Matching Bras for my Great Bra Sewing Bee Panty Inspiration Class
Some of you may have watched my “Panty Inspiration” class on the Great Bra Sewing Bee where the brief was to show how to recreate the look of your favourite rtw with commercially available patterns and supplies. I made up some of the designs from the class into finished makes, they turned out so gorgeous that I decided to make bras to match. So here is a round up of the sets, the patterns and supplies used and the changes I made to the patterns to recreate the look.
This first set is inspired by the Maison Lejayby Nufit range which is described as “undetectable under the slimmest clothes” and in particular those with a combination of plain jersey and floral stretch tulle. I had a lot of requests for “pretty and comfortable” and I thought these fit the bill perfectly. Just prior to preparing the class I had received my order including this beautiful floral mesh from Madalynne which is really super soft. Already in my stash I had a similar wide tri-band elastic from Bra Builders. The look is described as “sporty chic” so I opted to use mesh rather than jersey for a completely sheer look.
For the high waist full coverage briefs I used the Ohhhlulu Grace which is a hipster but when you add the wide band elastic it sits at the same place on the waist as the rtw. I reshaped the front pieces as the pattern has a straight seam and I wanted to introduce the curve.
The bra, described as a triangular soft cup, is a darted one piece cup finished with fold over elastic and partially adjustable straps. The pattern that immediately came to mind was the Emerald Erin Jordy which is a triangular two piece sitting on a wide elastic band. I do love this pattern and have made all the versions but for this make I was looking for more coverage around the side so I decided to adapt the free Madalynne Barrett pattern which is described as “sporty femme”. You can adapt most patterns to be a darted one piece cup but they can end up a little pointy if you are not careful.
I didn’t used fold over elastic for two reasons. Firstly, I didn’t have enough in the right colour and secondly, I prefer the support of plush picot when using stretch fabrics in the cups.
I started with the changes to the Barrett front.` As you can see from one I made a few weeks ago, the centre front has a triangular cut out. So on the pattern piece I drew a line down to establish the centre front. Next using my curved ruler I shaped the front to drop to the bottom edge for a plunge neckline and then added the width of my picot elastic. On the bottom edge I added 1/8” as I wanted slightly more overlap than the 1/4” seam allowance.
The Barrett is a pull on bralette but I wanted a back closure so I used the back piece from my Madalynne Fenix Bodysuit as a size guide. I put my fastener and elastic on the line to work out the depth of the band needed at this point and then I added on the width of my elastic and drew a straight line up to the top edge.
With my pattern pieces ready I proceeded to make up as normal. To stop any spillage I like to overlap the cups at the centre front. Firstly, I basted in place before overlocking along the bottom edge. Overlocking not only finishes off the raw edges but acts as a guideline for overlapping the band elastic. Then for reinforcement, after I attached the band, I stitched in a triangle around the overlap.
Moving on to the next set which took a little more thinking through. Hannah, of EvielaLuve, had classes on both strappy bralettes and panties so I decided to go for something a little different. The satin ribbon detail of the Aubade Courbes Divine Short, which translates to divine curves, is another cute design without compromising the comfort and/or fit. I love the description for this one, “The contrast in lace panelling creates alternating transparency which shows the skin and combined with the cut-out detail with decorative lattice creates the ultimate sexy brief.
I adjusted the Studio Costura Eva for the brief by lowering the waist and creating a fabric panel for the front as well as extending the lace panels to meet the bottom of the ribbon detail.
The collection has two bra styles, a plunge and a half cup. With the plunge the lattice detail was accommodated on the side which is mostly hidden so I thought I would try to recreate a lattice bridge. In putting together the class I became very aware of how different camera angles affect the look. It wasn’t until I scrolled through the images that I could see that the padding curved up into the arm. I have previously used the Orange Lingerie Devonshire to alter from a balconette to a half cup but for my size this wouldn’t leave enough room for the lattice so I made it as the balconette. I took a little out of the curve of the vertical seam using the 34C overlaid over the 34D pattern pieces but kept the height for the coverage I prefer. Vertical seams are great for uplift.
First, I made up the lace cup as per the pattern instructions and then moved on to the shaped padding. Then I used my usual method of making up a full foam cup, holding it against me and drawing on the shape I am looking for. Next I cut along the drawn line and this became my pattern piece. I didn’t have a good enough colour match with the sheer lining I had so I used some bias binding I had in my stash to cover the top edge of the foam.
I used a similar method for the lattice but, unlike the open back of the brief, the bra needed a backing to the ribbon so it would retain it’s shape. To design the lattice I drew the bridge on tear away stabiliser in similar proportions to the brief but I had to narrow slightly to fit the crisscross within the width at the top of the bridge. I placed two layers of sheer lining over the stabiliser and stitched along the outline of the pattern piece. Next I attached the ribbon, stitching in place along the marked lines. Then I placed fabric pieces, with the seam allowances folded under, over the ribbon and again stitched in place along the marked lines. Finally, to create the bridge, I cut along the original stitching marking the pattern piece.
To finish the bra I followed the pattern instructions except on the second pass of the band elastic I didn’t sew over the sheer lining. I stitched from the front with a small zigzag with matching thread so I didn’t have red stitching showing through.
To complete the look I finished with bows at the strap attachment and I think it turned out pretty perfect. The shape is amazing. Red is always a difficult colour to match but the elastic and lace from Sew Wardrobe were a perfect match. So on to the next set.
