I'm starting with the Charné 80DD after all

I slept maybe 4 hours before waking up excited about the package I'll get from the post office, and about making alterations into the pattern. Since I woke up I've traced the pattern in 80DD as well. Last night I fell asleep thinking about the changes I need to make into the pattern (here I was thinking of using the 80D as a starting point):

However, now I think that I will start with the 80DD. It is probably easier to see how much needs to be taken out and what the fit is with a better back band (I assume that the back band in 80DD will be better for me even though the edge still needs to be slanted a bit, I feel). I'm also assuming that the cup itself in the 80DD will be a bit too big - in that case I will trace a mid-level pattern between D and DD (I will need to understand how the distance to the edge of the breast is calculated - that I will probably not need to decrease even though I need to decrease the cup volume).

Before making any alterations I will sew the 80DD as it is, and then make alterations with the help of the Bra-makers manual. I'm thinking that I will need to refer to the sections titled "Band Gaps Along Upper Edge Close to Wire Line", "Bridge Is Too High Or Too Low", "Cup Volume Is Too Much" (although I'm very disappointed with this section! It only says "start with a smaller cup size".), "Lower Cup Is Too Deep", "Wire Line Needs To Be Wider At Underarm", "Making The Bra Lower Under The Arm".... I might need other sections as well, depending on the fit of the bra.

I'm somewhat apprehensive about the shape of the front band, since I'm afraid that it's not wide enough for my breasts. But I know that I can make alterations to it, and find a well-fitting pattern after a while!

Analyzing the pattern: Marinique Lingerie

The pattern I got from Elingeria is the Marinique Lingerie set (link) that contains patterns for 4 different bras and 8 different panties. I am not planning to use the panty patterns nor the underwired bra patterns, but they're nice to have for reference. The set contains two wirefree bra patterns, Charné and Azalia, both described on the site as "wireless bras with underbust band". Here is an image of the four bras I have the patterns for now: 

Charné looks like a regularly cut cup (at least in the way the Bra-makers manual shows a cup), while the cup in Azalia is more baseball cup -like. I'm very interested in finding out which suits me better. I'm pretty sure that I need to change the pattern so that there is a lot more space for the breast horizontally compared to the cup volume - I will probably have to shorten the band (and for style reasons make it less tall) and add some width to the cups. At first I will test the patterns exactly as they are though. 


I think that I will start with the Charné bra. The directions for Charné and Azalia are exactly the same, I suspect that mainly only the cup shape differs in the bras. The directions themselves are somewhat vague and difficult to understand (I suspect that English is not the original language of this pattern...). I think that using only these directions as a guide it would be a very difficult job to sew a well-made bra, but luckily I have many sources.  


I traced the Charné pattern in size 36D (the only band size I have). Immediately I noticed that the band part in the front ends in a vertical straight line at the side - this is a sign of a poor pattern according to the BMM. (The body naturally curves so the pattern should be slanted as well.) Let's hope that it's not indicative of the quality of the pattern overall. Here are the pattern pieces I traced: 

What comes to mind when I look at the pattern pieces: 

• the center front is too high for my taste
• the back band is too high for my taste (like, 50% too high) 
• the back band piece is very much just a horizontal line, it needs to be changed into a "downward hike" 
• the join between the cup and the back band is a vertically straight line, I'm thinking that is should be straight but slanted (since the edge of the breast is slanted as well) 

When I thought about these features I immediately ran into a problem: I'm willing to try the size 36D as it is (and will probably sew a test garment with these pieces tomorrow), just to see how much I need to change it (if I need more space in the cups, and how much wider I need to make the front) but I'm not sure how to make the changes I'm planning to make. I need to make the cups less protruding (decrease the volume) and at the same time make them wider. How do I change the pattern pieces in order to do that? 

I got the package from Elingeria!

I can hardly contain my excitement. With nearly trembling hands I opened the envelope that was waiting for me when I arrived home. My pattern (and a panty kit) has arrived! (Also I will get my toile kits before the weekend, since there was also a piece of paper informing me that the other package wouldn't fit through my door, so it is waiting for me in the post office and I can get it tomorrow. Thank you, Sewing Chest and Elingeria for really fast shipping!)

Now I will sit down with a nice glass of Pepsi max and start to examine the pattern and read the directions. My first thought when I saw the patterns for the 2 wirefree bras was that the back band looks awfully high. But I'll see when I trace the size I want. I'm thinking that I'll start with an 80D and tweak from there.

I'm very happy with the panty kit as well, the lace is beautiful, and there seems to be enough elastic for 2 pairs.

The pattern I used for panties

Last night I was again so excited about bra-making that I couldn't fall sleep. I read through Linda Neubauer's Sewing Lingerie, wrote down ideas for blog posts, and made a list of things I want to try as soon as my bra-making kits and patterns arrive. Both my Elingeria and my Sewing Chest packages have been sent, so I'm hopeful that they'll arrive by Friday. (I think that I'll even stay home on Friday when the mail comes, in case they arrive then - otherwise I'll only get them from the post office after the weekend.)

Today I might try to make a pair of panties again. In case I do I'll document the project in this blog. Now, however, I thought that I'll tell you how I made my first two pairs. I found very good directions at http://comeandseetheseitz.com/2010/03/09/panty-tutorial-how-to-sew-underwear/ and followed them almost exactly. The only differences were that my pattern is made out of 4 pieces (a separate gusset part) and that there was no thigh elastic in the panties I used as a basis for my pattern. When I sewed the first pair of panties I just added an amount of elastic that seemed about right (now I would probably refer to Sewing Lingerie p.18 for an estimate). In the second, green "Ladies Required", pair I made I just folded the thigh edges and sewed a wide zig-zag to cover the edging. (This is clearly visible in the photo:)

I wore them yesterday without trouble - I think that this kind of worked, even though I'm sure that I did something wrong.

