Pattern hack perfection - Madalynne Lawren Bodysuit with Cloth Habit Watson Bra

Still going with the Bra-A-Week Challenge I thought I would try something different with the very beautiful lace bralette kit I had from Tailor Made for my November #TMCollaBRAtory. Ying’s kits are always very generous so, fresh from testing Madalynne’s Lawren, I hoped there would be enough to make some sort of bodysuit.

There wasn’t enough for the bodice so thought I would use the Cloth Habit Watson bra as the plunging neckline and stretch cups should work well in a body suit. As with many of my makes the detail came as I went along.

The first step was to draft the pattern pieces. I put on one of the longline versions of the Watson I had made. Then I tied a piece of elastic around my waist and asked my husband to measure the distance from the bottom of the band to the elastic. I traced off the Lawren front panty piece. From the waist line I added the 2” needed, taking into account the allowance for the fold back of the band elastic, and then placed the frame piece on this line. After I graded from a medium waist to small hips I used a curved ruler to smooth from the cradle to the waist and then the leg line.

For the back piece I traced off the Lawren, added the 2” again and then placed the back band on this line at the side seam. From the side I used the curved ruler to draw a line to the centre back. Then I used the front piece to reshape the back piece to match at the sideseam.

Now I had my pattern pieces I could decide how to use the fabric and lace. I wanted two layers of mesh for the front but this wouldn’t leave enough for the back so I looked in my stash and found this beautiful ribbing fabric from a previous #tmcollabratory which was just enough for the back.

Next I made the cups. The lace was just wide enough to have the stretch in the right direction. I knew I wanted the lace starting from the centre so it flowed seamlessly from the cup but the actual placement was decided by the width of the lace. If you look at the middle picture you can see the corner missing from the top right. I worked out what would be caught in the seam and armhole elastic. I made sure the lace hit the leg line at the same point.

With the lace stitched to the front piece I could attach the cups. I cut out the frame in sheer lining and enclosed the cups between this and the front, topstitching down through all layers to flatten and keep in place.

Then I moved on to the back. I placed the lace the same as the front. Again I was a little corner short but this time it was too big to be caught in the seam.

I found a scrap of lace that matched and placed underneath. I used a small zigzag to attach and then cut back to stitching. Before attaching the front and back I cut out a back band from mesh that I attached to the sheer lining. This was so I didn’t have to attach band elastic to the sheer front. Once I had sewn the side seams I basted all the layers together so they didn’t slide around when I attached the top elastic.

The idea was to not see the bottom band elastic so I attached as close to the cup as I could using the widest three step zigzag on my machine and trimmed the lining back to the stitching. For stability I made the straps long enough to attach to the bottom band and stitched through all layers to prevent the mesh from rolling when putting on. The stitching is not noticeable on the lace back. it all worked out really well. A good colour match thread does help.

I finished the leg with just elastic as I had no more lace left and I think the design suited a clean finish. The only item I had to add to the kit was some snap tape which had just arrived in my Madalynne order. For the back you attach to the gusset lining on the 1/4” line, fold to the right side, tuck in the sides and sew along the opposite edge.

For the front you attach to the right side and tuck to the wrong side. The issue for me is that you would see the snap tape through the sheer front. So I cut a piece of a folded piece of rib fabric the same width and deep enough for the folded back tape. I attached to the wrong side of the front with raw edges together. The sides are covered by the tucked in tape.

And to finish I thought would include some close ups of the finished bodysuit. Even starting with two great patterns that fit well I was still overwhelmed by how gorgeous this looks. Got so many ideas for more!

Bra-A-Week Challenge - Anyone else keeping up?

I am a big fan of Emerald Erin and her Bra-A-Week challenge has been a great source of inspiration to take my makes to a new level. This ties in nicely with being part of this years #tmcollaBRAtory which I have talked about in previous posts. So I thought I would post a round up of some particularly pleasing recent makes.

First off is my most recent make which uses Erin’s idea for creating stripes by sewing down pleated tulle. I had just received a huge order from Tailor Made which included some beautiful autumnal colours. What I hadn’t realised until it arrived was that the olive tulle was a perfect match with the leaf lace. Then I needed a pattern that would showcase both the lace and the striped tulle.