This set is recreating the look from another Aubade design called the Aubade à l’Amour Pearlized collection. For the class I made both a shorty using the Day Dream Nora hipster, with the detail on the back as shown, and the brief, with the detail on the front. There are three bras in the collection, a push up half cup, a bandeau and what is described as a comfort full cup. My initial thought was to make the bandeau version with mesh gathered across the front using the Afi Atelier Exquisite Butterfly addon but it wouldn’t really require much adjustment and I wanted a bra with smoother lines for under clothing. Also I didn’t want another padded bra so I went with the look of the full cup using fabric and lace I had left.
The pattern I had which was most like the design was The BraMakery Chloe but I knew I needed to take some of the fullness out for a better fit so I decided to use a similar pattern, the Merckwaerdigh Wings. I had bought this at the start of my bra making journey but never got around to making other than a test size but was recently reminded that I had bought quite a few of Merckwaerdigh’s patterns when I saw a post on Instagram.
To match the shorty I was going to use the scalloped edge lace for the upper cup only and then the honeycomb stretch mesh for the rest. I also didn’t have enough lace to use on the band. To start with I made the lace cups and then I made the side and lower cup in foam to place around the cup. This was to help me decide the shape and size of the mesh panel and again I drew a line and cut along for the pattern piece. After studying the various images I decided the mesh wasn’t actually gathered but the stretch fabric would do this with the pull from the strap when worn.
To use the mesh for the base of the bridge I fused to sheer lining with Misty Fuse. I marked on the bridge where the lace cup piece would end. Then I cut two pieces of the fabric to create the v adding a seam allowance to be folded over and then sewed the centre seam again using Misty Fuse to stop the stretch fabric moving. I carefully marked on both the cup and bridge where the pieces would meet.
I made the side pieces the same way fusing the fabric to the sheer lining and enclosed the seams using another layer of sheer lining. The perfectly aligned front was well worth the effort. The pattern has large lace wings for a bare back look but with no lace left I adjusted the pattern for a regular leotard shape using just the powernet. The straps also feature gathered mesh. I have made straps similar to this before but decided to use no gathers for a smoother look but still used mesh to create the illusion of continuing up from the mesh sides.
I cut two 12” pieces of elastic the same width as the strap tab and strips of mesh twice the width with seam allowances added. Next I sewed the mesh strips right sides together and then turned through. Then I threaded the elastic through and marked intervals of 2 1/2” to sew across to hold the mesh in place. I attached to the strap tab right sides together and pushed the seam allowance down and sewed through all layers.
Finally I made some plain adjustable straps for the back. I tried on to decide how long to leave the front strap to allow for enough adjustment at the back. I was thrilled with how it turned out especially the soft gathers of the mesh sides when worn. I just to need to embroider some bee decorations for the straps to match the back.
I know it’s a long post but I have one more set to share with you. Another frequent request is how to achieve the look of no vpl briefs. Most designs are very plain but I really liked the Marks and Spencer “Smoothing No VPL Brazilian Knicker”
For the class I used the Studio Costura Mia which is also a brazilian cut. I split out the front into a lace and fabric panel and angled my lace a little lower for more coverage at the front. For the legs I used double sided fusible elastic and instead of a bound waistband I used some really pretty fold over elastic.
I have a couple of patterns that are designed for preformed foam cups which are used in the “Smoothing” bra. Bra Makers Supply have a full frame pattern but I used the Orange Lingerie Mystic which is a partial band and required fewer adjustments.
Moulded cups are really hard to get hold of in my size so I decided to make use of the cups from a rtw where the band and bridge had stretched out after only a couple of wears. I took the bra apart and recycled the wires as well. What I found interesting was that the fabric covers were also moulded.
To recreate the look you need some really stretch fabric like the microlycra I was using from Bra Builders. The first step is to add some stable fabric to the bottom of the cup for the seam allowance as the foam itself cannot be folded. Then you have to stretch the fabric over the cup without causing it to collapse. It takes a bit of time but you have to keep going around stretching until you get all the wrinkles out. The pattern then has you cut around and then attach to the back of the cup and roll around to the front and then start the process all over again. Sometimes this can create a bit of bulk at the neck edge. So I first stitched in place all around the cup with the foam side up except for the top edge. For the top edge I used 3/8” double sided tape on the foam side and pushed the fabric over the top and onto the tape. Then I cut the loose fabric back to the tape.
As the wires are shorter than those used in the pattern I had to shorten the bridge and construct in a slightly different way to use the scallop edge of the lace. First, I fused the lace to a piece of sheer lining then I cut out another piece of sheer lining and turned up the bottom seam allowance. I attached the two pieces right sides together at the top edge and then flipped the front over and sewed across the bottom edge catching the turned up seam allowance.
As my wires were also shorter at the side I had to adjust the height of the side frame before combining with the back band using the Orange Lingerie Berkeley band as a guide. Rather than use picot elastic which can be bulky on the foam I used fold over elastic to finish the upper edge. I really like the slightly wider and stronger elastic from Emerald Erin and remembered I had bought some in the new the blush pink colour which was was a great match. To complete the smooth appearance I attached the strap direct onto the foam cup and created an adjustable strap by attaching a small piece of strap elastic to the height of the band for the ring attachment.
So that is my matching bra sets done! What to do next?
