1940's Bra Sew-Along - Sewing the real thing.

Hi there lovely readers. I hope I'm posting at an o.k. rate for you. It's been a strange week and I've been unfortunate enough to have a headache for 5 days now. I went to the doctor today just to be on the safe side and everything is fine - I'm just one unlucky girl this week...
For today's post we're going to sew our actual bra together now! In our last post, we went over lining and facing options. Now that we've squared that away, and you've faced your pattern pieces (if you so chose) we'll put together our bra in the exact same order we put together the test muslin.

This time though, as we sew each individual seam, we're going to stop and press the seam allowance a certain way, then top stitch it in place. This will give us that lovely 1940's look, as well as securing our raw edges.

So we start by sewing pieces A and B together along that tricky curved seam, and then press the stitches as sewn without opening them up. This will set the stitches. Then open pieces A and B, and press the seam allowance UP onto piece A.
Now you're ready to very neatly top-stitch 1/8" from the seam on piece A, as done below.

Now stitch both center front pieces together and press that seam open.

Top stitch again 1/8" from the center front seam on EACH side.

Then sew piece C to the lower edge of pieces B, press the seam allowance DOWN, and top-stitch 1/8" from the edge on piece C.

Now you're ready to attach the back of the bra, pieces D, to the side seams.

Once you have, press the seam allowances outwards to piece D, and top-stitch again.

And voila! You have the lion's share of the sewing done! Next, we'll talk finishing edges and adding straps.

Happy sewing,

1940's Bra Sew-Along, and a Sewing Pattern Giveaway!

Update: This giveaway is now closed.

Well, my dear readers, it's that time again. I have the lingerie sewing bug. It's been ages since our last sew-along and I'm happy to say that my schedule has cleared just enough to allow me to host another one!
And the pattern I would love to make with you is my absolute favorite bra pattern, Depew #2013.

1940's style bra pattern Depew #2013 32"- 44" Bust.

I just most recently made this bra up in white satin and it turned out so beautifully, I thought, "Every girl should have one of these!" I wore this bra ll day yesterday under a semi-sheer top and it was so comfortable! I even had a lady approach me at a shop and say, "This is going to sound weird, but where can I buy a bra like the one you're wearing?" It seriously made my day.

Sadly you can't get a bra like this in stores anymore but I've had something in the works for a while now to make sewing your own easier and a bit more fun.
I've been working for months now to grade this pattern into many more sizes and have also partnered with Take & Make to offer a complete bra sewing kit with everything you need (including the pattern download) to sew the bra pictured below.

The bra sewing kit for pattern #2013.

The kit includes ready made straps and plush hook and eye closures that have been carefully matched with soft white satin, thread, and enough fine, soft muslin to sew a test version, with enough left over to line the bra if you should so choose. You can find the complete kit here.

We decided to go with white satin for the kits so that finding matching underwear wouldn't be a chore.

In one of my most recent posts we looked at an original 1940's bra to study the sewing details used. I'll be including these kinds of details in our sew-along posts and hopefully we'll all get to learn something new.

Top-stitch details are almost a must for any vintage bra!

And of course, this would be no sew-along launch without a giveaway! Next week I'll choose three winners from the comments on this post who will each get a digital copy of the bra pattern we'll be using.
To enter the giveaway here on A Few Threads Loose, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know you're in!

For an extra entry, you can do any or all of the following, just leave a comment letting me know about it!

• Like Mrs. Depew Vintage on Facebook.
• Follow A Few threads Loose on Bloglovin' or other blog reader sites.
• Pin any item on MrsDepew.com to Pinterest.
• Share this post on Facebook. 
• Share this post on your blog, if you have one.

I'll announce the winner of the giveaway on October 23rd and then we can start gathering our materials for the sew-along.


Happy sewing, and best of luck to the entrants!