mechanonymouse (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mechanonymouse) wrote2019-12-20 11:25 am
mechanonymouse) wrote2019-12-20 11:25 am
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Adventures or Failures in Bra Making - The Shelley bra
My ready to wear bra size is a 28GG in UK sizing (60GG EU, 75GG FR or 6GG AUS) which means RTW bras are expensive, difficult to find and generally assume I paid for these and want to display them not that they’re an unfortunate result of genetics. As a result I’ve been interested in learning how to make bras.
To that end I bought and toiled two bra patterns earlier this year, the Shelley bra by Pin-Up Girls and the Marlborough bra by Orange Lingerie.
The Shelley Bra
The Shelley bra is a full coverage underwired bra with a full band. The pattern designer strongly recommends you buy her Bluprint course with the bra pattern.
My problems with this bra started with ordering. B, wear, the company I ordered the physical pattern from as you can’t get a pdf, sent me only half the instructions in English, a full set and a half of French instructions and a full set of Swedish instructions. So useless to me. Contacting the company to ask for the other half of the instructions has had no response 6 months on.
The smallest back size on this pattern is a 30 so I made a 30H which should be my equivalent size and used scraps of a woven cotton to compare the bra to RTW bras I own and that fit. The photo below shows a fitting RTW bra overlaid on the Shelley bra toile. You can see that without adding the back pieces to the Shelley bra the band is already longer than my RTW bra and the cup on the Shelley bra ends at the back strap connection point on the RTW bra.
The cups are massive, I would need to size down at least two sizes, and the cup is a very pointy cup that doesn’t fit my breast shape well. Less obvious when the pattern is held flat the bridge of the bra (the solid central bit between your boobs) is wider than the RTW bra and this RTW bra is too wide there on my body.
With this many changes I gave up, threw the toile in the scraps bag and moved on to the other pattern I’d bought.
To that end I bought and toiled two bra patterns earlier this year, the Shelley bra by Pin-Up Girls and the Marlborough bra by Orange Lingerie.
The Shelley Bra
The Shelley bra is a full coverage underwired bra with a full band. The pattern designer strongly recommends you buy her Bluprint course with the bra pattern.
My problems with this bra started with ordering. B, wear, the company I ordered the physical pattern from as you can’t get a pdf, sent me only half the instructions in English, a full set and a half of French instructions and a full set of Swedish instructions. So useless to me. Contacting the company to ask for the other half of the instructions has had no response 6 months on.
The smallest back size on this pattern is a 30 so I made a 30H which should be my equivalent size and used scraps of a woven cotton to compare the bra to RTW bras I own and that fit. The photo below shows a fitting RTW bra overlaid on the Shelley bra toile. You can see that without adding the back pieces to the Shelley bra the band is already longer than my RTW bra and the cup on the Shelley bra ends at the back strap connection point on the RTW bra.
The cups are massive, I would need to size down at least two sizes, and the cup is a very pointy cup that doesn’t fit my breast shape well. Less obvious when the pattern is held flat the bridge of the bra (the solid central bit between your boobs) is wider than the RTW bra and this RTW bra is too wide there on my body.
With this many changes I gave up, threw the toile in the scraps bag and moved on to the other pattern I’d bought.