If you make your own bras, you will most certainly have heard of the Queen of Bramaking, or Fairy Bramother, Beverly Johnson.
If not, let me tell you that Beverly Johnson is the brains behind Bra-Makers Supply in Canada, which is easily one of the biggest online supply shops for home and custom bra and lingerie makers. She has also written the book Bra-Makers Manual, which I'm very tempted to buy for myself. In addition to that she teaches bra making all over the world and releases the popular Pin-Up Girls bra and lingerie patterns. These patterns are great because they literally come in every bra size imaginable.
I bought the Shelley bra pattern, and accidentally the Classic bra pattern (don't ask, it's complicated :) and plan to play with both these patterns this month as part of my challenge A Year in Indie Patterns.
I bought the Shelley bra pattern, and accidentally the Classic bra pattern (don't ask, it's complicated :) and plan to play with both these patterns this month as part of my challenge A Year in Indie Patterns.
So, needless to say, I was more than excited when Beverly Johnson agreed to an interview for this blog. I had a lot of questions to ask her and managed to edit them down to only seven, so as not to have poor Beverly answer my questions all day.
The interview is super exciting! Enjoy reading it and get yourself a Pin-Up Girls pattern, if you want to join me for this month's challenge. They are available in Canada through Bra-Makers Supply or in Sweden through B-Wear. I got mine from B-wear's Etsy shop.
We had a neighbour, Gwen, that was an incredible seamstress – a designer, in actual fact. When I was 10, I got a Barbie™ and Gwen made clothes for her (with darts and seaming…even a tiny wee zipper!). I started taking Home Economics the same year and being able to make clothes for Barbie was heaven to me. I knew I wanted to know everything I could about sewing. Where I lived in Canada there was no fashion school, so my only option was to become a Home Economics teacher (even though I didn't really care about the cooking part…lol). To finance my way through university, I did alterations and sewing for others. One of my customers wanted a bikini that looked like a bra and asked me to make one “the same – only different”. That was my first venture into something bra related.
I taught myself to work with spandex so I could make dance costumes, swimwear, fitness wear and underwear. With each stretchy garment, I learned to control this fabulous fabric. Remember in those days, no one knew how to sew with knits, let alone spandex!
Many years later I worked as an independent bra pattern maker for the bra industry. That was very stimulating work, as I worked on completely different projects for each client. I have given that work up as it is very personally demanding, but every so often, I get asked if I would take on a bra design project for a company. My answer is always no - I am very happy designing and drafting patterns for my own company (Pin-up Girls) and teaching women how to use them.
I wanted to do something that no one else was doing, but when I read pattern drafting books, I realized there was no information on bra-making. In fact, one book said to “leave the bra-making to the experts in the industry”. That was strange - where does the industry learn? That started me on a quest to find out everything I could about this fascinating garment. I purchased dozens of bras from dozens of brands and took them apart to determine what made one brand better than another. I also bought bras from the smallest to the largest to determine the grade rules. It took me a year but I had a working set of patterns. They were all drawn by hand at that time, but they worked!
Each time I taught a class, I could individualize the fit to each student so the bra pattern was truly custom. I was teaching at sewing shops and sewing festivals all over Canada. I did that for 15 years! In fact, my bra-making classes still hold the record for being the most popular class at the Toronto show! I am very proud of that!
At the same time, students in the classes were asking where they could buy all the elastics, hardware and findings for making their own bras and perhaps for their customers. I made up a one-page flyer so they could purchase from me. That one page with 9 products has grown into 1600 products that fill our website and out store in Hamilton! My patterns are all done on a computer now (in English and French too) so they look a whole lot better than they did in the beginning!
Absolutely! At the turn of the century (wow – that makes me sound so old!) “everyone” said that sewing was a “lost art”. Well, it is not lost now! Television shows like Project Runway and Project Catwalk bring the world of the fashion designer to your TV screen. You actually see these designers sewing! I think that is very important, for others to realize that someone, somewhere is actually using a sewing machine to create these lovely garments. I see younger women in my classes than I used to – that’s heart warming!
Just to compare, I used to travel around the country teaching bra-making. The classes were full but I would go to a store only once a year. Now I teach bra-making every three weeks and the classes are always full. So the interest is definitely increasing!
More importantly, I think that the hundreds of sewing blogs out there are helping a lot. Sewing is largely a solitary activity, and yet, the social aspect of sharing one’s projects with others as enthusiastic as you, is very intoxicating. On my blog, I can’t wait for comments to come in. I get revved up just knowing that my blog has helped someone else make their own bra.
I seem to sew a LOT of samples, more than anything! But I did sew an award winning quilt (can you see corsets, bras and panties in this quilt?) which was featured in a magazine this past year. One of my recent projects was a chevron lace dress. On my to-do list is some new underwear – I really need some new stuff!
