Tag: Sewy Rebecca

Posted in sewing

Rebecca Bra and a German Request

Posted on by Miss Celie

Folks,

Between holiday parties, tree decorating, last minute gift shopping and such, I managed to work on my Sewy Rebecca Bra . I made a second go with this Netherlands material after the last time I made this bra.  Back in August an almost perfect bra was too large in the band and wide at the bridge. This time I had actual Enlish directions thanks to a reader and I used the downward hike technique so the band would not ride up in the back and I shortened the band by an inch or two. I also took some height out of the cup.

The result? Well, the band is great. I love the layout I used for the lace this time (directional change). The bridge is much narrower and a better fit. But, the cup is too small. The center bridge does not lay flush against my breastbone and it gives me a double breast.

I suspect this is about a C cup. I’m going to shop it around at the office and see if someone wants it. It’s too pretty to salvadge for parts.

Now, the bigger problem. I cannot find this pattern in my stash. Normally, it would turn up. But, I’ve managed to throw away some things in the past (a year’s worth of contact lenses, the sleeve to my tuxedo jacket, etc.) in fits of cleaning. And, I think this pattern is a casualty.

Not a big deal, right? Just order a new one? Well, they are only sold on a German language site. I’ve emailed them in English and was not able to get a response. I tried to register on the site to place an order and that didn’t work.  A KIND KIND PatternReview.com member was going to Germany. She contacted them while there and they sold her the pattern which she in turn sold to me.  While there she spoke with the owner and she’s not currently shipping to the US.

So, my Christmas plea. Is there a reader in Germany (or in the EU) that is willing to order this pattern for me in a Group 1 and let me reimburse them? I will happily (and quickly) paypal you the money. Or, if there is something in the US I have access to we can work out and exchange.

I think I’ve worked it out! It appears the site’s bugs are worked out. It’s letting me order now and ship to the US. It’s no longer getting hung up on Paypal or requiring registration. So, fingers crossed. Thanks Ghainsom!

Thanks!

Posted in sewing

Sewy Rebecca Bra #FAIL

Posted on by Miss Celie

I took another go-round with the Rebecca bra  from Sewy this week. This time, after two muslins, it was time to break into my Amsterdam lace.

Big, fat, #FAIL. The bra was so big! One of several things happened:

  • I retraced the wrong size.
  • I stretched out the fabric while sewing.
  • Non stretch lace in the upper cup is different than stretch lace. The gods are laughing at me.

The version you see above is with some post construction alterations but generally, unsalvageable (too many enclosed seams and stretch stitches I fear). The bra was a good one to two inches too big in the band and just sadly baggy in the cup. After sewing (and trying on) I realized that the pattern seam allowances were about 1/8 inch bigger than the 1/4 inch I was sewing with. That definitely accounted for some of the problems.

The bust curve was also ridiculous. Rather than flatten that though, I’ve just taken some height tucks in the pattern pieces. I’ll try this one again. If the issue was just the seam allowance, then it’s easy to put the height back in to the pattern pieces.

So… yeah. I’m trying not to be salty that I cut into my ‘good fabric’.  Happily, I have *just* enough of the black and gold lace to eek out another set.  Here’s hoping the second version is better!

Posted in sewing

Again With the Rebecca Bra

Posted on by Miss Celie

Argh. As I suspected in my last bra post, I did in fact trace and sew the wrong size bra. I made a 70F when I should have started with a 70G. Boooo! In fairness, different websites put me in different European size bras.

I was suspicious because I didn’t have the coverage I wanted. When I went to compare pattern pieces, I saw I wrote ’70F’ on the pattern. Doh!

I also added an uneeded seam allowance to the bridge. This made the bridge way wide. So, my hot pink muslin really was just a muslin. In addition, I didn’t have enough coverage in this version because it was an F cup.

For my second go- round I sewed the bra in Summerset’s Twilight Blue. I’m putting peer pressure on her for a deep chocolate brown. It’s the only color I can wear under light colored tops.

The color is beautiful. I was hoping to use a lesser loved color of the 5+ kits I own, but there isn’t one. I really quite like them all!

If you can belive it, I made this bra from trace  to finish on Friday night while watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Say  Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss. I started around 7 or 8 p.m. and even stopped to mix up a mojito and have my Friday night phone date with Trena. We talk most nights, but we have a standing Friday Night Phone Date. I looked at the clock when I was done and it was just after midnight. So, yes. It’s possible to sew a bra in four hours.

My techniques were better on this version. And I’m quite proud of my finishing.

But, it’s still not sewn totally correct. I have a few mistakes and several tweaks I still need to make.

The back is riding up. And, I think it’s because the band is still too big on me. This is not a new problem!

When I in college I wore a 36 band. I went down to a 34 two years ago and was sized into a 32 recently. All this despite weighing 15 lbs more than I did when I was wearing a 36!

My cup runneth over in the hot pink F cup. But, it’s not quite snug enough in the G. I accidentally stretched out the lace during pressing and fitting. But, I have made a slight adjustment to the upper bust pattern (taking out 1/8 – 1/4 inch). Hopefully that will work.

I’m also reducing the width of the bridge by 1/4 inch. Not quite sure how to address the band. But, I’m going to post on the lingerie sew along blog with photos on my persons. Hopefully I can get some feedback. Oh, I also need to reposition the bands. I kind of have narrow shoulders and forget that this is why I don’t like spaghetti straps!

There’s a bra making class in Baltimore this October. If I can’t get the hang of this in my next two, I’ll sign up for it. But, I’m really pretty happy with this!

Posted in sewing

Langham Pink and Bra Progress

Posted on by Miss Celie

Ugh. I had a whole blog post written about 11 last night and it disappeared just as I went to hit print. Grrr. I was just too tired to re-create it. The good thing is, I realized it was too long and will split it into a few different posts.

Here’s the current state of the Rebecca bra from Sewy I’m working on. I’d say this is about four hours worth of work. There are a few things I’ve already done wrong

  • Don’t need powernet in the upper bust (was copying my RTW bra)
  • Need tulle / stable fabric at least in center front 
  • Bottom band not wide enough for my elastic

This is really a muslin. I don’t read German. I’ve gathered from some reviews online things I should have done. But, again. This is a muslin. It’ll all sort itself out.

Sigrid has warned me that I won’t love the fit the first time around. I’m sewing the 70G in one of Summerset’s Hook and Wires kits. Hmmm, for some reason I thought I was sewing the F cup (I’m using the equivalent DDD underwire). But, when I just ran the European converter, I see that I should be making the G. Meh. I’ll figure it out when I’m done! I find converting European bra sizing like converting temperatures. I just cannot wrap my mind around Celsius. I just spend all my time when traveling converting the temperature. I should tell you about the time I tried to roast chicken at my parents’ house in Panama and I didn’t realize the temps were in Celsius. Not Fahrenheit. Oh. Well, I guess I just told you. Needless to say, it burned.

I'm really annoying. I'm constantly on my Blackberry when working.

Right. So, one of the reasons I was tired was working several evenings at a conference. Right after they left, we had / have an international tourism convention with an evening reception. Not that I’m complaining because it’s been fun. But, I’m just pooped. I was almost relieved when I didn’t get to go to the U2 stadium concert last night. Almost.

A great little gift I picked up  at the convention is this Langham Pink OPI nail polish. Langham Hotels are known for their signature pink. You can only buy the polish at the hotel. Or beg their reps at meeting and business planner conventions to give you a bottle after explaining your affinity for both pink and nail polish. Such a great marketing tool!!

You can see here how the polish matches their business cards and luggage tags.