A Fitting Course

 I saw an advert for a course to fit bras that went something like, “Want a fitting underwire bra? Join us …”  With all the struggle I have had, I jumped on the invite and signed up. I am unsure if I can do more than one, but it is a distance course, and I can make time to sew for learning purposes. I’ll sleep when I’m dead, haha. I chose to try out all five patterns. If I have to use only one, I can choose that once I see how they fit! They purposely chose the bras to cover a large range of sizes. 

The Josey and Josey Plus are only available from Bra Builders at this time, and they cover from about a range of sizes from 30-46 bands, starting from a five inch BCD (12.7 cm), think 30H or 36DD, up to 40K or 46H through sister sizing. To use the Josey, I will have to shrink the pattern as I am currently 2 sizes too small for it. I want to work on this one on my own.

The AFI Exquisite is available online as a download through the AFI Atelier website or her Etsy shop. The pattern is split into 4 sizes by smaller or larger bands and by smaller or larger cups. Aim to at least get your cup size, if you buy this, as a band is more easily altered for length. This covers a range of sizes from 85A-110I (US 28A-48I).

The next two patterns are from the same company, Bra Makers Supply (BMS), and are sold under the brand Pin Up Girls (PUG for short). The course producers chose to use Amethyst from the jewel line of patterns, and Freja. They both cover sizes from 3-6 inch (7.5-13 cm) BCD, and can both use foam. In the Amethyst, the pattern suggests to go up a size if using stable fabric instead of foam, whereas the Freja does not, so that seems to mean the Amethyst’s sizes are one size smaller from Freja if using not stretchy fabrics. These patterns are only available in print. They come on large sheets of paper, and best practice is to trace or photocopy the pieces needed and keep the pattern together. Check your country for a supplier to save on shipping. For example, Canadians get the best shipping price from BMS, but USA gets a better shipping price from the American supplier, Gigi’s Bra Supply.

And, the MakeBra DL03 is a cute downloadable pattern for smaller sizes. The smallest band covers 65C-I (US 26C-I), through the largest band 95A-C (US 38A-C). 

I’m pretty excited for this to start and hope to get a tolerable bra from it. 

(Note: references to the course name have been redacted for now as there may be some miscommunication that I need to figure out)

Mésange Bra

 Last night I sewed up the Hari Ito Mésange Bra in size 38C. I have a pack from B,Wear that was one of the first kits I had purchased there, and this just called for it. It does seem a little silly to sew a test bra out of a kit, but it’s been in stash for ages, and the findings were pilfered for some other make.

I had sewn a practice bra ages ago, but it did not fit, was just white powernet and maybe marquisette for the frame. For this one, I followed each instruction almost to the letter - I should have trimmed the dart seam, but I did want to know where it ends. But, the band was tight! I think the power net is firm instead of regular strength, and for me that requires a longer band. Are the cups too big? 

Take two! This morning, I sewed up the 40A using the same kit. But, now I’m half spilling. Let’s figure this out!

The most obvious issue here is the darts are just way out there causing east-westing to no end. Let’s look at their display model and see what’s going on. Mésange on Hari Ito

The bra is only displayed on a mannequin. It would be interesting to see what they expect it to look like on a human.

Their band looks differently shaped than mine at center front. The super rounded under wire area is practically smooth, center front is evenly joined… I have no reason to keep this shaping that’s been added on this size, so maybe I’ll fill in the gap. Others may need that shaping, so it’s a nice option.

Ah ha! The side view gives me a clue as to what is happening. The wires look tilted back and end somewhat low. It looks similar on the mannequin I made, but on my body, the wires follow the inframammary fold and sit more upright. Because of this, the bra cups are rotated further up, and I’m spilling more than the pattern is supposed to. 

And, they have a pattern for Extra Cups for this pattern. These are in stable fabric instead of stretch. In those pictures, the dart looks like it is set nearly vertical. I may try them next to see.

How should I progress? First, the band needs love to fit me. The bottom of the band has scrunchy fabric, so I need to raise that edge to remove the excess. Fill in the front some because I don’t have roundness on my torso right there. 

