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Completed: Marlborough Bras

Happy Monday, everyone! Let me help you kick-start your afternoon with some underwear photos 😛

I made these Marlborough bras a couple of months ago. Nope, I haven’t branched out to new bra patterns yet; this particular pattern suits me just fine! I love the way it fits and I’m happy with the shape it gives me under my clothes. I prefer this soft cloth bra over a foam-cup bra (although I do like those, too!), even if it does mean that people can totally tell when I’m cold. Whatever. I’m always cold and we all have nipples and I’ve just learned to deal with it.

Can I just say – I’m so happy that making my own bras has given me the options to choose what sort of underwear I get to wear. Those big non-seamed foam cup bras that everyone is pushing right now – you know, the kind that make your boobs look like half of a grapefruit – just don’t fit me right. I don’t have the breast shape to fill them out properly and it always drove me nuts when I had to wear them. I do much better with a seamed cup – and I’m even happier when I have no foam, or very very thin foam – it just fits better and looks nicer. I am accentuating my own breasts, instead of covering them up to create new ones. Plus, I have the option to make my bras out of anyyyyy fabric I choose – which, if you’re any size that is outside the very small “standard” size range (like, basically 34B / 34C), you know how hard it is to find pretty bras that come in more than 3 colors. My underwear drawer makes me so happy now! 😀 haha!

Since I’ve already made these pattern multiple times (seriously, just look at my Marlborough tag), I’m not going to talk much about sizing and fitting. I’ve definitely already covered that! This is a size 30D with some minor adjustments to the band and upper cup, to fit my body better. I love this pattern and it was the first underwired bra I sewed, so yes, it’s a good pattern for a first-time bra maker. Might as well start big! For more tips on bra making, check out this post I wrote.

First Marlborough is this one with glittery black stars!! If the fabric looks familiar – it’s cos I’ve already made a bra with it! I loved that little soft bra so much, and I had so much of this sparkly mesh left over, that I figured I’d made an underwired bra with it as well 🙂 The mesh was originally given to me by my friend Carolina, who bought it for me a couple of years ago in the Garment District. It’s a sheer mesh with a 2 way stretch and sparkly glitter stars. Whenever I wear this bra, I end up covered with glitter haha.

The entire bra (minus the band) is lined with black sheer cup lining, and all the elastics and channeling are from the depths of my stash. The hook and eye, bra straps, and gunmetal rings and sliders are from Tailor Made Shop, which is my favorite online resource for bra making supplies (especially her kits!). I will note that I finally figured out a way to completely encase all the seams with lining so you don’t see any serged seams – if you leave the seam that connects the bridge to the frame (right under the cup) so that it’s not encased, it will eventually be covered with elastic and underwire channeling. That way, you can encase the frame to band seam and not have to serge it (I hope this makes sense). It does require making your sewing steps slightly out of order, but I think it’s worth it!

Sorry in advance for all the photos, as well as the cat hair that is included. I am very proud of how this bra turned out!

My second Marlborough is a bit more practical – a soft pink that almost exactly matches my skin, which means it works great as a nude bra. I wear a lot of shirts that border on sheer in the summer, so this is a definite need in my wardrobe. Sewing (and wearing) nude bras is so boring, so I’m happy to have one that’s actually really pretty 🙂

The blush lace is from Mood Fabrics; it is a very soft and sheer lace with pretty scalloped edges that have “eyelashes.” $20 a yard isn’t cheap for lace, but it is when you only need 1/2 a yard to make a bra (honestly, you only need like 1/4 yard… but Mood Fabrics only sells in half yard increments online, wah. At any rate, this is a good nude color for me so I can make more when I wear this one out!). In my experience with this pattern, most any fabric works as long as it has a very small amount (like 10%) mechanical stretch in one direction. Like, the same amount of stretch you’d get from cutting something on the bias. Once I line the fabric with sheer cup lining, it has the perfect amount of stability and stretch and almost guarantees a good fit. I really stressed a lot about finding the right fabric when I first started making bras, but this discovery has made things soooo much easier!

