Making a Bra: part 3 (PRTW007)

I warn you, this will be a long series and the end is not yet in sight.

I got this book: Pattern Cutting For Lingerie, Beachwear and Leisurewear by Ann Hagger. I've been umming and ahhing about it for years. Given this project I decided to buy it. As with all pattern cutting books, you have to use your own good sense and not take it as gospel. (Note: double notches go on the back of the sleeve and armhole, not the front!)

I tried the bra draft, based on my dress block, and compared the end result to my Porcelynne draft. I had to add a lot of boob room, perhaps because my dress block has a small bust dart (though that dart fits perfectly for dresses). This I did by slashing and spreading on Adobe Illustrator.

My dress block with a bra drafted over it à la Hagger, but with extra boob room added in afterwards.

Added in extra boob room like this.

Porcelynne draft in orange, Hagger draft in blue.

I made a toile. I'm not sure how Hagger expects the bra to be sewn, because she doesn't allow any room for the underwires, even on her underwired draft:

No room for an underwire. Also, check out that bendy wing! That made the whole thing fit wrongly until I pinned it out to straighten it.

Drafted separate boobs (right and left) and straightened the wing. Also lowered the neckline (pink).

I sewed it up, but I think either I have poor quality elastic, or I sewed it poorly, because the neckline was stretched out. So I lowered it, this time sewing the elastic without turning it inside. It's better, but I think the bra is too small.

I fill it out, but if I swoop and scoop, I overfill it. And the bridge isn't flush against me.  I think I need bigger cups.

Had to take some curve out of the right-hand boob.

So the next thing I did was add some more cup room. 

And now it's too big. 

Update:

So, it turns out you really must sew the underwire casings to the frame, not the cup! It's obvious, I know, but I sewed them to the cup anyway, centred along the stitch line (partly because I hadn't cut the band deep enough). In doing so, I had basically made the cups a smaller size.

Yesterday I made a new bra (below) and as a result, had the idea this morning to unpick the casings from the dotty blue bra and resew them behind the cups. And now it fits better. Of course, it doesn't look as neat.

Fortunately, I hadn't altered the digital copy of my Hagger draft.

Comparing the Hagger Draft and the Porcelynne Draft

The Porcelynne draft is in purple and the Hagger draft is in teal.

The Hagger draft was drafted over my dress block. It has a higher bust point and more of it's darting is in the lower section of the cup. This reflects my shape. BUT I did have to fiddle with the cup a lot over the cup I'd already drafted from the Porcelynne draft. I do prefer the Hagger band, but that's probably a comfort zone thing from a lifetime of wearing the band higher up because it was too big.

I feel the Porcelynne draft is much more likely to give you a fairly good fit the first time (if you measure properly).

The Latest Porcelynne Bra Toile

This is a wearable toile. It's not finished as neatly inside as out, and it's not lined, but it's the prettiest bra I've ever owned.

The fit is pretty close to perfect. I did have to take a dart out of the right-hand-side wing because it was making the cup look too big. I sewed the dart and the problem disappeared.

I prefer the Porcelynne bra draft to Hagger's draft because it gives a good fit faster and is more thoroughly logical.

For my next bra I'll use pretty much this pattern, but lengthen the band so that I can fit the wires in properly, instead of having them peak out underneath.

I thought the gore/bridge was a bit too wide, but when the wire casings are sewn on it looks much more in proportion. Especially when the bow is attached.

Construction methods (really not neat)

In this bra, the only elastic used is the straps. The top and bottom edges are finished with normal satin ribbon. The top edges of the cups are turned down towards the RS and the ribbon stitched on, encasing the raw edges.

The underwire casings are just pre-made bias binding. It helps to stitch it to the cup-cradle seam allowances first.

Things I learned

• Sew the underwire casings to the cradle, not the cup
• The band really does need to be deep enough to fit the casings in
• Wing patterns for each side can be different even if you don't look very asymmetrical
• A bit of stretch in the band helps if you're exercising in your bra
• The bit where you attach your straps must be the width of your straps.
• Buttons and buttonholes are a perfectly acceptable closure on a bra.
• You can draft a bra from a dress block, but really, why would you bother when you can do a direct draft?

So I'll change the pattern slightly to take those things into consideration, and make the next bra.

I am back at work this weekend so I will have less time to work on Project RTW. Hopefully though, if people are going back to work, fabric will become better available. I couldn't find much that I could make Graham's Engineer Jacket from, so that's on hiatus until I can.