Sewing for me…

The nice thing about the baby being a little off schedule is that I’ve had some time to sneak in some sewing for me…!  I recently bought a couple fabrics online to make a couple pairs of Hudson Pants, but while I’m waiting for that to arrive, I thought I’d stock my own lingerie drawer. 

A couple months ago, I needed a racer-back style bra for under a specific top I wanted to wear. So, I made a Jasmine Bralette for with criss-cross straps, and no back closure, just pull on style in natural organic cotton jersey, and it quickly became my favourite bra. I seriously would wear it for days, without it coming off…  I figured I’d better make one in black too, since black tends to be the colour you will find me in most!  Being heavier chested, I like the criss-cross straps in the back I feel like it evens out the weight of the bust across my back better. It’s an easy alteration to make to the Jasmine Bra – just make slightly longer straps, and cross ’em in the back.  I used 1/2″ strapping, which works fine for me, but I kind of wish I could have used something a little wider… I just didn’t have any in stock!

I made this bra out of a single layer of cotton-lycra jersey. It’s about the weight of a good pair of yoga pants, which is great for me because it provides a litle extra support.  Also, you can’t see it, but when I make these bras for myself, I put in 3/4″ band elastic, instead of standard 1/2″. Again, no alteration needed to the pattern, but it’s a good tip for ladies with larger than a DD bust.

Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve found a slightly looser band to be more comfortable (I think because of the pressure on my ribcage).  So, this pull on style, as opposed to a back closure, really works well for me.  I feel like it would even make a great light-weight exercise bra for yoga, or when I get back into lifting.

I’ve talked a bit before about manipulating the Jasmine Pattern to suit a larger bust. I’ve graduated to a G cup (ugh) during my pregnancy and I still find these to be the most comfortable bras for my body type… not all full-bust ladies would agree, but for myself and my body type, unwired bras are still the best.  I do a really simple pattern alteration for myself, and cut between a small-large for the cups (start by cutting size small around the band, and graduate to large towards the apex of the bust), and cut a size small for the back band.  I also add a bit of height to the cup – really important for larger bust sizes. There isn’t just more to cover horizontally around the chest, but vertically as well.

And of course, I had to have bottoms to match. I made two pairs to go wtih this top.  A plain organic cotton pair, and a cotton lycra floral pair.  For these, I used my Zooey Bikini Bottom Pattern. The pattern comes with instructions on how to make them as lined Swim Bottoms, but if you ignore the lining on the front and back panties, they make great bikini-cut panties. I’ve LOVED these during my pregnancy because they are low cut, and the elastic (in this case, stretch lace) around the legs keeps the fabric in place. I think I’ve made myself about 7 pairs of these in the last few months. I’ll be doing a step by step tutorial on these bad boys when I get a chance.