I couldn’t decide between the Orange Lingerie Marlborough or the Emerald Erin Black Beauty, both of which I have made numerous times as they both fit perfectly. In the end I decided to use the Marlborough as the power bar is part of the cup and I wouldn’t loose the sheerness of the one layer. Also the lace has quite a deep scallop and the upper cup of the Marlborough fitted perfectly.

Creating the stripes was a lengthy process as I wanted to be precise with the pleat. First I had to decide which way to pleat the tulle. This had to be lengthwise as I only had 1/2 yard but full width. Using a chalk marker I drew lines at 1” intervals and then folded from line to line, pinning and then basting. Then I had to choose what thread colour to use. As I didn’t have a green close enough I decided to use the beige contrast so I would need to be super neat! Using knife pleats meant that one side of the fold would be on top and the other side on the reverse. The reverse stitch of my machine is pretty good but I still decided to stitch from the right side. Luckily I have a great edge foot which I set at 1/16th and could sit against the edge of the fold.

The next decision was what to use as lining. Looking through my stash I found some sheer lining which matched the lace and I really liked the two tone effect under the olive tulle. To make sure I cut the pieces exactly mirrored I folded the pleats and pinned in place. Then I had to decide how to place the pattern pieces so I didn’t have any silly edges and it would look right in a seam allowance. I also chose to use the tulle for the frame rather than a lace band. I finished the bra as normal and moved on to matching underwear.

I had to scratch my head a little to decide how to bring both the tulle and lace into underwear. Both have some give in one direction so I wanted a pattern that could use this. Looking through my patterns I thought I would try an Ohhhlulu Grace and use the lace scallop lengthwise for the side panels. I didn’t have enough tulle to pleat the back and only partially for the front but was enough to look fine.

I used two layers of the lace for each side panel using the full width. I used chalk to mark the seam allowance on the tulle and a red Frixon pen for the lace. I placed the lace over the tulle lining up the seams allowances. Then I stitched around the scallop and through the seam allowance and cut back to the stitching. Finally I used fold over elastic for the waist with soft lingerie elastic for the leg.

Although I had made a size bigger than normal to make up for the lack of stretch they are a little snug so I decided to make the Orange Lingerie Montgomery using the lace and some matching super soft and stretchy mesh as an alternate.

I was so pleased with the result. It’s hard to go wrong with such fabulous supplies and patterns I know fit well which brings me smoothly on to my October make for #TMCollaBRAtory. I had a gorgeous embroidered tulle lace bra kit and wanted to bring out the beautiful colours. The kit came with black tulle but it was little dark to bring out the delicate blue and purple flowers so out came the stash and I decided on what was called mauve on the EvielaLuve website. Then the usual dilemma of what pattern to use to showcase the gorgeous lace. Again a search through my patterns brought me to the Orange Lingerie Boylston. it has a deep upper cup and wide straps.

My first step was to take off the seam allowance of the upper cup and straighten the line. I then used tulle on the fold for the upper cup edge and then placed the lace over the tulle angling down from the top outer edge to the centre front seam allowance. For the lower cup pieces I basted a layer of tulle to each piece and treated as one. Then I used another layer of tulle for a lining so I could enclose the upper cup. The lace can’t be mirrored so it is a case of finding a balance for bridge and side frame. Again I basted one layer of tulle to each piece and then lined with tulle so I could enclose the seams and the front of the bra would have the same level of sheerness.

I wasn’t sure how I would make the straps but as this was a kit for a bra I thought i would cut out the front panel for a Montgomery brief and see what I was left with. I started with the straps in the tulle. There wasn’t enough lace to cover completely so I cut into two pieces and placed at an angle ensuring the low point of the scallop would hit the 3/8” line where the elastic would be sewn. For a flat and neat finish I slipped the strap in between the tulle and lace of the upper cup.

Both sets I could just sit and look at. Although I seem to enjoy deciding as I go along there is often a trigger that sends me in a particular direction!