Lingerie Sew-Along: Resizing, Layout and Cutting your bra, Part 2

For today's installment of the Lingerie Sew-Along we'll be going over sizing issues, layout, and cutting out your bra. First I would like to address questions and comments from the last post.

One commenter asked "Could you be more precise on what to do if the bra cup is too small? Or any alterations to the bra cup whatsoever. Also: Why isn't the bra band curved like it is on all other bras?"

Thanks for your question. First I'll address the bra band question. I'll talk about sizing the bra cup in this post as well.  The bra band is cut at an angle from the fold of the fabric, giving it a natural curve shape that matches the lower curve of the bra cup. The back is a bit curved naturally but this comes from the bra band being cut on the bias and therefore having a bit of stretch. You should also keep in mind that not all bras are created equal, or in the same era for that matter. Some don't have bra bands at all, and those that do aren't always curved.

And Annabelle commented that she wanted to see one of these made up. Good idea!
 Here is a picture of a lace and satin version of this bra that I made recently.

Once we have covered the basics of this pattern, I'll also be teaching you how to make variations on the original, as well as a tutorial for a lace version.

Lets get started with sizing, shall we? It's not the easiest sewing trick to make a bra cup larger, especially if it has 4 freaking darts to throw you off. This won't be an exact science either because every girl's "girls" are shaped differently. Here is the basic idea for you.

1. Tape your original bra pattern pieces together so that you have the original as shown in our last post.
Do NOT add your seam allowance to this yet.
2. Cut out the bra piece and have a large piece of paper ready.
3. You will want to cut the pattern piece as shown below:

Cut through each bottom dart all the way to the top, sort of at a point. Start with adding 3/8 of an inch to each gap for the next size up, keeping the top sort of together as much as possible. Then tape this to a large piece of paper and then you can start adding your seam allowance. You'll need to retrace the darts on to the new pattern, and make sure the darts are the same size as in the original. You can space them out about 1/2" from each other. It doesn't have to be exact.

This should add room for another cup size. If your bust is say an A or B cup, you should be ok in the original pattern. If you're truly blessed in that department, then you might need to add another 1" or so to the top line of the bra, as if you were adding a seam allowance to that end.

This pattern is a 34" bust, and if you're say a 36 B, you can just add another 1" to the back of your bra band. The above is an approximation and you might have to give it a couple of adjustments to make it fit you properly.

Now on to cutting layout. For this version, I cut out 4 bra pieces from my plaid flannel and 2 bra bands from my contrast fabric. My contrast fabric is an old scrap from a vintage slip that I've had in my scraps bin for ages. Waste not, want not!

Starting with the bra band:

 The angled end goes on a fold. As you can see, I have my "just in case" extension there on the back end of the bra band. At this angle, the band is cut on the bias and will have a bit of stretch and curve to it.

You can simply cut out a second right next to the first bra band.

 Next I have my super soft, light weight flannel folded on one end. You can cut two bra pieces from your outer fabric and another two from a lining fabric or scraps.

I have just cut out all four from the same fabric. When I'm done, my bra will look the same on the inside as the outside.

 When you're done, you should have these:

 Tomorrow we'll go over darts and sewing our bra pieces together.

Any questions?

Post # 1, Printing the pattern, and adding seam allowance.

The Sew-Along: It begins with a bra.

Well, despite the distracting arrival of my serger in the mail, I began work on our lingerie sew-along. As you might remember, we're starting with the Pauline Bra Pattern this weekend.

                                                   

(UPDATE: if you want me to keep you posted with what's going on during the sew-along, you can go to A Few Threads Loose on Facebook and follow along that way. )

Thus it begins...

Did you pre-wash your fabric yet? When I first started sewing this went totally over my head. Then I got better and better, and realized that if I was going to all this trouble of making something for myself, it would really suck if I wore it once, washed it, and could never wear it again.

PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE - WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

More about the sew along, and some lingerie fabric choices.

Hello everyone,
I'm a bit behind on the sew along (seems to happen to everyone, I've noticed). I sometimes moonlight as the world's greatest substitute teacher and I've had a full week of 6th graders on my hands. But enough about my distractions. I was just given a blog award by the lovely and rather talented Nabby of This Old Life: Confessions of a Creative Dresser. It's a fantastic vintage blog and if you like mine, you'll love hers. Thanks so much, Nabby, you're a gem!
As per the rules of the award, I have to list 7 random facts about myself. Here they are:

1. I really enjoy gangster rap. I don't know why, I'm just a pasty white girl, but the beat just gives me goosebumps in such a good way.

2. Listening to people speak Norwegian makes my head hurt, sort of like fingernails on a chalkboard. It even makes my head hurt when I speak it.

3. I can use nun-chucks. Really, I can. I wouldn't want to meet me in a dark alley, either.

4. My guilty pleasure is mac and cheese, preferably the cheapest kind from a box.

5. I'm flying home for a visit to the US in a week and all I can think about is blueberry flavored frosted mini-wheats. And I've never been that big on cereal.

6. I saw one episode of "I was pregnant and didn't know it" and promptly got online and ordered a dozen pregnancy tests just to have on hand. Babies seriously cut into one's sewing time.

7. I can play the Ukulele.

So another stipulation of the award is that I pass it on to another deserving blog or two:
New Vintage Lady (a fantastic, witty and thoughtful vintage sewing and lifestyle blog.)
Kalandra Jane: Milinery and Musings (Simply fantastic millinery, fashion, and playfulness.)

On another note, my fabric got here the other day and I've been having fun fiddling with combinations and lace and whatnot. I also got some swatches of the perfect lingerie fabric. I ordered several different swatches of varying jersey, cotton, rayon and bamboo to try and decide on which ones to sew my basic lingereie bits with and here are the two I liked best:

And the 202 Giveaway winner is...

