Finished Project: Watson Bra and pantie set

I made a bra! I know a lot of sewists out there had the same realization after completing the watson, and like everyone else, I was pretty proud of myself!

Bra-making and fitting is a whole other ball game, and I had been itching to give it a try for a while. I had a total impulse-purchase moment when Caroline of Blackbird Fabrics posted photos of her latest Watson kits on instagram, and with that I was on the bra-making train!

I completed my Watson a while ago, but I didn't make the rest of the set until more recently.

This was a great pattern to start with. I had to do some alterations, but overall I figured out the fitting fairly easily. The bra is easy to assemble, it's mostly a lot of elastic-sewing. 

I'm pretty happy with my overall finishes.

I had plenty of lilac mesh left to make a couple of panties to make a complete set. First I made the Watson bikini. I used the size small, although I could probably have one up one size - or maybe I pulled a bit too much on the elastic when sewing it. Anyways, it's on the tight side, but not uncomfortable, so I guess it's fine.

The other one is the Cheeky Panty pattern (free) by Debi of So Sew-Easy. It's meant for lace but I decided to give it a try anyways, and add elastic to the openning as for the Watson bikini. I had to buy additional elastic for this one, and went with a similar peach contrasting color as the bra's straps. Since I added elastic, I also added seam allowances to the openings, which are normaly meant to line up with the lace border (i.e no hem).

Debi's pattern was super easy to put together. There was a bit of a gap on the bum when I first tried is on, but I ended up cutting the leg holes shorter so they reached more mid-bum cheek, and that took care of it. I would probably raise the waist line a smidge on my next go, but overall i'm pretty pleased with the result, it's comfortable to wear and doesn't show underneath fitted skirts or dresses.

So with that I have a full lingerie set! I definitely won't stop there and I'm already looking into more complex bras with chaneling and padded cups.

Fitting: Adjusting the Watson Bra Pattern

As I mentionned in my previous post, I made 2 muslins of the Watson Bra last week. The first one, the suggested size based on my measurements, was way too small. For the second one I cut the size matching my RTW size. The band was good, but the cups were still not fitting right.

Today I took muslin #2 and tried it on again, this time with makeshift straps. It confirmed what I had noticed before: If I shifted the bra slightly to one side, the cup fit actually ok.

While wearing it, I had traced on the bra where the base of the cup should hit. So I took the cups out, and repositionned them slightly more apart (about 1cm -3/8" more towards the sides). It created a gap in the middle, but it actually worked!

To close the gap, all I had to do was add 1cm (3/8") to the inner side of the cup, tapering to nothing at the top.

As I was fitting my adjusted muslin, I also pinned out about 1cm of fabric at the cup seam, so I removed .6 cm (1/4") from the seam on both pieces. Since I removed the extra along the entire seam, I added it back to the outer sides so that the cup would still be the same width at the base and at the top.

Picture above: added .6 cm on outer side seam of piece A, and added a total of 1.5 cm (5/8") at the base of piece B, reduced to .6cm at the top.

On the cradle piece, I extended the curve width by about 1cm on the side, tapering to nothing at the notch. Since I'd moved the cup to the side, I adjusted the notch to match the cup seam.

My final adjustment was to add .6cm (1/4") to the band depth. I did this because the hook and eye piece that came as part of the kit are about 1cm (3/8") wider than the band (once allowances are folded). I figure with the elastic trim, it will fill the remaining .4cm difference.

After I made the changes to the pattern, I adjusted the cradle on muslin #2 to match my new pattern piece, and recut new cups.

So this is muslin 2 1/2, which fits pretty darn good!

That's it for my adjustements! I was quite please that the alterations turned out to be pretty simple. In hindsight, I probably could have just added the extra width on the outer side of the cups, rather than the middle, but it seems like the seam is hitting in the right place, so in the end it probably doesn't matter. Can't wait to get the final version done!

WIP: (Recently and currently) on my sewing table

I opened an instagram account back in November when Sewvember was happening. Since then I've been posting photos of my work in progress projects. Until I get around to taking proper photos of the finished items, I thought I'd do a quick round up of the recent photos and elaborate a bit more on what's been recently & is currently on my sewing table...(please excuse the instagram-cellphone-lowlight qulity photos)

Pajamas
I've always wanted a nice pair of comfy pajama pants. I found the flanel-like fabric in the sale corner at Dressew and couldn't resist. I figured I should do a top as well and actually found some jersey knit I had in my stash. I actually remember purchasing the jersey a few years ago because it reminded me of ...my favorite pair of pajamas growing up.

 

The pattern for the pants is 127 from BWOF December 2007. Since I had enough fabric, I decided to knock out a pair of pajama shorts, also from the same pattern.

 

For the top, I would have used the Renfrew pattern, but I couldn't find my copy. I've either stashed it away in my storage space downstairs, or it has unfortunately been thrown away with a bag of scraps, along with most of my sewing machine accessories...:(

So instead, I downloaded the free "Tonic 2" pattern, by Skinny Bitch Curvy Chic.

 Camisole
A little while ago, my friend gave me this loose jersey dress, made of a really soft, nude coloured knit fabric. The shape of the dress wasn't quite right for me, but I figured I could transform it into something else. I wanted to make a camisole. I have a couple of RTW one, and they are really great for wearing under tunics and blouses, for that added layer of warmth in the winter/fall. I used pattern 128 from the same issue of Burda as the pajama pants.

For this project, I tried for the first time the stretch stitches on my sewing machine. The one I used for the hem is a decorative stitch that can be used instead of twin needles (the extra spool holder that came with my machine, to hold the second spool when using twin needles...also gone with the bag of scraps...)

Random refashioning
I'd purchased this home-made skirt at Value Village a couple of years ago. I love finding home-made items as I feel they are so much more special than RTW. The skirt was midi-length, and I wore it that way for a while, but I didn't love it. Finally last Sunday night, I decided to chop 20cm off the bottom and re-hem it knee-length. Thankfully by then I had received replacement for my overlocking and blind hem feet (which also happened to be part of the scrap bag tragedy)...so I used both to finish the edge and re-hem the skirt to its new length...

I have a couple more "RTW" projects on my queue, a shirt to take in, a lining to shorten, that sort of thing...Althought those projects may not feel very exciting, I have come to appreciate the "instant gratification" that comes with them and I see them as a good way to get some sort of sewing done when time is limited.

Watson Bra
I have been lurking at this pattern for a while now. I'm not one to jump on every new indie pattern that comes out of the blogosphere (how many boxy/loose knit tops patterns do I really need?), but I was immediately attracted to this soft, casual bra, perfect for week-end wear. When Caroline at Black Bird Fabrics (Yeah, Vancouver sewing scene!) came out with her most recent bra kits, it was the perfect excuse for some impulse online shopping.

Since then, I've made two muslins (one from the suggested size based on my measurements, and the other from the size that I usually buy for RTW bras). None of them have turned out satisfactory, and I sense a bit of fitting challenges in the future of this bra....

At least I'm having fun with muslin color-blocking...

Speaking of boxy/loose jersey tops ...
A while back I cut the pieces for pattern 128, from BWOF December 2013. After putting the body together, it sat unfinished for weeks as I was waiting for that second-spool holder (to use with my twin needles) to arrive...until tonight when I realized didn't need the twin needle to attach the sleeve bottoms, and since I didn't have enough brain power or motivation to knock out a third Watson bra muslin(let alone figure out fitting), I put this one back on the sewing table...

So that's it for my round up. I haven't blogged much but I sure have been sewing! I don't know yet what will be next, another knit top, a pair of pants, or should I start looking into summer projects?