Yes, I am teaching in Sweden this year for the second time. Our European distributor is Bodil Friman (www.bwear.se) and she is printing all my books and patterns and carrying our elastics and fabrics. Best of all, she is hosting lots of bra-making workshops in mid-summer, so I am teaching the Classic Bra, Shelley Bra, Amanda bra, the Bra Dress, Fabrics, Style Changes and Power Bars for 8 days in Stockholm.
Although I don’t travel to teach for short periods of time any more, I am willing to go to places where I can teach for several days at a time. Earlier this year, I taught at the university in Taipei, and also at the Stitches Conference in Saskatchewan. If anyone wants me to come and teach in the UK or Europe for a few days, we should talk!
We tell prospective bra-makers – “if you can sew in a sleeve, you can make a bra”. So it is not difficult work, just precise. We need accurate 1/4” (6 mm) seams so we are fussy about that, but lots of other things, we can live with to get the bra done to make sure it fits well.
Fabric makes the biggest difference. If you make your first bra with the fabrics recommended by the designer (which is a stable knit), and the second bra, you go to your sewing room and pick out some really stretchy fabric, the two bras will not fit the same. There are ways of making patterns work with your fabric work, but stick with fabrics with similar properties to the original and get some experience before you branch out.
Our most popular pattern is the Classic Bra, which is a full band bra which can be used with or without wires. If you start with the Classic Bra, you will learn all the techniques necessary for bra sewing. Applying the underwire channeling and sewing on facing elastics (as opposed to casing elastics), are techniques specific to bra-making. Once you know those basics, you should be able to make the Linda (partial band bra) or the Shelley (my designer bra) or the Amanda (the foam cup bra).
Women will often take a class to learn the first bra, which is fine, but the instructions have been written assuming you have never sewn a bra before. If they are still unsure, they might want to purchase “Make & Fit your own Bra” which is a book that covers in much more detail the construction and fitting process of both the full band (Classic) and the partial band bras (the Linda bra).
More patterns, more blogging, more books and more classes! I have three more books (swimwear, corsetry and foundations) in progress. Also several patterns including a bikini pattern and a bodyshaper pattern are in the works too. Certainly I will do more bra patterns. I would love to do online classes, too! So many things and not enough hours in the day! I’ll keep doing this until I’m not effective anymore, then I’ll think about retiring. Maybe!
1. Bra-making is such as specialized field. I’m dying to know how you got into it. Did you start off training for general dressmaking/fashion design or did you jump right into bra-making?
We had a neighbour, Gwen, that was an incredible seamstress – a designer, in actual fact. When I was 10, I got a Barbie™ and Gwen made clothes for her (with darts and seaming…even a tiny wee zipper!). I started taking Home Economics the same year and being able to make clothes for Barbie was heaven to me. I knew I wanted to know everything I could about sewing. Where I lived in Canada there was no fashion school, so my only option was to become a Home Economics teacher (even though I didn't really care about the cooking part…lol). To finance my way through university, I did alterations and sewing for others. One of my customers wanted a bikini that looked like a bra and asked me to make one “the same – only different”. That was my first venture into something bra related.
I taught myself to work with spandex so I could make dance costumes, swimwear, fitness wear and underwear. With each stretchy garment, I learned to control this fabulous fabric. Remember in those days, no one knew how to sew with knits, let alone spandex!
Many years later I worked as an independent bra pattern maker for the bra industry. That was very stimulating work, as I worked on completely different projects for each client. I have given that work up as it is very personally demanding, but every so often, I get asked if I would take on a bra design project for a company. My answer is always no - I am very happy designing and drafting patterns for my own company (Pin-up Girls) and teaching women how to use them.
2. What made you decide to start your own business as a bra-maker, teacher and supplier to custom and home bra-makers?
I wanted to do something that no one else was doing, but when I read pattern drafting books, I realized there was no information on bra-making. In fact, one book said to “leave the bra-making to the experts in the industry”. That was strange - where does the industry learn? That started me on a quest to find out everything I could about this fascinating garment. I purchased dozens of bras from dozens of brands and took them apart to determine what made one brand better than another. I also bought bras from the smallest to the largest to determine the grade rules. It took me a year but I had a working set of patterns. They were all drawn by hand at that time, but they worked!
Each time I taught a class, I could individualize the fit to each student so the bra pattern was truly custom. I was teaching at sewing shops and sewing festivals all over Canada. I did that for 15 years! In fact, my bra-making classes still hold the record for being the most popular class at the Toronto show! I am very proud of that!
At the same time, students in the classes were asking where they could buy all the elastics, hardware and findings for making their own bras and perhaps for their customers. I made up a one-page flyer so they could purchase from me. That one page with 9 products has grown into 1600 products that fill our website and out store in Hamilton! My patterns are all done on a computer now (in English and French too) so they look a whole lot better than they did in the beginning!
