Sewing 610... Straps, Closures and a finished bra!

 
Let's discuss bra straps!
I have chosen to use some very delicate silk ribbon for my straps. I'm going for a very dainty, light weight, almost gossamer effect with this bra and I don't want too heavy of a strap. However, I can get away with that because, let's face it, I'm tiny up top and I don't need any support. If you're larger up top and using a heavier weight fabric than charmeuse or crepe de chine, I recommend using either purchased straps or at least silk satin ribbon. It's heavier and sturdier.

If you'd prefer to make some adjustable straps of your own, check out this great tutorial over at Ohhh Lulu.

For a more hand-stitched route, you can use this old-fashioned technique for adding bra straps to a finished bra without sewing the strap between layers.

I chose to sew my straps between the layers this time just to mix things up.
You'll need to test the fit of your bra at this point and (with some help if you can get it) pin a length of ribbon to the front and back of the bra to help you measure how long your strap should be.
As a starting point, my straps were about 20" long with seam allowances figured in.

Before starting on straps, place the two bra layers right sides together, then pin and sew the bottom seam only. This makes it easier to wrangle your layers when doing the next two steps.
--Tip for working with slippery fabrics: Years ago, I remember asking my Mama about how to work with slippery silk and she responded with "When in doubt, sweetie, just pin the hell out of it!" Mama was right - it works like a charm.

Now the easiest way to sew a bra strap (ribbon) between layers is below. Simply roll that sucker up and paper clip it, leaving a few inches out to work with. This will keep your ribbon from straying all over the place as your work with it, and more importantly, it keeps your ribbon from going rogue and  getting caught in a seam somewhere!

A paper clip can keep your ribbon from going rogue.

The best place for your bra strap placement at the front is just to the outside of your upper dart, though during a fitting with your muslin, you should test and see if this works for you too.

My two layers of fabric, open at the top and ready for the ribbon.

Add the ribbon just to the outside of the upper dart (the side closest to the under-arm).

Pin the ribbon in place securely and then tuck your rolled and secured ribbon in between the two layers.
The back end of the straps is going to be stitched to the outside of my bra once everything else is finished.

Now for the bra back closure. I'm using my usual French bra back closure (I won't use any other closure method any more!) but you can use any other method you're comfortable with.
For a button and ribbon loop closure, check out this tutorial.

You want to make sure that any bra closure method you use is facing to the inside of the bra as you sew the layers completely together. That way, when you turn your bra right side out, the closure is on the outside.
If you go this route, test your closure on your muslin version. You'll want the hook opening to be facing up, but which side do you want the hook on? Left or Right? This depends on what feels most comfortable for you and perhaps which of your hands is dominant.

Once you have your closure pinned securely in place, (this is another good time for a fitting!) you can pin the rest of the outer and lining together, matching seams and darts.

Stitch the layers together, taking time to back-stitch at the bra strap edges and closure for extra strength. Be sure to leave at least a 2" gap open towards the back so that you can turn the bra right side out!

First trim down the corners of the back of the bra, then carefully turn your bra right side out, press the edges, and slip-stitch the gap closed.

To secure your bra straps to the back of the bra, you can either  use the old fashioned method mentioned above or do as I did.
I simply folded the raw edge under 1/2" and then hand-stitched the ribbon about 1" away from the back of the bra edge.

Annnnd, we're done!

I pressed the black edge of the bra up just a tiny bit fron the blue side and it the way it sits looks like there is a little bit of contrast piping.

I'm in love with my French knots... I want to put them on absolutely everything now!

Did we just sew a completely reversible bra? Why yes, yes we did ;)

Tada!

Any questions, my dears?

P.S. For those of you just tuning in, you can find all of our Sewing #610 posts, as well as where to find the pattern by clicking here.

Lingerie Sew-Along: Tap Pants Lace Inset and Front/ Back Facings, Part 10

Today we're going to go over the lace inset, and the front and back facings.

In the first post on the tap pants, we traced out a pattern piece for the lace inset. (Before you add any extra to the size of the pattern).

It might come in handy to fold the inset pattern piece in half so that you have a crease guiding you to the center of the inset.

I am using a vintage lace trim several inches wide. The source of the lace? My awesome mother!  Your steps may be different depending on what type of lace you use. What I did above was just center the inset pattern piece over the two scallops so that I could cut my trim at the right point. Then I cut two lengths of the lace, one for each leg.

I have marked the very center of the spot where I'll be laying in my inset on the RIGHT side of the tap pants leg. Since I have chosen to use a scallop- edged lace, I will line up the center point of my two scallops with the pin.

lace inset being set up on the RIGHT side of the pantie leg.

First I lined the scallops in the lace up with my pin marking the center point. Then I laid the inset pattern piece over and pinned it in place to both the lace and the pantie leg. The lace should be resting on the RIGHT side of the fabric. Then I trimmed the excess lace away from the edge.

Above I have removed the pattern piece and secured the lace again to the pantie leg. Now comes the fun part.

In Pretty Pretties, the lace is hand stitched carefully to the RIGHT side of the fabric. Luckily, we have something better now than hand stitching for lace insets. Its called an Applique Stitch and it's our friend! Most machines should have this stitch, and you can look in your manual to find it if you're not sure.

On my Brother machine, my applique stitch is #24. If you don't have an applique stitch on your machine, just use a zigzag stitch. After much experimenting I discovered that the best applique stitch for me is 3 mm wide and 0.5 mm between each stitch.

With your lace very securely pinned in place, stitch all the way from one end of the curve to the other, about 1/4" from the edge of the lace. Sewing a bit back from the edge gives your applique stitch as much grip on the lace as possible to keep it safely attached.

Now trim the excess lace from the outside of the stitching, being careful not to clip your stitches.

Your inset stitching from the WRONG side.

Now we need to get rid of the fabric behind the lace. From the RIGHT side of the fabric, flip the lace back to expose the pantie fabric. Trim the fabric away from inside the circle, trimming very close to the stitching.

Since I have a scalloped lace edge, I trimmed the edge of my fabric to a scallop too. This edge will be bound later.

The Facings:
A quick note for those of you who accidentally cut out your V of Doom from the placket opening: For your yoke facing, you'll want to extend the edge of it so it faces the edge of the extension placket I mentioned. Below is just a quick mock up of an extension I drafted to make the yoke facing piece longer.

For the yoke facing, pin it right sides together to the pantie yoke matching up the center and the edges at the placket. Stitch the facing on and press.

The Front yoke of the pantie, with the yoke faced and pressed on the other side.

Now we want to pin the back facing piece to the back of the panties, RIGHT sides together and stitch. Then flip the facing to the inside and press.

The pantie back from the RIGHT side, with the facing pressed to the inside.

The pantie facing pressed to the inside.

Next post we'll cover finishing the raw edges of the facing pieces, the placket, binding the leg, and we're done!

Lingerie Sew-Along: Inner Leg and Front to Back Seams, Part 9