My Favorite Bra Ever
Today is the day. Today I made the most comfortable bra that I have ever made. This thing is perfect in almost every way (we'll get to that later). I have made a few bras before and they are all workable, but never like this one. This one takes the cake. I used the good ol standby (Simplicity 8229) but this time I used Cut & Sew foam from Sweet Cups Bra Supply in the cups because I wanted a nice t-shirt bra. This stuff was so much fun to work with and I love the look of the oh so slightly padded bra. Plus this will serve nicely if and when we go places in the summer without AC in the truck and we go inside a chilly store. Never a fun thing, having to worry about the nips showing. Anywho, on to the bra!
Behold, Simplicity 8229! This bra is the bra I have made the most because I love the style; a nice classic bra with nothing crazy going on. I'm not a huge fan of those super strappy, trendy, uncomfortable looking bras. I just want something supportive and pretty and kind of retro looking. I do like the look of some of the cups in the more indie patterns because they are shaped slightly different, but for now this is just fine for me.
The best part about this pattern was that Madalynne herself has videos on how to sew this bra with foam, and also step by step instructions if you need a visual guide on sewing the regular version. I actually watched a video from another lady that I follow on Instagram (Ohhh LuLu) and she had some good tips on sewing with foam, too. So after I watched everything I could on sewing with foam, I got started.
I cut out all the pieces as normal, but I also cut out the foam parts for the cups out of a remnant piece of the foam that I got from the Scrapbox at Sweet Cups. She puts very usable scraps and discounted items in the Scrapbox for a great price, so I recently stocked up on loads of powernet and some accessories. Anywho, I decided to use the method from Ohhh LuLu's video where you sew everything like normal and trim back the foam from the seam allowances. And since Madalynne has a method for hiding the bra cup seams within the lining, I thought this would work perfectly. Aaaand it did! I was itching to sew while at work, so I hand basted the cup seams and pretty much all of the seams on the front and back band as well.
I also had my elastics handy, so I thought about finishing the tops of the cups with something pretty. I tried a few things and eventually wound up with this 'elastic cord' from Walmart, which is really just FOE. I know, I know... Walmart. But I was walking around the craft section one day whilst the husband was perusing the toys and I spotted these little 4 packs of elastic. They are 1.5 meters each which I thought would be just enough for most small things I use elastic for, so I bought them for a couple bucks a piece.
I really wanted these for the little ruffle trim FOE on each pack. One pack had a black one, one had a white one and one had that lovely turquoise color which I used on a pair of undies, coming soon. The other trims are ok, but the ruffle ones are the shit. The next time we go back I plan on buying quite a few. And as it so happened, the black ruffle one was perfect for this bra. I had pinned on some plain black FOE and it looked good, but the ruffle one took the cake.
Plain black FOE... looks nice and all, butttttt
Boom! Ruffly FOE!!! It just gives it that nice little detail and looks all feminine and shit. :-D
Once I got off work, it was all ready to machine sew. I then removed the basting stitches and began the task of assembling the whole thing. It went swimmingly, as normal.
That is pretty much the only 'during' photo I have of this one because I made it a few times before and didn't think to take pictures. But here she is, all finished.
For the straps, I wanted a little somethin somethin, but I had no elastic that was thin enough for the look I was going for, so I took that plain black FOE and folded it in half and sewed it down with a zig zag stitch, making it into a thinner elastic which turned out perfect for the look I was going for. I used the same elastic for the bottom hem as I did for the remainder of the straps. I did not make the straps adjustable because I wasn't even sure if this would work out. But since the straps are pretty awesome to me, I don't think I will change it for now. Maybe one day I will make them adjustable. I have the rings and sliders, but I thought this was cool the way it is.
The ONLY thing wrong with this bra is the band is a tad snug. I have one of those bra extenders and it makes it 1000% better. I am planning on making another foam bra very soon and for that one I will most likely use a 38 inch band instead of the 36 I made. Other than that, its ridiculously comfy for an underwire bra. The lace was a remnant that I cannot remember where I got it from and the inside powernet was a Scrapbox piece that I had purchased. The front band itself was non-stretchy duoplex fabric, also from Sweet Cups. It was in one of their clever bra kits that have almost everything you need to make a full bra, minus the wires. Those kits are a steal and super handy. So yeah, FREAKIN WOO HOO!!! I am so happy with this bra! The way it looks, the way it fits; everything!