As with the black glitter star bra, this whole bra (minus the band) is lined with sheer cup lining in white. The scalloped edge of the upper cup is stabilized with a strip of selvedge from the Power Mesh, which I’ve learned I like better than using clear elastic. All the elastics are from my stash; I tried to stick with nudes to complement the blush. The hook and eye, strapping, and rose gold rings and sliders are from Tailor Made Shop – the strapping in particular is pretty cool, it’s not like regular elastic strapping… it’s almost like a stretch petersham ribbon. It looks really beautiful and delicate with this bra, and the color match is spot on. Oh, and the bows are actually pulled of an old bra that I wore out and tore up – I think it was originally a Betsey Johnson bra. It makes this one look extra frilly and girly, which I love!

Here, you can see the eyelash edge. It’s very soft and pretty, and makes for a really smooth line under tshirts.

Just a few more things – upcoming workshop and class related!

I am getting ready to head up to New England for a sewing retreat next weekend, in Exeter, NH! I will be running a 4 day open sewing workshop at Pintuck & Purl, which I am super excited about! I’ve heard that Exeter is gorgeous (I mean, can you really beat New England in the fall?!) and I am so pumped to spend 4 days sewing with my amazing students – on Bernina sewing machines, no less! There are still a couple of spots left if you’ve been considering and are on the fence – you can sign up here! Seriously, it’s gonna be so much fun! This is an open-sewing concept, which means you get to work on whateveerrrrrr you want! I’ve been emailing my students and they are already all planning some great projects.

Then the following week, I’m heading out to Camp Workroom Social to assist Amy in her bra making class! I just got my hands on the pattern we will be using, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Camp is already sold out for this year – are you coming? Raise your hands if you’re attending the bra making class!

I’ll be back in NYC the first weekend of November to teach two back-to-back workshops at Workroom Social – the Jeans Making Intensive (which has already sold out!) and the ever-popular Pants Making Intensive (I think there are still a couple spots left for that one, but it also tends to sell out so I’d suggest snapping it up if you’re considering!). It’s been a few months since I’ve been to the city, and I’m excited to go back! I’m actually staying an extra day so I can visit the Science Museum + blow my wad(of ca$h) in the Garment District 😉 YAY.

One last thing – I have a new class series at Craft South! I am bringing the open-sewing workshop to Nashville – Yay! Tailor Night (I can’t take credit for that name, my co-workers suggested it haha) is select Thursday evenings at Craft South from 6-9PM. It is similar to a regular class – except YOU get to pick the project that you want to work on! As you know, I’ve pretty much covered it all when it comes to garments – so I can help you with whatever your little heart desires 🙂 Jeans, coats, tshirts, first-time pattern users, general fitting, seam finishes – I got you! Or you can just use our big cutting tables and awesome Janome sewing machines, and socialize with other people while you sew. There are always snacks and drinks and I definitely encourage some wine to tag along as well 😉 The best part is that you don’t have to commit to a whole weekend – or a big expense. The classes are 3 hours in the evening (which you don’t have to stay for the whole time if you don’t want to – remember, it’s *your* open sewing sesh), and they cost $35 a pop. If you’re visiting Nashville and want to get crafty for a couple of hours, this is a great way to spend a Thursday evening 🙂 And if you’re local – well, this is also a great way to spend a Thursday evening, and get to know other sewists in the area! If you’re interested, you can sign up here on the Craft South website and choose which date you prefer.

All right, I’m out! Here’s a picture of me and my dad, taken a couple of days ago. As silly as this sounds, I was pretty upset that I didn’t have a recent picture with him – so as soon as he felt up to it, I made him take one with me! Love my daddy so much ♥ He’s doing great and my mom is by his side 24/7! Already getting lots of PT and OT, eating solid foods, and we are hoping he can go home as early as this week!

Tags: bra, camp workroom social, classes, completed, craft south, lace, marlborough, nashville, nude, NYC, pintuck and purl, starz, workroom social, workshop

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Categories completed projects - new

Sweaters & Skinnies for Fall!

24 Sep

Ok, I’ll admit – when I first started working on this outfit, the air was a LOT more fall-like than it currently is at the moment. Stupid fickle season, ha!

