Thursday 20 April 2017

Harriet 2.0 & Ohh Lulu Grace Hipsters

Another day another bra! Today we bring you my second version of Clothhabit's Harriet bra, with some bonus Ohh Lulu Grace knickers to match!
I'm really happy with the way my second ever bra turned out. I made limited adjustments but the tiniest thing really makes a big difference on a bra.  
In my first Harriet I dutifully cut the measurement yielded from the instructions to "Measure around the fullest part of your bust without pulling the tape too tightly. Subtract your band measurement from your full bust measurement and use the Cup Size Chart to find your cup size." 
This put me around a 38DD which is what I made my first blue version in.
I decided that I'd cut closer to my RTW measurements this time, there was a lot of room in the cup and the band gave me little support. It was comfortable but not holding much up if you know what I mean.
 With that in mind I cut a 36D for my second version.
The fit on this one is fabulous! It is the most comfortable bra i've ever owned! I used rigid mesh and black powermesh for the back, lining the bridge and bottom of the cups with sheer cup lining. I'm not sure if I like the effect or if I should have lined the whole cup. Overall it turned out a lot more modern sexy than I was anticipating, but I quite like that about it. 
I thought i'd be clever and make my thread match my purple/pink mesh. That was a bad idea on my second ever bra. I like the effect from far away, but I don't think it looks as professional as the blue where I matched my threads as you can see every tiny detail, including a couple of popped stitches from when the underwire was inserted, also working with mesh and sheer cup lining was tricky, the little suckers loved slipping around even when pinned in place.
 Ah well, we live and learn!
I think on my next version of Harriet, (and there will be a next one) I need to scoop out just a small wedge from the top of the cup where it gapes a smidge, no more than half an inch and shorten the straps, where the sliders sit now is pretty much where they sit on me on the front side of my shoulders rather than the back. Other than that its pretty great on the fit, I feel supported but nothing pulls 
This was one of the few kits I purchased from Elise Patterns. I'm really happy with the quality of the supplies and I love how different bras can turn our just by your choices of which pieces you put with different materials. For example I did debate cutting the bridge in powermesh but I felt that only having cups in mesh broke up the effect too much. 
I did end up giving myself a lesson in appropriate fabrics for my knickers though!
 I picked the Ohh Lulu Grace Hipsters to go with this set. I had purchased some extra rigid mesh and so I had enough for them. Be advised if you buy a bra kit its sometimes tricky to squeeze a pair of underwear from your fabric too, unless the seller states that you can. I tried to be clever on these and cut my purple/pink mesh from spare fabric and the panels from powermesh. I used a fold over elastic for the edges and a scrap of jersey left over for the crotch lining. 
Here is my advice to you... Don't use powermesh for panties unless you love wearing spanx!
 I'm going to replace the side panels with regular black jersey on these as at present I can get them on but they are not comfortable! The pattern calls for some stretch and some non stretch fabrics, with the stretch around the side panels for comfort. I'd say you need at least a 20% stretch to be comfortable in these. They look great as a set, but to be honest i've just been wearing the bra with any black knickers I had already. 
 Thats the beauty of making your own underwear though! Its up to you to make it work. Now i'm starting to gain confidence in my lingerie sewing abilities, i'm going to start stashing more useful fabrics to have on hand such as stretch mesh in white and black, plain jerseys as well as foam cup lining and straps and sliders. I already have quite a large stash of fold over elastic in various colours which I found surprisingly in my local fabric shop, topped up with some from Evie La Luve.
 I'm really loving making my own lingerie, i'm finding that, like when I started sewing the endless possibilities of colour, fabric and design excites me. I like that using the same fabrics in a different combination, I could come up with countless different designs. I think its always been there. 
When I did fashion design and pattern cutting at college I did an underwear project for the CEO of Triumph and it was one of my favourite projects, didn't make a bra though. 
Have you started stitching your own lingerie? How did you find it? As you can tell I love talking about this, Let's talk in the comments!

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