Comparing Plunge Patterns

 I realized that the Lansdowne by Orange Lingerie is at least a plunge style bra, if not a push-up, similar to the Push-up by Merckwaerdigh. I went ahead and purchased it this week and sewed a first go of it along with a Push-up. I moved up one size in the Push-up, and made the size with the closest sized lower cup piece from the Lansdowne pattern: 85B vs. 34B. (Note: I could/should have made the 36A, so that I have room to shorten the band because my ribcage size is an odd number in inches, between the 34 and 36.)

Comparison photo: I sewed the band on upside down! Other than that, you can see that the shape of the Lansdowne (top, in picture) follows the natural curve, and looks more like a regular day bra that is just meant to smooth and hold. The Push-up, on the other hand, compresses the outer/lower breast, causing it to be pushed to the middle. I’ve put the same size wire in the left (right in picture) cup of each bra, leaving the right cup (left in pic) free to show the difference the pattern lines make, and that the wire supports. See how flat the lower cup is on the Push-up? That’s what I need to get the girls in front of me.

I had made the Push-up in the suggested size the first time, the XO bra for Valentines. This time, I went up a size. This pattern has a set band that gets adjusted to size for the band to fit, and the cups are all B cups that use “sister sizing” to differentiate them. (Lying sizes, if I go online to a famous company, my sister sizes are 34D and 36B!)

The wire I had used the first time I sewed Push-up doesn’t really fit me: it’s a rocker style, but it was short enough to fit in the underwire channel. This time, I left the channel ends open and tried the wire that fits me best. The wires stick out both ends.

For the Lansdowne, I used the exact same fabrics. I think if I had stretch lace, it may have nearly fit me. I do think I need to go up a size, though.

I think I may not be measuring myself right, so I turned to my dear hubs. He measured me as best he could, at all the funny angles the best bra calculator shows. I told him to measure, write and just give me the numbers after and he obliged, shooing my prying eyes. His measurements are different than mine.

Upper bust: 36”

Full bust 39” average of ways to measure

Band/ribcage: 31” fully exhaled

BCD: Right:3”, Left: 3.25” (which place me at 34B, and 36B, respectively)

Well, he does get different measurements than I do. The calculator suggests 34DD, UK or US sizes.

Neither bra that I made today fit me. and that’s okay. I’ll go another size up. I’ll try them all until I get a fitting band and cup, or close to it. 

BCD Help from above!

Or, at least, the North. She’s in Canada, right?

A while ago, I had commented on Beverly Johnson’s blog post about the BCD method of bra sizing. The exchange went thus: 

My comment:

I have short, wide breasts. Your BCD thing puts me in a 36B, which does not fit me. Much too small for my lower cup; pinching wires, etc. I need a wider cup with less projection. Yet, going up leaves my upper area swimming. And eventually getting the wire size leaves my breasts unsupported.

I tried the Shelley pattern because it looks like it has the seams that could offer support to drooping breasts, but I could not get it to fit comfortably. It’s like a perfectly round softball shape that I’m trying to fit rugby balls in.

Do you have any patterns available that are drafted for wide shallow breasts?

To which she replied: 

You are a low contour shape breast. While I do not draft specifically for that shape or the Omega shape (the opposite) I do find that the BCD will work to a degree but you have to take some depth out across the apex. I taper from the apex to nothing at the side and from the apex to nothing at the front. Pin out what you need to remove from the lower cup and make the upper cup seamline to match in length.

What a lovely person, replying and giving a stranger advice. And I now have a starting place. And a title for my shape, Low Contour shape. I hadn’t even seen this reply until last week! I had left my comment this time of year two years ago, and she replied the same day! 

This also shows that I have probably been altering the cups wrong. I’m going to try her method and see how the fit is compared to the method that I had been doing. Now that the band is fitting better, to have the cups fit would be lovely!

X’s and O’s

 With little experience sewing knits, I wanted to make some underthings. They cover a smaller area, and seem somewhat forgiving. I, of course, have fit issue#, but hubs will happily wear whatever is close. I say that in jest, but he says that he feels loved when I make him things, and he happily wears some experiments in fit.

For example, to try out the Pin-Up Girls Men’s Underwear Pattern, I cut up a T-shirt that he had said had too many holes to wear again. I had to sew the sleeves together to have just enough fabric length to get the front gusset pieces. So there is an extra seam across the front. Even so, and probably because I flatfelled the seams as best I could, he was happy with the experiment.