Anyway, I’m totally a trooper so I’m modeling this outfit for y’all nonetheless (photos taken early morning before the temperatures got too high, because, woof.). My first real cold-weather makes – like I said, it’s a little early in the season here, but I like to get a head start so I can actually start wearing this stuff when the weather cools down 🙂 This outfit – or at least the skinnies – is also part of my London wardrobe. I’m officially less than 2 months out, EEEEEP! – so it’s time to really start cranking down and getting my wardrobe act together. Since I’m very limited in suitcase space, I’m trying to capsulate everything to mix and match. So I can bring less clothes, so I can bring home more fabric 🙂 You know – priorities!

ANYWAY, I have a lot of ground to cover with these two pieces, so let’s get started! Sorry in advance for the big photo overload!

Let’s start with the sweater. I bought this fabric last month while I was in NYC. This was my first non-spring trip to the city, which meant my fabric shopping was focused on woolens and winter weights (instead of summer fabrics, which I am usually bee-lining for in March). I immediately found this star printed WOOL sweater knit, and promptly flipped my shit over it. It’s SO fabulous – and soft! Even softer than you can imagine, forreal. At $25 a yard, it wasn’t the cheapest sweater knit – but stars and wool? Totally worth it. Plus, it’s not like a sweater takes a lot of yardage – at least not for me. I bought a yard and a half (and I have some leftover.. hmm, what to make with?).

The pattern I used to make this bad boy was actually suggested by Devra (who also bought some of the prized star wool knit, after I peer pressured her into it 😉 ) – the SJ Tee from Papercut Patterns. I made a wearable mock-up before the real deal – which I will show y’all later this week – so I was able to figure my fitting before cutting into my precious wool knit. I cut a size XXS and took 1″ out of the center back. The length is the long version (aka, not cropped) and the sleeves are long as well.

I used rib knit to finish the neckline and cuffs – it was in my stash, I have no idea where it came from. This knit was way stretchier than the sweater knit, so I had to keep retrying the neckline to get it to lie flat. I ended up cutting the rib to half the length of the neckline and stretched the everloving shit out of it – it could still stand to be a little tighter, but this will do. The neckline also can’t stand to be a little lower, it’s already a little risque (which I LIKE!). The cuffs are a bit looser than I’d prefer, but I wanted to be able to push the sleeves up, like so.

I sewed the entire sweater on my serger – you could use a sewing machine (this particular knit does not unravel or shed), but serger is faster 🙂 I did use a twin needle to topstitch the raglan lines, as well as the neckline & hem. Really loved topstitching this sweater; the stitches just sink right in and look soooo good!

For the black skinnies, I used a really great stretch twill. I’ve had some hits and misses when it comes to stretch bottom weights – they tend to be a weird weight (either too heavy, or not heavy enough), and the stretch can bag out over time. One thing I’ve learned is that you need a pretty high spandex/poly content to get them to snap back into shape – 5-10% – and you need to make sure they are bottom weight. I actually made Heather Lou source this fabric for me, also in the Mood store. We were initially looking for black denim, couldn’t find a good one (I still don’t really know what constitutes as a good one- you’ll have to ask her! I just blindly followed, ha), and decided on the twill. We did end up finding a black denim, fyi, but not at Mood. Once I sew that one up, I’ll share more about it 🙂

Anyway, this twill is great! It’s pretty similar to what you get with stretch RTW pants – thick enough for a bottom weight, but not tooooo thick (I still only used an 80/12 needle, so no heavy denim shit or whatev). The stretch is crazy good, and it actually snaps back into shape. I can’t give y’all a true verdict on a full day’s worth of wear – the weather jumped back up to hot, so I haven’t had a chance to wear these yet. However, I tried the jeans on a LOT during construction, and they haven’t bagged out yet. So that’s a good sign!

The only drawback to this stuff is that it attracts cat hair like a magnet. It’s not as bad in real life as it is in photos (else I would have lint-rolled that shit, I mean, come on), but it also doesn’t bother me that much. When you have a cat and you wear black pants, cat hair is sorta just a way of life, you know?

The pattern I used to make the skinnies is the Jamie Jeans, from Named. I’ve actually had this pattern in my stash for a few months – my friend Carla bought me these (plus a few other Named patterns) as an early birthday gift earlier this year. Then I was a total ass and didn’t do anything with them until just now 😛 Hey, it’s been too hot! Anyway, I’m glad I put these off because there is no way I would have had such stretch twill success if it hadn’t been for Heather doing that side of the shopping for me. So there’s that.