Then, those cups. I think the dart needs to be rotated. It seems to end at the right area, but the angle puts it in an area that doesn’t need the space (the dart is creating a shaped area). I want that shaping to be more under and less on the side. I think only an half to one inch shift of the dart should work. 

I’m looking forward to working on this some more. It’s a really cute pattern!

Jordy Bralette

 Last fall (beginning of the school year), the Hive had a class for the Jordy Bralette. I had tried it before and the size I was sized into seemed off. I decided to try the pattern again today. I haven’t finished it yet, but it looks pretty.

I looked around for a kit, but this one is missing its rings and sliders. I’ll use up the end of the green lace to test the Jordy!

My under bust (ribcage) measurement varies, today it was close to 34 inches. My bust measurement was between 41 to 42 inches, depending on how I took it. The pattern puts me into size 34F.

I did not stretch the elastics, and I feel this was a mistake. The elastic is on top of the fabric, the feed dogs of a sewing machine pull the fabric through, and the elastic is on top against the foot. Sometimes the top is pulled somewhat naturally, but this is not as useful with the thick plush elastic. I need to just barely stretch it for this pattern to help it snug up against my outer fullness. 

I’m also wondering about the band elastic. It will stretch around my torso, but the cups are stable. If the stable cup bottom is being pulled open, flat, then it will more likely smoosh the bust. I may need to gather the bottom of the cups a bit, then sew them in place.

The cups are very wide, and that’s okay, even though they have little shaping for my shape body. This is fine, it probably works well as is for other busts! For me, the outer cup side is just past my bust, so that the outer edge is a touch loose. I need to basically take a dart out. Instead of pinching out fabric, I raised the elastic to cover a full inch on the outside corner, instead of an half an inch.

For the center front, I started by overlapping the cups. This brings the cup seam closer to my fullest part. Next, I tucked the center front another 1/4 inch down into the band. 

I may tack on the straps and pin this together again soon. I’m happy with how much I was able to do today.

Bralette Drafting Woes

 I’ve been in the bra mentorship since the end of August. Thus far, we worked on underpants and bralettes. I’m looking forward to the next step, bra fitting bands. We will take the band from the bralette and fit cups into it. 

I really don’t know how to fit cups to me in a regular pattern. Perhaps the band was wrong? But, then I change the band and it affects the cup? So, then the band and cups have to be altered to get the cups back to the right orientation? And, if the underwire is different than the one the pattern maker calls for, then changes need made to support that!

So, I tried one last time to make the bralette fit, and I did not succeed again. Somehow, measuring on my body is not giving me measurement that fit me. Through the band seems to be improving, these two piece cups just won’t cooperate. Also, new machine for Christmas (thank you, my love!), and I’m wondering if the vertical cup seam is just stretched?

What’s right? I think the band is much improved.

What’s wrong? Those cups have wound up with too much space well above the apex. The first stretch cups were at 15% stretch reduction, and this time I chose 10%. It could be that. I tried going for a 4 inch BCD instead of 3.75 inch because measuring after holidays… I think the upper cup somehow wound up with excess shaping.

But, it was expressed that we need cups that actually fit in order to alter the seam lines to make other shapes that actually fit. Maybe I’ll give the cups another try, so I’ll just move on to the next assignment and come back to these later.

New Year, new Hurrah

 Revisiting the PUG Ruby Bra. I started watching the class recordings to pick up info I’ve forgotten. I picked up a poorly labeled bra from last spring and tried pinning out areas that weren’t fitting. Then I traced out a new pattern with the alterations and came up with this.

It doesn’t fit. My biggest issue with most bra patterns is that there is not room for my breast tissue where I need it. If I take a top down picture, it will show that the cups (and this mannequin) is made for someone without inner fullness.

This bra has bagginess at the outer cups, too. I’m going to shelf it again for a bit. I need to learn how to shift the shaping around more efficiently before I tackle this again.

MakeBra DL01

 It’s been a while since I made a bra that nearly fits. So today, I measured and checked the chart for DL01 by MakeBra. This is a foam cup bra with a stretch band. 