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go to a happy dance now!
Behold, Simplicity 8229! This bra is the bra I have made the most because I love the style; a nice classic bra with nothing crazy going on. I'm not a huge fan of those super strappy, trendy, uncomfortable looking bras. I just want something supportive and pretty and kind of retro looking. I do like the look of some of the cups in the more indie patterns because they are shaped slightly different, but for now this is just fine for me.
The best part about this pattern was that Madalynne herself has videos on how to sew this bra with foam, and also step by step instructions if you need a visual guide on sewing the regular version. I actually watched a video from another lady that I follow on Instagram (Ohhh LuLu) and she had some good tips on sewing with foam, too. So after I watched everything I could on sewing with foam, I got started.
I cut out all the pieces as normal, but I also cut out the foam parts for the cups out of a remnant piece of the foam that I got from the Scrapbox at Sweet Cups. She puts very usable scraps and discounted items in the Scrapbox for a great price, so I recently stocked up on loads of powernet and some accessories. Anywho, I decided to use the method from Ohhh LuLu's video where you sew everything like normal and trim back the foam from the seam allowances. And since Madalynne has a method for hiding the bra cup seams within the lining, I thought this would work perfectly. Aaaand it did! I was itching to sew while at work, so I hand basted the cup seams and pretty much all of the seams on the front and back band as well.
I also had my elastics handy, so I thought about finishing the tops of the cups with something pretty. I tried a few things and eventually wound up with this 'elastic cord' from Walmart, which is really just FOE. I know, I know... Walmart. But I was walking around the craft section one day whilst the husband was perusing the toys and I spotted these little 4 packs of elastic. They are 1.5 meters each which I thought would be just enough for most small things I use elastic for, so I bought them for a couple bucks a piece.
I really wanted these for the little ruffle trim FOE on each pack. One pack had a black one, one had a white one and one had that lovely turquoise color which I used on a pair of undies, coming soon. The other trims are ok, but the ruffle ones are the shit. The next time we go back I plan on buying quite a few. And as it so happened, the black ruffle one was perfect for this bra. I had pinned on some plain black FOE and it looked good, but the ruffle one took the cake.
Plain black FOE... looks nice and all, butttttt
Boom! Ruffly FOE!!! It just gives it that nice little detail and looks all feminine and shit. :-D
Once I got off work, it was all ready to machine sew. I then removed the basting stitches and began the task of assembling the whole thing. It went swimmingly, as normal.
That is pretty much the only 'during' photo I have of this one because I made it a few times before and didn't think to take pictures. But here she is, all finished.
For the straps, I wanted a little somethin somethin, but I had no elastic that was thin enough for the look I was going for, so I took that plain black FOE and folded it in half and sewed it down with a zig zag stitch, making it into a thinner elastic which turned out perfect for the look I was going for. I used the same elastic for the bottom hem as I did for the remainder of the straps. I did not make the straps adjustable because I wasn't even sure if this would work out. But since the straps are pretty awesome to me, I don't think I will change it for now. Maybe one day I will make them adjustable. I have the rings and sliders, but I thought this was cool the way it is.
The ONLY thing wrong with this bra is the band is a tad snug. I have one of those bra extenders and it makes it 1000% better. I am planning on making another foam bra very soon and for that one I will most likely use a 38 inch band instead of the 36 I made. Other than that, its ridiculously comfy for an underwire bra. The lace was a remnant that I cannot remember where I got it from and the inside powernet was a Scrapbox piece that I had purchased. The front band itself was non-stretchy duoplex fabric, also from Sweet Cups. It was in one of their clever bra kits that have almost everything you need to make a full bra, minus the wires. Those kits are a steal and super handy. So yeah, FREAKIN WOO HOO!!! I am so happy with this bra! The way it looks, the way it fits; everything!
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go to a happy dance now!
Comments
Post a Comment