Here's the first pair of panties I ever made:

The fabric was originally orange cotton jersey, the plush elastic was natural white and the yarn was tan/light pink. I dyed the panties with a "hot pink" color, but it created a stripy effect on the fabric - it might be that I didn't have enough dye.

For the second pair I made I changed the pattern because the t-shirt wasn't wide enough to cover my enormous hips. I took out panels from the sides of the front and back pattern pieces, taped them together and cut them from the t-shirt edge. (That's why in the photo the violet zig-zag is not continuous around the thigh edge.)

One mistake I made when sewing both was to use a straight stitch for the initial attachment of the elastic. I learned yesterday that it could be a small zig-zag. This was the first time I put on elastic so I'm quite happy about the result anyhow. Another thing is that I could have used a different, thinner elastic for the thighs. The second pair is definitely more comfortable than the first - maybe because the elastic in the thighs feels a bit too thick.

Dreams about making gorgeous underwear

Now that I have little to do except wait for my pattern and toile kits to arrive, it's good to dream about what I'll make when I've tweaked the pattern, to list the questions I have, and to imagine other possibilities beyond bras.

I want to make well-fitting, gorgeous, unique panties and bras. Made with some lace, and often contrasting findings. Made with impeccable eye to detail, and supportive features. I'll try the support panels presented in the bra-makers manual, try boning the lower cup, boning on the band... I'll make a 'baseball cup' bra, as well as differently cut bra cups to test which shape suits me the best. I will use padding to shape the cups somewhat and to create a more ready-to-wear look.

Questions that I have now:
- embroidery and attaching lace: how to use embroidery needles and the machine in new ways? There is a set of directions for a gorgeous lacy camisole at the Threads site, maybe I would like to make something similar.
- how to cut overall lace? I've got this tangerine number that I would like to use but have no idea how to deal with the edges...
- how to use the bones that I do have? are they long enough? (most likely not since they were 65 and 60mm)
- What kind of yarn to use when making bras?
- do I need a double needle for topstitching? or would it just be a bad idea?
- how much elastics does one need for a pair of knickers? How about a bra? (What amounts do I order in the future?)
- What are the different kinds of fabrics good for? What is lycra, what is spandex, what is jersey? What sewing machine needles to use with each fabric?

Lingerie fabrics really puzzle me. Last night I went through the lists of what I had ordered 3 years prior, and couldn't really figure out how to use each fabric. It would be wonderful to have an experienced lingerie seamstress with me to go through my supplies! As it is, I'll probably have to learn through trial and error. And a note to self: in the future I will match each fabric that comes in the door with the description from the shop I got it from - that way I hope that I can keep track of what I've got and what I can make with it.

I found a new place that sells interesting and well-coordinated bra kits, bracomponents.com. I might order something from them in the future since the shipping costs to Europe are reasonable. First I'll use up the 4 toile kits I ordered, shouldn't take longer than a couple of weeks, though.

Excited about sewing lingerie again

The last time I was interested in making lingerie was in 2008 and I didn't think of keeping a blog to catalog my adventures (or more so, failures). Now I've become excited again, and I'll go about creating my perfect bra in a more organized fashion. I thought that it would be useful for others to see how I progress so I decided to create a blog.

My project started anew last Tuesday when I impromptu decided to make a pair of panties. I copied some worn-out panties I had, and created a pattern that is, I think, rather functional and fits me well. First I made a pair of orange panties with white plush elastic that I dyed after they were ready (a botched dye job, they are stripy now). At night I couldn't resist it and nervous of keeping the neighbors up I sewed another pair, this time from a green men's t-shirt that said "Ladies Required - Suspension testing". Only the "Ladies required"-part shows in the finished panties:

Here I didn't use elastic for the thigh holes, I just stretched the fabric while sewing and used a wide zigzag stitch. As they are they fit me well and I don't see much strain on the seams. But I'll let you know how these behave when I'm wearing them. (I used a thin ballpoint needle, 70, to sew these.) 

Today I inventoried my supply of bra-making materials and had to ask myself what on earth I was thinking when I ordered them. I didn't even have a proper pattern but I have enough strap elastic and findings to make 10 bras! Too bad the fabrics I have I have no idea how to use. (I'm still really insecure about stretch, the direction of it, how to cut lingerie pieces etc.. but no doubt I'll learn a lot in the next weeks.)

This time I'm starting with a ready-made pattern and I'll modify it according to the advice in the Bra-makers manual. I read  parts of the manual today but it seems rather theoretical now that I have no test bra to compare it to. I've ordered a pattern from Elingeria, I hope that I'll get it by the end of the week. I also ordered some toile bra kits (and a more expensive lace kit for when I have a decent pattern and more experience) from Sewing Chest. Here's to hoping that my packages arrive sooner rather than later!

p.s. I'm someone who doesn't find comfortable ready-made bras and tend to hate underwires, (I need a far wider wire than the ones used in the ready-made bras, at least compared to cup volume) so I will mostly, at least in the beginning, focus on creating wirefree bras. Boning on the cups interests me though, so stay tuned for experiments!