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| My first ever bra! |
During my first attempt at making swimwear over the summer (see my results here and here), I realized that my lingerie making skills were somewhat limited. I was completely clueless as to what fabric to use to stabilize my swimwear or what type of boning to use and how to put in underwire channels. This is why I decided to sign up for a bra making course.
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| The beginnings of a bra |
The closest bra making course to home I could find was more than 300 km away in far-away London at Morley College. But it was totally worth the weekend trip (and seemingly endless bus journey).
The focus of the course was definitely on bra construction, rather than fit. We did take measurements and theoretically made the bra to our size, but without a fitting it's really potluck. My bra band turned out far too wide and loose but that doesn't bother me as it is only a first bra and now serves me as a great sample for future projects. Bra fitting, or let alone drafting, would surely have gone way beyond the scope of a short weekend course. So, bra construction it was.
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| My bra - which could never have been finished, without the kind bra strap donation from lovely Claire. (Thanks, Claire!) |
It turns out, bra making is really not as difficult as it sounds. Once you know where to use what fabric, elastics and findings and have figured out a sensible order of construction, the sewing part is no more difficult than if you were making any other garment.
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| Busy ladies: Michelle, Dibs from Dibs and the Machine and lovely red-headed lady (I'm sorry, I'm terrible at remembering names - you should write a blog, then I could look you up :) in a beautiful handmade blouse |
As part of the course I was lucky to meet a fantastic bunch of ladies. There was great camaraderie in the class. We all got along really well and helped each other out wherever and whenever we could (- and had heated political lunchtime debates!). Thank you all!
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| Here we are again! |
I now feel perfectly confident to tackle more lingerie and bra projects. I have already placed an order with the Sewing Chest and am planning to use a deconstructed bra that fit me really well as a pattern for my first solo bra project.
Wish me luck!
P.S.: Weekend bra making ladies, don't be strangers now! Stay in touch and share your bra adventures and misadventures! I'll be in London again soon enough and checking in on you ;)