This underwire bra pattern uses
- power net for the back bands,
- plush elastic for the band base and top,
- picot elastic for the top cup edges finished,
- self made shoulder straps from tricot and
- self made wire channelling.
View A cups are made from lace and tricot, and view B cups are made from tricot.
I decided to use pre-made shoulder straps and re-made underwire chanelling.
Most of my notions were bought at Metro Fabrics, the Remnant Warehouse and from an ebay seller who was selling their lingerie fabrics and notions. I should have bought 3×3 hook/eye sets.
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| This is my 3rd attempt and I’ve salvage some of the notions. |
I decided to make the 34B but I kept changing my mind about elastics, laces, hooks/eyes, straps because I had no idea about what was what.
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| Here’s my 4th attempt. |
This plain white attempt is my 4th attempt and it fits nicely. #success
It’s taken me two years to go back to the first two attempts and try again. The first two attempts were failures but I was able to tweak the pattern pieces for a better fit.
Machine stitching
There are a number of stitch types used to a decent bra that I hadn’t used before. It took several viewings of Craftsy’s bra making course to learn about the stitching. Beverly Johnson is a certainly a bra fairy or bra-whisperer and owner of Bra makers supply. I bought this course on sale and it’s now got me over the line.
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| Beverley advises to place all your pieces and notions on a board when you’re about to start sewing. |
Beverly’s bra knowledge especially her bra notions and hardware knowledge were and are invaluable to me and she’ll remain my ‘go-to’ bra resource.
What did I change
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| The lace version is full lace cup and some lace on the side and on the bridge. |
The main cup shape change was on the upper cup piece. I altered the shoulder strap location to be closer to my neck as RTW bra straps sliding off my shoulders.
I also darted out some space in the upper cup piece because it seemed too wide at the top.
The bridge is also slimmer than the pattern.
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| Measuretwicecutonce Mary knickers with Kwik Sew 3300 |
Ongoing learning
Beverly’s knowledge made the Kwik Sew instructions a lot more workable. When I first attempted this pattern I put it aside because there were too many variables that I did not understand #noidea.
There isn’t a local bra making workshop so being able to go back through the class steps when I needed them has helped me made this bra pattern work.
My main blogger sewing references are Fehr Trade, kathhhhy, Ms McCall, Sigrid and measuretwicecutonce.
After I made these bras I found this pattern freebie page.
Road test
I’ve since worn the lace bra all day: it sits properly; is comfortable to wear; and has been through the wash and come out unscathed.
I’ll only post up future bras posts if:
- they look amazing or
- I’ve used a different pattern or
- I attempt to sew a sports bra.
So for now, that’s my bra making story.
velosews.com 
Oh wow! Some great tips in here, Maria- thank you! I've made one soft cup but am working on fit at the moment- always the tricky bit!
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I've been collecting bra making bits for a while. I also have the Craftsy course & a pattern. Like you I have NO IDEA how to get started. I can envisage exactly the same process as you describe.
Gotta try this.
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I love the lace set, it's so pretty. There are so many popping up around the blogs lately it seems to be the latest trend. I've been wanting to make a bra since they were first introduced way back when there was little to no supplies available and I decided that 2015 will be the year. I've bought a kit and some supplies; I'm just waiting for enough time to fully concentrate on it.
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Well done! The way you describe that path from ignorance to knowledge, and finally getting to make a decent bra that fits AND looks good (it looks so pretty!) – well, that's pretty much how long and challenging I imagined it would be! Totally daunting! Well done for sticking with it, and I'm really to glad to see your process ended with a “happily ever after”.
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It's great to hear the journey and that Beverley's course is helpful. I too will try soon and have that pattern which I'll compare with some RTW that fit well. In regards to classes don't Booby Traps do classes still? I know they did at one stage.
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What perseverance! Even better that version 4 fits well too! Thanks for your honesty about the difficulties of bra-making…it's such a trend around the sewing blogosphere and I have a hard believing it's as simple as it sounds!