3. Have you felt that the interest in making your own lingerie and swimwear has increased in recent years along with the general resurgence of an interest in sewing?
Absolutely! At the turn of the century (wow – that makes me sound so old!) “everyone” said that sewing was a “lost art”. Well, it is not lost now! Television shows like Project Runway and Project Catwalk bring the world of the fashion designer to your TV screen. You actually see these designers sewing! I think that is very important, for others to realize that someone, somewhere is actually using a sewing machine to create these lovely garments. I see younger women in my classes than I used to – that’s heart warming!
Just to compare, I used to travel around the country teaching bra-making. The classes were full but I would go to a store only once a year. Now I teach bra-making every three weeks and the classes are always full. So the interest is definitely increasing!
More importantly, I think that the hundreds of sewing blogs out there are helping a lot. Sewing is largely a solitary activity, and yet, the social aspect of sharing one’s projects with others as enthusiastic as you, is very intoxicating. On my blog, I can’t wait for comments to come in. I get revved up just knowing that my blog has helped someone else make their own bra.
4. Do you ever find time to sew for yourself? And if so, what do you make?
I seem to sew a LOT of samples, more than anything! But I did sew an award winning quilt (can you see corsets, bras and panties in this quilt?) which was featured in a magazine this past year. One of my recent projects was a chevron lace dress. On my to-do list is some new underwear – I really need some new stuff!
5. I would love to take a bra-making course with you, but it is just too costly to fly all the way to Canada, and I am sure other European-based sewers have the same problem. Luckily, I found out that you also teach bra-making courses in Sweden! Are you planning to teach any more courses in Europe in the future?
Yes, I am teaching in Sweden this year for the second time. Our European distributor is Bodil Friman (www.bwear.se) and she is printing all my books and patterns and carrying our elastics and fabrics. Best of all, she is hosting lots of bra-making workshops in mid-summer, so I am teaching the Classic Bra, Shelley Bra, Amanda bra, the Bra Dress, Fabrics, Style Changes and Power Bars for 8 days in Stockholm.
Although I don’t travel to teach for short periods of time any more, I am willing to go to places where I can teach for several days at a time. Earlier this year, I taught at the university in Taipei, and also at the Stitches Conference in Saskatchewan. If anyone wants me to come and teach in the UK or Europe for a few days, we should talk!
6. What is your advice to the beginning bra-maker? Can anyone learn to make bras? Which pattern should they start with?
We tell prospective bra-makers – “if you can sew in a sleeve, you can make a bra”. So it is not difficult work, just precise. We need accurate 1/4” (6 mm) seams so we are fussy about that, but lots of other things, we can live with to get the bra done to make sure it fits well.
Fabric makes the biggest difference. If you make your first bra with the fabrics recommended by the designer (which is a stable knit), and the second bra, you go to your sewing room and pick out some really stretchy fabric, the two bras will not fit the same. There are ways of making patterns work with your fabric work, but stick with fabrics with similar properties to the original and get some experience before you branch out.
Our most popular pattern is the Classic Bra, which is a full band bra which can be used with or without wires. If you start with the Classic Bra, you will learn all the techniques necessary for bra sewing. Applying the underwire channeling and sewing on facing elastics (as opposed to casing elastics), are techniques specific to bra-making. Once you know those basics, you should be able to make the Linda (partial band bra) or the Shelley (my designer bra) or the Amanda (the foam cup bra).
Women will often take a class to learn the first bra, which is fine, but the instructions have been written assuming you have never sewn a bra before. If they are still unsure, they might want to purchase “Make & Fit your own Bra” which is a book that covers in much more detail the construction and fitting process of both the full band (Classic) and the partial band bras (the Linda bra).
7. What are your future plans for Bra-makers Supply and your own teaching?
More patterns, more blogging, more books and more classes! I have three more books (swimwear, corsetry and foundations) in progress. Also several patterns including a bikini pattern and a bodyshaper pattern are in the works too. Certainly I will do more bra patterns. I would love to do online classes, too! So many things and not enough hours in the day! I’ll keep doing this until I’m not effective anymore, then I’ll think about retiring. Maybe!
Thanks so much, Beverly, for answering all my nosy questions!
It's amazing and very refreshing when someone is so excited and passionate about something. Doesn't it just make you want to get sewing bras straight away?!
Have any of you tried Pin-Up Girls patterns before? What's your experience? And if you have, Beverly has created a badge you can put on your blog to show that you are an official Pin-Up Girl!
It's amazing and very refreshing when someone is so excited and passionate about something. Doesn't it just make you want to get sewing bras straight away?!
Have any of you tried Pin-Up Girls patterns before? What's your experience? And if you have, Beverly has created a badge you can put on your blog to show that you are an official Pin-Up Girl!