video series

Free Bralette Patterns Review: Part 6-All done!

my makes, video series / November 4, 2019

Ta da!! The sixth video in my series on making and reviewing ten free bralette patterns is now live on Youtube and it’s the exciting conclusion where I model all 10 bralettes (and the matching underwear I made for each of them).

This video isn’t so long as the other ones, so I don’t feel bad about not re-summarizing the whole video here on the blog. 😉 Here’s the short version though:

  • Darcy bralette: cute, a big, but wearable.
  • Raquel bralette: too tight! This is my own fault though and I’m going to try to fix it.
  • Barrett bralette: cups are too big/too wrinkly. I may try to salvage this one.
  • Hyacinth bralette: great! I love the sporty look with the simple grey material, and the velvet foldover elastic adds such a nice touch!
  • Lovesick bralette: super comfortable, but not very supportive.
  • Milla bralette: amazing! Probably my favorite of the bunch!
  • Sierra bralette: too tight, but I will try to save this one.
  • Mood wrap: Surprisingly, this one fits pretty well (maybe a bit too big, but still very wearable).
  • Noelle bralette: loooove it, but not a surprise since I’ve made this one before.
  • Rosie bralette: a bit tight, not sure if I’ll try to fix this or just deal with it when I want to wear it.

While most of the bralettes are wearable, I found that most of them seemed a bit on the big side in terms of cup volume. It’s not surprising at all, considering my “small bobbins” (har har har), and I’m motivated now to try to figure out a reliable way to fix this for future bralettes I might want to make (that are probably drafted for B/C cups).

  • Barrett and Binky
  • Darcy and Bella
  • Hyacinth and Celeste
  • Milla and Rosie
  • Mood wrap and Claudia
  • Noelle and Ember
  • Raquel and Ember
  • Rosie and Binky
  • Sierra and Frida
  • Lovesick and Noelle

So! Have I convinced you to try any of these bralettes? Or do you have any ideas for my next lingerie-making series? As long as it doesn’t involve making ten sets of lingerie, I’d probably be open to hearing about it 😉

Free Bralette Patterns Review: Part 5 – Sewing elastics, straps, closures

video series / November 4, 2019

Aaaaand, the bralettes are done! The fifth video in the series is up on Youtube and all of the sewing is completed, all of the bralettes are finished! I go through everything that’s involved with finishing up the bralettes; mostly applying the elastics, straps, and any closures. There is, of course, plenty of struggling (looking at the Mood patterns in particular), but I’m thrilled to get through all of the sewing! I go over applying the various elastics, making adjustable bra straps, sewing on the hardware and the straps, and discuss various instances where I strayed from the instructions (again, looking at the Mood patterns!) or decided to make a last-minute swap on materials that I had originally chosen for the bralettes.

Again (oops), it ended up being a very long video! So here’s where you can find each specific bralette if you’d like to skip ahead:

The next video will be the final one in the series and will show what all the bralettes look like!

Free Bralette Patterns Review: Part 4 – Sewing Seams

video series / October 1, 2019

OMG! The fourth video in this sewing series is now live on my Youtube channel, and we’re finally sewing! And yes, I definitely demonstrate a lot of sewing in this one.

First things first, the video is very long! If watching an hour-long Youtube video straight through is not your thing, here’s a guide for jumping ahead to a particular bralette pattern:

Some of these bralettes were pretty simple and straightforward to sew (Hyacinth, Barrett, for example) and some of them gave me such a headache! (Mood wrap, Raquel) Sewing the seams on these bralettes really reinforces what I already knew from the beginning of this project; bralettes are different than panties! Panties generally have a much more standard shape than bralettes. And that’s awesome! Look at all the variety there is with just these ten patterns. It did mean that it took more concentration to sew them up though!

So what’s covered in this video?

  • sewing darts
  • sewing enclosed seams
  • piecing together lace
  • easing curved cup pieces together
  • stitch length and stitch types to use
  • a lot of general sewing struggles and triumphs

I’ll also be posting some shorter videos over the next few weeks to supplement these long (loooong) videos where the tips end up a bit, uhhh… buried within everything else. And the next video in the series will go over applying all of the elastics and finishing up the bralettes; we’re so close!

Free Bralette Patterns Review: Part 3 – Cutting

tips and tricks, video series / September 10, 2019

A bit of a delay, but the next video in my Youtube series about reviewing ten free bralette patterns is now live on my channel. Okay so… yes, it was originally supposed to cover cutting out the fabric and starting some sewing, but the video started running too long, so that part will come next.