Anyway, this was my first experience with Named. My understanding is that a few things have changed since they initially released this pattern – for one, the instructions include some diagrams now (they used to be text-only), and the prices are a little more competitive. The pieces also aren’t quite as overlapped as they were the first go-round – because, ugh, tracing patterns, ugh. I only had to trace the waistband for these. Everything else was, thankfully, not super overlapped.

I started with the size 2, and made these initial modifications, based on my muslin:
– Added 1″ to the back crotch, for butt room
– Removed 2″ of length at the legs
– Removed 5/8″ at the center back yoke, blending to 1/4″ at the bottom (where the pants meet the yoke)
– Removed 1/4″ from the center back, blending to nothing

Once I started sewing, I ended up doing a few more fit adjustments. I don’t know why these weren’t prevalent in my muslin – perhaps my fabric wasn’t quite stretchy enough? At any rate, these are my additional modifications (and now you know why I pulled them on and off so many times!):
– Sewed the side seams at 1/2″
– Took a 1″ wedge out of the center back of the waistband, tapering to nothing at the bottom
– Removed an additional 3/4″ from the length
– Did some crazy witchcraft to reshape the crotch to be a J (again, NO IDEA why this wasn’t an issue with the muslin, but argh – at least I fixed it? Mostly.).

Things I will change for my next rendition:
– Need to remove some length from the front crotch – you can see that it’s slightly too long (it’s not toooo bad – I doubt anyone will point and be all “HA HA YOUR CROTCH IS TOO LONG HA HA!” But I know it’s there and hey, it bothers me, ok?). Maybe 3/8″ish.
– Rescoop that J a little more out of the crotch. It’s still not perfect, but it’s damn good considering that I did this while the pants were already mostly assembled (for those of you who are all, “Wtf is this J crotch you keep talking about?” Here’s the post where I talk about my pants adjustments, including J crotches. Also, in case you were wondering- those crotch rulers *do* work. I found one in Elizabeth’s studio last week, immediately stuck it on my crotch – and hey, there’s a J! Cool!)
– Need to take a little pinch of fabric out of the inner leg seam – maybe 1/2″

Despite my nitpicky fit adjustments, these aren’t so bad! I’ll still totally wear the shit out of them, at any rate.

Constructing these was REALLY fun! The instructions – honestly, they’re kind of useless about 70% of the time, but I’ve made enough pants to where I don’t really need them. The seams are all finished with my serger – except the crotch seam, which is flat-felled – and I made use of my edgestitching foot to get all that beautiful topstitching. For the waistband, I used fusible tricot knit interfacing – I fused both the outside and the facing, to give it some stability but retain that lovely stretch. The button & jean zip are both from Pacific Trimming in NYC.

I really love the back pockets! And hey, that double line of stitching at the yoke? That was done with a single needle, twice. No twin needle!

For the hem, I used the lightning bolt stitch, so it would retain some stretchiness. It looks pretty similar to a straight stitch, but it, you know, stretches.

What else? Here are some sweater close-ups:

YUM!

One last thing – here’s the little watercolor fashion illustration I made for this outfit. GOD, I love painting watercolors! So much fun!

Ok, I guess that’s it! Now if the cooler weather could please come back – I hate working up a sweat while I drink my morning coffee 🙂 Oh, and in case you were wondering – that’s a fresh dye job you’re looking at, in regards to my hair! I love how neon electric is is 🙂 Yay for fun-colored hair!

PS: Ralph Rucci V1419 Sewalongers – in case you missed it, there’s a new post up on the McCall blog regarding the sewalong. Just some general housekeeping, including blog buttons (yes!) and social media chat. The burning question this week – for general sewalong chat outside of our blogs, do y’all prefer to use a Facebook page or a Flickr Group? Trying to decide which platform to us. Let us know which side you swing!

Tags: completed, cotton twill, fashion drawing, fashion illustration, jamie jeans, jeans, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, named, pants, papercut patterns, rib knit, SJ tee, starz, stretch twill, sweater, sweater knit, top, twill, watercolor, wool knit