Well, it's that time. Time to pick the winner of the 202 Followers celebration giveaway. As usual, thanks so much to everyone who entered, and I loved all of your comments for what type of sew-along you all wanted to try. There was a resounding call for a lingerie sew-along and I'm getting ready to put that together soon.
But enough about that, the winner chosen by random.org is commenter #16, Jadestar.

Congrats Jadestar, you've won two vintage sewing patterns and a $35 gift card to my etsy shop Mrs. Depew Vintage! Just email me at afewthreadsloose@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll get your patterns and gift card to you!

As to the lingerie sew along so many of you asked for, we had a huge selection of patterns to chose from on the Compendium of Lingerie Patterns post. An overwhelming number of you were in favor of sewing the Pauline Bra and Tap Panties Set, and several of you also wanted the Pauline Slip/ Cami.

So we'll do all of them! This is a gorgeous set and I've been looking forward to making them up again for some time.
 As I mentioned in an earlier post, since winter is coming (especially here in Norway) and since lingerie is intimidating enough to most without adding slippery, difficult fabrics to the mix, I recommend making your first attempt at this pattern in a soft, supple cotton flannel. I know, flannel undies sound so granny nightgown:

but when you look at something like this:

Flannel can be sexy. I just bought a few yards of lovely two- sided plaid flannel from fabric.com.

I think it's going to look amazing with a little black lace or contrasting fabric thrown into the mix.

We'll start next week with the bra first, and then the tap panties. Then we'll take a break while I'm in the U.S. for two weeks (hopefully buying fabric) and we'll resume with the cami/ slip when I get back.

I'll get more into how much fabric you'll want to buy in my next post, but if you want to get it early, plan on about 1/2 yard of fabric for the bra, (plus your contrasting band fabric choice) and about 1 1/4 yd for the tap panties. My fabric should be here any day now so I'm going to see how the plaid looks with a lace overlay, and just by itself, and that will help me decide how many versions of this I'm making, and with or without lace.

Starting soon, I'll be putting the Pauline patterns at a reduced price for anyone who wants to try them for the sew along, so if you want to wait till the price goes down to get your pattern, I'll let you all know when I get it lowered.

I'll be back soon with more about the sew-along! Have a happy weekend!

Happy weekend...

Have a lovely weekend, my dear followers. I'm off to cook Mexican food:

mojitos, chips, and salsa from rachelchew on Vimeo.

A Compendium of Lingerie Patterns... Let's talk about a sew-along!

On my last post quite a few said YES! to my thought that we should do a sew along on lingerie. I really want to show you all that lingerie is not hard, not scary, and a very rewarding sewing project. Like all things small, underwear or bras don't take forever to sew, and are practically instant gratification projects.

I would love to get your votes on what you would like to sew with me, and the pattern with the most votes will be what we tackle as a group. Do you want to sew a bra, panties, tap pants, slip, teddy or camisole? Should we use an inexpensive pdf pattern that will be super easy to find or do we want to use a paper pattern, offered in multiple sizes?

Here are nearly all of the great lingerie patterns that I know about. Most of them I'm very familiar with already. Some of them are pdfs from my shop, some aren't. Some are pricier than others. Please don't feel obligated to vote for one of my pdfs just because. Don't pick the pattern that looks the easiest. Pick the pattern that you think you will feel gorgeous in. Pick something that will make you feel special when you wear it. That's the one you want to vote for. I'll help you with the hard stuff!

Leave a comment to tell me which of these you'd like to sew in the sew-along. I know, there are a lot of them, so we'll narrow it down to 3 in this post, and in the next post you can vote again for your favorite.

Slips/ Camisoles:

Vintage Pauline Slip and Camisole Printable Sewing Pattern PDF Copy 34 bust.
One Size, $5.

Colette Patterns Cinnamon - No. 1012
Multi-size, $16.00

Some lovely pictures... and a bit about lingerie.

Today, my lovely readers, I have for you some pretty highlights from La Mode Pratique, August 1934. It was a very popular French ladies magazine that included fashion spreads, sewing patterns, knitting patterns, household tips and tricks, the occasional book review and what have you.
I bought this particular edition the moment I saw it because of the cover:

Some of you may already know, I kind of have a thing for guns. And old pictures of women with guns are WAY better. I'll be framing this one and hanging it in a place of honor somewhere where I can see it every day and wish I were her.

If you can read or speak French, you might enjoy the knitting patterns in these pictures. If you want to give them a try, I'd love to see what you make of them!

 

And by now you should know how I feel about lingerie. I love the picture up above, so lovely, so feminine, so slimming.  On the lingerie note, many of you have commented on the giveaway post that you would like to see me do more lingerie and I'm more than happy to oblige you. I went and spent about $150 JUST on lingerie at H&M yesterday, and funny enough, it just made me want to sew more and more of it, until I have an endless arsenal of sexy, well-made lingerie for every occasion.

I drew my sewing inspiration today from Ohhh Lulu's beautiful flannel and feminine lingerie post. If you haven't checked her out yet, you must, and if you love her creations as much as I do, you simply must check out her etsy shop as well.

Photo from Ohhh Lulu (http://ohhhlulu.blogspot.com/2011/09/black-white.html)

Her use of ultra soft flannel has made me think that using it myself would be a great way to show all of you that sewing lingerie isn't scary at all, but very rewarding and fun. And let's face it... if the end result is looking sexy, who wouldn't want to make it?

What do you think? If I did a lingerie sew-along and we started with flannel, would you be interested in giving it a try?