That pattern has two versions, described on the website: “ Lillebror features a solid fabric back with forward side seams and a shapely front, while Michael has the detailing in the back seam and a traditional front panel. Both views feature over-the-top access and an optional support sling ” 

The “feature” of over the top access is just an option. If you/your recipient prefers it, pattern pieces are included for the fly option as well. Not all men use the fly, so they have the solid piece as well. Note: The non-fly option is still doubled layered. It takes less time to sew the no-fly version, and it makes sense to include both options in a men’s underwear pattern.Well done!

I went on with my Valentine’s Day sewing by cutting out the pattern pieces for three more items: another Michael, an Altitude Thong, and a Push-up style bra.

I had purchased a Sweetheart Bundle from Bra-makers Supply of Valentine fabric and waistband and leg elastics. I used the black elastic included on the t+shirt boxers earlier. But, I had also ordered the Love waistband elastic from Laceandtrims. That turned out fantastic with the XO fabric from the kit.

For me, I started with the Altitude Thong, a downloadable pattern by Sophie Hines. I am still working out my size. I’m between Medium and Large. I think I need the front pattern height of the small or medium -the large has bunches of extra fabric on my belly- coupled with the back pattern length of the large.

I have always had issues with certain underwear styles riding weird. Usually the front bunches, and the coverage in the back is awkward  I gave up at one point and settled on bikini underwear only because of the low front rise that can’t creep down further. But, now that I am “middle aged,” I find I want a higher front expanse to cover my stretch marks. I have been getting hipsters, but then I can have Visible Panty Line (VPL) across my belly in certain dresses, and my rear in my jeans. Altitude Thong to the rescue. I didn’t like thongs before this, just uncomfortable. With this higher waistband, it sits better and doesn’t ride strangely. Also, I decided to line the front and back with powermesh. This is the same fabric as the back band of a bra. It should help smooth out any lumps and bumps, plus keep the soft bamboo rayon from stretching out.

On to the matched set: I wanted to get this bra pattern that comes with multiple length options, but Merckwaerdigh has stopped shipping physical items to the U.S. They are still selling some PDF patterns online, so this was the only option to try this Pushup pattern. I definitely wanted to try this bra style, and this is currently the only push-up pattern that I have found (Boobytrap’s Plunge bra comes close).

With this being the first bra I made from this pattern, it’s more of a fit experiment (also called a toile or muslin, named after the type of fabric traditionally used for fittings). I have yet to be able to just sew up a bra pattern and have it fit straight from suggested size. First, the pattern says to measure the underbust line, 81 cm puts me in the 80 band. Then measure around the full bust, preferably in a fitted bra, 95 cm. The difference is the cup size: B.  I decided to sew up the 80B as is, even though a 36 band (the U.S. equivalent) is usually too loose, and the cup would likely be too small (36B is 34C, and I tend towards 34D or 36C, with a larger wire). This particular bra does not take up much fabric. 

Sure enough, the band rode up in the back and the left cup was too small. The style, though, was pretty spot on! Even with the wrong wires in it (I had some rocker wires at hand instead of the plunge wires), this shape cup pulled the girls up a bit. I need to narrow the bridge, as usual, and I am looking forward to making it again!

I hope you had an enjoyable Sunday with someone or doing something that you love!

Dart Trap

 Why is this dart so big? 

The Dart Bra by Booby Traps was one of my first bra pattern  purchases. I have printed it out several times, but not cut and sewn the actual garment.

 The patterns from most companies that sell bra patterns seem to have a formula wherein the band is the starting point, and the difference between the band and the cup determines the name of the cup size. For each band size, the A cup is a different size. As the band gets larger, the A cup gets proportionately larger. Because of this, they have a technique in the bra industry called “sister sizing.” The sister cup of a 40A in the 36 band is called B. On the 36 band, it’s called C, and on the 34 band, it’s called D. The cups are literally the same pattern.  Now, in ready to wear (RTW), they may actually shorten or give more height to the “extreme” ends of the spectrum, but in bra pattern sewing, I can trace the 34D to get a perfect 38A cup.

The Booby Traps pattern is different. It measures and suggests sizing in a similar way, but there are only 5 cup sizes for the 6 band sizes. The cups are labeled B, C, D, DD, E. The bands are labeled like clothing sizes: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18. The band sizes approximate others size wise. I usually wear a 34D in RTW bras in the U.S. I can wear a 36C, that’s where many bra patterns place me, and it often works fine when I sew my own (heavier duty powermesh for the back helps it stay in place), but RTW bras in that size often slide out of place. 