Cutting out the fabric is never as straightforward as it seems like it should be (except for the Hyacinth bralette, that one was really simple). For a bralette, you’re probably dealing with multiple fabrics, like stretch lace and stretch tulle. They’re delicate and shifty. The patterns may need to follow certain directions for stretch (sometimes, but not always, you’ll want the direction of greatest stretch to go horizontal around your body), they may make use of scalloped edges, and you may want to mirror your lace for a better-looking end result. Plus, you’re probably dealing with much smaller pieces of materials to start.

With all that said, in the video, I do cover certain techniques and advice for cutting on the fold vs. cutting in a single layer, how to mirror lace, how to make use of a scalloped edge, etc., but mostly you just get to witness (sped up, of course) me hemming and hawing about how best to line up my pattern pieces, a couple instances of realizing I’m short on materials, trying my luck with cutting a piece with a different stretch direction, and the overall drudgery of cutting out ten bralettes in one go. (Drudgery, yes, but absolutely necessary, of course!)

In the video, I also briefly went over my favorite tools for cutting out lingerie fabrics. I am on Team Rotary Cutter all the way. I find it to be easier to work with shifty fabrics, especially when the pieces themselves have a lot of curves and are fairly small, BUT I also think it comes down to personal preference. I’m just a mess with scissors, is what I’m saying.

I think I downplayed the importance of pins in the video, but duh, I use pins a lot. Especially later on when it came to marking and sewing darts, because marking pens don’t really work on most lingerie fabrics.

I mentioned spray adhesive, but actually I really don’t end up using it for as often as I talk about it! I don’t know if it’s my materials specifically, but it doesn’t adhere that well to the stretch tulle or meshes I’ve used (too many holes??), so I don’t often see the benefit of using it for myself.

About a dozen different types of scissors are always needed for any sewing project, but for cutting out the fabric, good ole fabric scissors and a pair of snips come in handy the most.

And if nothing else, make sure your cutting instruments are sharp! Honestly, did you guys cringe as much as I did watching the video? I had a very dull blade in my rotary cutter and insisted on powering through the bralettes before changing it. It shows! You can honestly see the struggle to cut through the materials, and I had to edit out a lot of footage of me going back to trim all the spots that didn’t get cut during the first pass. Ugh, do as I say (not as I do) and change your blades!

In the next video, for real this time, there will be sewing! I’m going to start by constructing the cups and bands of all the bralettes, which will involve sewing darts, enclosed seams, and other techniques!

Free Bralette Patterns Review: Part 2 – Materials

shop small bobbins, video series / August 23, 2019

The next video in my latest Youtube series, making and reviewing 10 free bralette patterns, is now live on my channel! In this video, well, we’re not yet doing any sewing, but I spend a fair amount of time not only going through the specific fabrics that I’m using for each pattern (and the matching underwear that I’m pairing with them), but also general advice on bralette-making materials, and what sort of swaps you can make based on availability and your own needs for comfort and/or support.

Phew! Yeah, it’s a pretty long video actually.

And since I now have a studio (or “bedroom” as my husband knows it) full of lingerie-making supplies, it should come as no surprise that I have raided my inventory for this project. Here’s a list of all my material pairings, and links to where you can find everything in the shop!

Sierra wrap bralette by Madalynne Intimates (paired with the Frida panties by JMB Pattern Design)

black dahlia-print lace bralette kit

Mood wrap bralette (paired with the Claudia panties by Ohhh Lulu)

pink poppy lace

Noelle crop top bralette (paired with the Ember panties by Evie La Luve)

sky blue lace bralette kit

Darcy bralette by Mood Fabrics (paired with the Bella panties by Evie La Luve)

navy and black lace bralette kit

Rosie bralette by JMB Pattern Designs (paired with the Binky panties by Evie La Luve)

Triangle bralette kit, ivory and black

Milla bralette by Mood Fabrics (paired with the Rosy ladyshorts by Cloth Habit)

black border lace bralette kit

Barrett bralette by Madalynne Intimates (paired with the Binky panties by Evie La Luve)

sheer tulle bralette kit with black findings

Raquel bralette by Madalynne Intimates (paired with the Ember panties by Evie La Luve)

burgundy and pink bralette kit

Hyacinth bralette by Ohhh Lulu (paired with the Celeste panties by Ohhh Lulu)

Black velvet foldover elastic, 18mm

Lovesick bralette by George and Ginger patterns (paired with the Noelle panties by Madalynne Intimates)

  • black/speckled knit fabric from my personal stash
  • and that’s it! This pattern uses no additional materials

If you’ve checked out my available bralette kits lately, you may notice some similarities! I’ve taken inspiration from these combinations and offered them up as conveniently bundled bralette kits. Check them out if you’re interested in making your own bralettes!