It was suggested to me in a recent reader comment that I go ahead and name my dress form. I have to agree, the dear deserves it with all I put her through. So I’m opening up the floor for suggestions!
And, as an added bonus, whoever suggests the name I end up choosing will be the happy new owner of 3 gorgeous yards of assorted fabrics! Hopefully they’ll be a delightful inspiration for you. 
In case that all so clever title didn’t clue you in, I’ve been sewing more bras. And even though it’s been WEEKS since I came here to post about it, I have been very productive.
I received my copy of The Bra Maker’s Manual not long after I posted the purple bra, and it has been EXTREMELY helpful! (Though, if I’d known ahead of time how unsatisfactory the online ordering process would be, I would have paid a few dollars more to order the book from one of the domestic bra supply stores that carry it). The chapter on fittings alone brought me so very much closer to my goals! And, in addition to working towards a perfect fit, I have continued to experiment a bit w/ different styles and materials.
This, is my fifth bra. The band fits snugly but not too tightly, the bridge is actually a perfect size and shape to fit between my breasts, and my breasts fill the cups without gushing over at all. However, since it is no longer 1950, I think it’s a tad pointy for my comfort.
Bra number 6, shown below, is just about perfect. It lifts my breasts as high as they could reasonably be lifted, and creates a very flattering shape. The straps are wide and *padded* and the band sits right where it should. Plus LOOK how pretty! Pink satin. How delightful.
With my own bosom in a good place now, I’m starting to work on some bras for other women, but I do believe I’ll post that separately. More soon!
That title is for Carrie. A bra on a model, rather than the floor… but NO not on me.
Sewing this bra was an experience, I have to tell you. I’ll back up a moment and explain. I decided to purchase some stretch satin to make a few bras, both for myself and for some others. JoAnn’s didn’t have any in store (at least not that I could find) but I found it on a couple of the websites I regularly shop for fabrics. Denver Fabrics had stretch satin for $4.75/yd and Fabric.com had it for $10.98/yd. Now I KNEW by the price tags alone that there was going to be a difference in quality… what I didn’t know was whether one of them would really be worth more than double the cost of the other! I could have ordered swatches, examined them, and then picked what I wanted. But I’m not that patient. I ordered a yard each of gold (for a specific project) and pink from Fabric.com, and a single yard of deep purple (which is coming out far bluer in my photos than in real life) from Denver Fabrics.
And then I waited. When the second of my two orders arrived four days later I eagerly ripped open the box to compare! The satin from Fabric.com is relatively lightweight and perhaps a tad stretchier than I *truly* want for a good supportive bra, but it’s soft, fine, and I think it will work great if it’s reinforced a bit. The considerably cheaper fabric was, let’s face it, cheaper. The purple satin was a heavier weight which is actually good for a bra to hold a gal like me, but it was also rubbery and almost plasticy. Still I wanted to give it a try!
Since the fabric was a gorgeous rich purple, I’d planned to dye white elastic, hooks, eyes, rings and slides to match. I went out and bought dye, got home, and realized I hadn’t ever ordered white bra elastic and only had black on hand (rats!) And again, I wasn’t patient enough to wait. Black goes with everything, right?
Moving right along I started sewing up this bra and the fabric was extremely annoying to work with. I had a brand new, lightweight needle in my machine, but really should have been using a stretch needle. And since I wasn’t (because, AGAIN, I wasn’t patient enough to wait for the needles I’d ordered to arrive), the fabric snagged multiple times, and looks pretty crappy now.
The whole time I was sewing, I was narrating this blog rant in my head and thinking about exactly which words I would use to complain about the experience. And then I put the bra on. Suddenly, I didn’t CARE one eensy little bit about the snaggles all over the place. I didn’t CARE that the texture of the fabric annoyed me and felt a bit being wrapped in plastic wrap. I didn’t even entirely care that I’d foolishly neglected to add some extra room to my bra cups to accomodate the less-stretchy fabric (impatience = foolish sometimes, and I’m really still learning what I’m doing here). ALL I cared about was how PREEEEEEEEETTTTTTY it was! Pretty, pretty, pretty. Purple. Shiny. Satiny. Ah yes! I have never before in my entire life owned a purple bra. What a delightful, gorgeous thing.
So in the end I have a poorly executed snaggly bra that doesn’t fit right, but renewed motivation. My stretch needles have arrived, my white elastic should get here tomorrow, and I’ll modify my cup pattern and give it another try. I WILL have my lovely purple bra. Rubbery though it may be.