Booby Traps places me in a 14B, which is more like 36B. It can’t hurt much to just sew it up, maybe foreign sizes are different. My Merckwaerdigh pattern also sizes me to 80B (I hope to sew that one up soon!), so I cut and sewed some of Mom’s lace.

I marked on the pattern piece a shorter dart along the wire line. When I measured it, I realized that the width just wouldn’t work. I do want to check how the pattern fits, though, so I made it exactly. I have a short Bottom Cup Depth (BCD), that’s the length from the wire to the bust point. The four inch dart ran well past my peak and left wrinkled empty fabric an inch below the upper edge, which dug in a bit. I think I need to go up a cup size, and follow my instinct to shorten the dart.

Worker Bee

 I have hives of honeybees most years happily buzzing through the summer. It made sense to have fun and pick up the Black Beauty Bees bra kit from Emerald Erin. At the time, they only had latte, but it looks like bees on black tulle may be back in stock.

 The kit comes with stable tulle, the kind you use for the bridge, and to keep things up. The bees are on cup tulle, which is stretchy across and stable along the grain. I sewed up the pattern as written, but the power bars were at a strange angle and my bees fabric bagged out along the cross seam. I took out the cups.

I have altered one copy of the pattern to vertical seams. I sewed up a new pair of cups. I didn’t add the power bars back in, and found that the seam is actually at least an half inch forward of my bust point. The cups are a touch loose, too. Without the power bars, I simply looped the fold over elastic (FOE) through a ring and put the adjusters in the front of the bra. 

I need to adjust the pattern some more, it’s nearly fitting. 

Spring, Angles, Play

 While trying the band of the Porcelynne bra, I did find a comfort factor that has been missing with home sewn bras. The wire tips were pressing into my sternum, and I took a pinch of the base of the bridge and used a safety pin to hold it closer together. What a difference! I know. Wires fit to my “inframammary” line (the curve of my breasts), but the bra was forcing the wire to sit in the wrong position against me.

Yo. And I mean that in the most solid, I grew up in So Cal during the LA riots, gangsta that this little housewife can manage. And I’ll throw in a -Dude - for good measure.

My bra band fits. I took that tiny dart (1/4” per side!) and moved it to the back band to maintain the circumference. And I wore that until I nearly fell asleep in it. I do like to not sleep in wires, let  alone bras. I like to feel free at night.

Next bra I made up is the vertical seamed Black Beauty (LizSews on YouTube has a tutorial for this). I tried a Gothic Arch for the first time, but it didn’t turn out great. It’s my first, the cups need a touch of finessing, yet it’s wearable. 

Check that bridge! I have. Wires on top of each other, which may be a smidge too close, but it feels fine. This is the last of my Mom’s white shell lace. Blush pink for the cradle, and the back is a peachy color powermesh. 

Have you found a fit inspiration that suddenly just made things fit better?

Porcelynne Demi?

 Considering the wire seems to press my sternum, I looked around for a new solution. Demi bra! There are just a few “plunge” style bra patterns out there. I decided to try the pattern from Porcelynne. I am glad I followed the “fitting band” directions included in the pattern. It fit me oddly. 

The 42 Plunge wire is nearly identical to the size 40 Orange wire that I have used in the Black Beauty Bra, just a little shorter in the middle. Also, the Porcelynne chart calls the wire a different number. The 42 Plunge is numbered 44 in this pattern. I have a fitting pack, 38-40-42, hence the 40-42-44 wires on the chart.

I made fitting bands for each wire, to see if they fit well in the band:

And then I saw a big difference between this and the other pattern I’d recently used.

No wire spring. 

(Note: This will not be a fit-issue for everyone! I have rugby balls that don’t fit in the basketball shaped cups and cradles of most patterns! Like the Cloth Habit Harriet bra pattern, this is a fantastic pattern for a certain shape.)

 I pulled out Black Beauty and compared them.

That is the Black Beauty cradle traced to the Porcelynne Eve Demi pattern. The center bridge/gore is higher on the trace because Black Beauty calls for a taller center wire height. A new fitting band was produced in the Black Beauty width with Porcelynne Demi height. 

Now I found that the wire play is not enough for this Demi wire (Orange Plunge), I need to raise the center gore/bridge a little. At this point, I stopped for the day, with a -lightbulb moment- realization that I will go into more depth in my next post.