Sorry blog, it's been awhile. Between my cheapy camera not handling the winter light in my apartment, lots of winter knitting, a series of muslins that haven't yet lead to something I'm ready to cut out, and yet another pair of Ginger Jeans which might be too boring and a bit loose so that photos look very wrinkly, I haven't had anything to blog about, but.....
I've made a bra!
As someone with a not easy to find size, who has probably never worn a bra that fits properly in her life, I'm really taken with the idea of custom making my own bras.
I've bought all three of Beverly Johnson's Craftsy bra classes and started with a Pin Up Girls Classic bra. Unfortunately I took some sizing advise that didn't work out. I was so excited when the Cloth Habit Harriet Bra was released and saw that it was available in my 28G size. According to the size chart my measurements put me in an F, but I went with the G. This one isn't going to work either. Band is very good. The gore tacks really well, the the cups are still too small. Its close enough to try one size up.
What I really want to make note of is that I used a Bra Maker's Supply Kit and if you are going to use one to make a Harriet, there are a few things to know.
I thought my size called for a 3 hook closure but the back height is for a 2 hook closure. I think the 2 size packs is what through me off. Luckily I had one (not the right color so I just basted it on to test. Easy enough to redraft the back band for a 3 hooks and I will do so on the next one I make, mostly because I already have the closure.
To get the wider bottom band elastic to work I had to trim some of the elastic out of the way of the wire casing. This worked out fine.
Because I was using wider elastic than the bra was designed to use, for the second pass of stitching on the bottom band elastic, I stopped it when I got to the casing seam, started it up again for the center, stopped again for the second cup and then started again to finish the other size. Not a problem with this either.
Another workaround that I did was to figure out a way to attach the strap elastic to the back band before stitching the side under the slider. On all my bras the straps are tightened as much as they can be and I thought I'd want to shorten them. It was a bit tricky but if you loop the the end loosely like this:
you can thread the slider after the back is attached. I need to take at least a couple of inches off the length so the slider stays in the front.
The other big note if you are using a Bra Maker's Kit for a Harriet is that you will not have enough strap elastic. The Pin Up Girls patterns call for a large part of the strap to be sewn of the cup material. Either add some extra strap elastic on to your order, or add a sewn strap.
I may not have gotten there yet, but I believe I will. I should have enough supplies for 2 more bras before I need to place another supply order. Colors next time.
