I was suddenly overtaken by the urge to make cute bralettes as an excuse to buy fabrics I don't get to work with in my historical sewing. This urge hits me every once in a while, so I had a few pdf patterns saved already.
A quick trip to Joann Fabrics left me with a yard each of two burnout velvets - one stretch and one non-stretch.
I wanted to start with the stretchy velvet, which is a lovely periwinkle color, and decided to use the free Barrett Bralette pattern from Madalynne Intimates. Then I had to go searching for the other materials I needed - stretch mesh, three (3) different kinds of elastic, and a set of rings and sliders.
The mesh, rings, and sliders I bought from Madalynne Intimates (and I later bought more sliders and a G-hook from Tailor Made for another project). The elastic all came from Bias Bespoke. Bias Bespoke has a lot of elastic in a lot of colors! The three elastics I ordered all had the same color name and looked similar in color, but I was worried they wouldn't match because they were from different brands. They did match, though - nearly identical!
With all my supplies assembled, I could assemble the bralette.
I risked going with a straight size from the pattern, because of the stretch, and it worked well for me. The instructions say to do the center front seam first, then the cup seams, then attach the back. All the seams except the center front are done in such a way that the seam allowances are enclosed. I decided to have all the seams end up enclosed that way, but do the center front last because it made more sense to me.
My sewing machine did not like this fabric. Possibly because it was stretchy and slippery. Possibly because of the varying textures of the burnout velvet. Probably both. But we struggled through.
Then it was on to elastics. The pattern calls for picot elastic for the edges, but I wasn't vibing with picot edging so I got fold-over elastic instead. I should have trimmed off the seam allowances along the edges for that, but I didn't. It's only a quarter-inch difference so it's not a huge deal.
Next I attached the wider band elastic along the bottom, mostly following the instructions.
I'm fairly pleased with how well the elastics went, considering I've never really sewed with elastics, but The edges did turn out a bit wavy and my stitching was sloppy. I think I should have made the elastic tighter in the armscye area too. It's comfortable, though!
After that, it was just the straps. The rings get attached to the pointy part on top of the cups, which was a bit difficult to put through my machine but we made it. Then I attached one end of the strap to the center bar of the slider, thread the other end through the ring and back through the slider like a belt. Once I decided how long I wanted the strap to be and where I wanted it to attach in the back, I could sew it down and I was done!
It's not perfect by a long shot, but it's still pretty darn good and I like wearing it!
There are some things I would change if I used this pattern again. For one, the neckline feels a bit narrow, so I'd add half an inch or so at the center front seam, and remove that much from the back band. I would also straighten out the top part of the curved seams over the bust - my bust just isn't shaped like that, and I get a bit of wrinkling there. I might even go down a size so the band is tighter and the cups are more supportive.
This was a fun experiment, and I enjoy wearing the results! There will definitely be more experiments with lingerie/loungewear in my future.
Until next time.
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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