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Brilliant! Well done. I also bought the Craftsy course thinking it's something I am going to tackle this year. So glad to hear your positive experiences. Well done, they look brilliant and I think it is a real acheievement making bras!
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I would have been totally perplexed if I used KS3300 as my 1st bra pattern, too! I would have had no clue how to do most of the stuff, let alone making my own underwire casing (never have made any still). I do like this pattern quite a bit (am wearing one of my 3300's right now.) I started with Beverly's Pin Ups Girls full band bra a few yrs back… her directions were so thorough and helpful making bra sewing seem sooo much easier. I can only imagine how taking her class online would be even more fantastic!! The lacey set is so pretty. I bet you will be addicted to lingerie sewing 🙂
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Congrats on conquering the bra. Love that set at the end. Gorgeous.
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Well done on conquering the bra and when I saw the plaln one last week, it looked very polished. I did do a course at Booby Traps last year, great information and assistance, however I need to do a few more adjustments before I make the next one and hope that will be soon.
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Ooh. A soft cup version would be lovely Amanda.
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I think I ran through the Craftsy course twice over a week while I was on holidays. It took a while for it all to 'make sense'. I wish you well:)
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Give it a go. I felt wasteful having all the supplies just sit there gathering dust in my sewing room.
Give yourself some time.
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Thanks Gabrielle. I felt like a slow learner the whole time but we've now got so many paths to learn what ever we want online:)
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Well done! I have this pattern and making a bra is on my 2015 bucket list.
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I had heard of Booby Traps but I've not seen them online lately Sophie.
I keep going back to some of Beverley's chapters to get a better understanding of bra notions and fitting.
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Carrie. The nice thing is we've got lots more online learning opportunities so I felt is was time for me to learn and conquer bra making. I do keep going back into Beverley's lessons while I'm planning the next bra set so I can keep an eye out for the notions I need.
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You're too kind. Thank you Winnie.
Your Anise jacket is awesome.
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Your bra makes were inspiring to me.
Beverley's knowledge is awesome and vast. She's a fabulous resource.
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You're welcome Beverly.
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Thanks Sharon. The white version was my test version too:)
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Thanks Gail.
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Well I'm impressed! Bra making is not something that I feel compelled to so but I so admire anyone who does it! Great job Maria!
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Bra making is not on my list either – like your problem, too many unknowns. The first attempts would have taught you how to at least handle the fabrics and the general sewing steps. And eventually success 🙂
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So happy you got a wearable one in the end! The lace one is really pretty!
I have a bag of bra's that didn't work out and there are 8 in there. I don't actually know how many I made before that, that I haven't kept, I can think of three, including at least 2 K3300's, a K3594, a K2489 and at least 2 from the Bare Essentials book. It wasn't fast or easy for me, but I do find it fun, and once you've made a bunch of them, they are a very quick project. I don't think I've written about half the stuff I did wrong in all those trials, and as such have forgotten all the stuff I got stuck on before. Please do let me know if you have any questions, I can't say I'll know the answers but I'd love to be reminded where people get stuck so I can write more helpful posts in future!
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Isn't it interesting that we can sew such complex pieces of clothing, making them fit our shapes, but bra making is a whole different ball game. I've had a few attempts like yourself at making one. I've almost put up an invisible barrier between me and my third attempt. Great result you must be pleased.
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Thank you Margo.
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It certainly took me a while Sarah Liz.
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Your posts have been really inspiring and I'm unpicking my failures – slowly.
What's impressed me with your work is you've stuck with it and finally got to make bras that fit. And they look expensive to buy- indicating the high quality of you've achieved.
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I felt the same way about making bras for a very long time. Thanks Louise. I'm still feeling chuffed:)
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Not tempted at all to make my own bra, but I do admire those who do. Knickers, however, are on my list for a future project. Your lace set is very pretty indeed. Great work!
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Thanks Kathleen:)
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Well done for persevering, not sure bra-making is my cup of tea but I am intrigued with those that do 🙂
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Thank Lizzie. I'm so glad this is done.
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