With about 34 inches (84 cm) underbust and about 16 cm difference, I measure into 85B. I sewed up a cup and tried to put it over my breast and it did not contain it. I’ll set it aside to have the smallest band length and become 65F for my daughter (same exact cup on a different ribcage makes the cup a different letter).

I cut out the next size up, 85C, and this looks like it will cover.

 Oh, and I decided to check the wire chart at this point. They have a printable on their Materials page. I printed the chart, checked the square that it printed to size, and set my underwire on the chart and the pattern piece. I can see I will need to raise the wireline on the pattern piece.

The Round 40 underwire (about the size of the BMS Long 40) almost fits on their suggested U256. My wire is a tiny bit wider, and about 1/4 inch longer. I also compared the Bliss 42 (which is the size of BMS Vertical Long 42), as this wire seems to fit me better. The Bliss 42 is nearly identical to the wire shape, except the underarm side is 3/4 inch longer. I would raise the side 1 inch to give it play. For me, raising the side this amount will add to the comfort.

The Bliss 42 is close to the same length as the Round 40 and Carmen 38, and all three of these wires have the same bowl, the arm angles are what changes.

The next thing is to check band fit. They have a suggestion on their website to cut out a band from stable fabric with extra length to tie in place. I know I have to change the center front gore, but I  am unsure how much. So, here we go!

I have a random Easter colors seersucker scrap in Mom’s things. This was just wide enough for this, thanks Mom! I added an inch to the center front and 8 inches to the center back. 

I slipped in the wires and tied it on and … it does not fit! Too big! The straps are far apart and the upper cups gape. The back is angled to slide down.

Back to the sewing table, I cut out another band, just! This one follows the bra band I’ve been working with in the Mentorship so it won’t slide down my back, and the wireline is different. I use the extra space between to try a different underwire. Cannot use the next size down in Vertical/Bliss! So, I close the gap on the front and put the Carmen 36 in to test. They bite when they slide out of the channeling, but may work. The cups seem better, but one is getting that fold on the bottom of the cup. Maybe the cup spacing or angle is still off. A real test bra will have to be tried.

Bralette Month

 We’re cozying down into the cold months way up north. Let’s get comfy!

Our assignment in the Mentorship is Bralettes. First, try a pattern that has the most support elements already in it, add the missing ones, then alter it to fit! Easy peasy! 😅

We moved on to actually drafting it from measurements. Drafting a bra is not too difficult. Drafting a bra that fits is challenging. I think I’ve mentioned that I have difficulty with buying or making bras that fit. Well, I found out a big reason is the band!

In high school, my now husband was in the marching band. He also played in a smaller band that would be displayed in restaurants and at Disneyland. Ah, the actual perks of Calif. You play, then you play! I was in choir, and we had a similar thing, sing and then enjoy the rides. Oh, wait, wrong band…

If you’ve ever tried to find info on how the back of a bra should fit, you’ll discover pics of bra bands that are halfway down the back and tight vs arched up in ridiculous lace rainbows arching for the neck. I’ve always done the former, but then I have wires that don’t stay snugged against the inframammary fold (IMF). Last night, I discovered why. 

I have a narrow back waist, and medium shoulder width. And between the two is a V shape. The bra back band has always sat at the narrow point of the V. (This pic has already had the band moved up some)

Following the directions of my teacher, I shifted that up onto my shoulder blades, on purpose, to make the band be more level with my apex. Not level with under the breast, level with the centered weight of it. Do you know how weird that felt?

Do you know that it also felt good? 

So, now I really do have lofty ambitions for this journey. 

Why is this important? Well, that’s a great question. 

If you are trying to hold an object in place and you’re only holding it up from the bottom and the straps, then the object is not as sturdy in place. The pressure goes through the shoulders, which may then ache. 

If you, instead, have the force go through the center of the area of the object, you have a better grip, and the shoulder straps are used as an anchor instead of the main pulley. Comfort increases, and lift is easier to achieve.