a long post so feel free to stop half way though and have a glass of wine. I did.

The right hand side of the tape will be our 'raw' edge.

 Start by cutting the length of hook and eye tape you need for your back closure. I recommend doing this with the hooks and eyes locked together to avoid any mismatched edges.
Decide which side you want the hooks and eyes on. I went with the standard bra formula of Hooks on the Right, Eyes on the Left.

Let's start with they eyes, shall we?

Ooh la la Pin Up Sew-Along... What will you need?

I'm so excited by the overwhelming number of you who want to participate in the sew along! The most important thing I want you to take away from this experience is the knowledge that sewing lingerie is NOT SCARY!

"Blue Eyed Monster" Hugh J. Ward, 1930

I started sewing my own lingerie when I was just a novice. No one told me it would be hard so I started with a vintage tap pants pattern and it was still one of the easiest things I've ever sewn!
Think about it... most vintage lingerie is really just a bunch of small pattern pieces, quickly cut out, quickly sewn together and finished off with a buttonhole or two!

There are three simple things I recommend if you're new to sewing lingerie:

Ooh la la Pin Up Sew-Along... with a giveaway, of course!

Ladies, I present the Ooh la la Pin-Up Sew-Along:

I've been talking for a while with a fellow blogger about doing a joint sew-along and now it's finally happening! The lovely and talented Sarah from Ohh Lulu is even more interested in lingerie than I am, if that's possible. And she's good at it too, enough to open a lovely shop of her own on etsy.

Sarah and I have decided to start with the French Pin-Up Corset Garter Belt pattern that I just recently finished.

If all goes according to plan, we'll also follow up with the French Pin-Up Bra Corselet.

And of course I would never do a Sew-Along without a coupon code! Take 15% off using the code "OOHLALA". Make sure that you click on the "Apply shop coupon code" link to add the code, otherwise etsy will charge you the full amount.

Sarah and I are working as we speak on our corset garter belts and we'll start posting soon, but not before you have a chance to gather some of the things you might need. I'll be working with a vintage peach satin for my corset and bra, and so far here's what you might need depending on what version you make:

I've got about 2 1/2 yards of fabric for both corset and bra.
4 garter clips,  (optional) vintage or otherwise. I recommend removable ones if you can find them.
eyelet and eyelet punch or 1/2 yard hook and eye tape
corset boning (optional)
3 yards of matching bias binding or ribbon for edges
2 yards ribbon or cord for corset lacing (eyelet version only)
1/2 yard ribbon or plush elastic for attaching garter clips
3 bottles of wine

Naturally, there's also a giveaway attached! One of you will be chosen at random to win BOTH of these patterns!
To enter the giveaway you can do any or all of the following, just leave a comment for each entry to get your name in the hat!
1. Leave a comment telling me what your absolute favorite piece of lingerie is.

2. Become a follower of A Few Threads Loose on Twitter, Google, or Bloglovin'.

3. Like A Few Threads Loose on Facebook.

4. Like Mrs. Depew Vintage on Facebook.

5. Mention the Sew-Along on your blog.

I'll announce the winner this Tuesday the 21st.
Good luck!