Hello, sewists!  I just wanted to pop in and let you know about a couple changes I made to my store this morning to hopefully make it a better experience for you.

Previously I had only PayPal as a payment option.  While you were able to check out as a guest without a PayPal account, I don't think it was very clear.  I have added Square as a payment option, so you can directly enter your credit/debit card information.  I hope this makes things easier for you if you don't have a PayPal account.

I added a bit more to the store policies on the checkout page, and also made a separate Store Policies page for you to view.  If you have any questions about the store policies, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Another note about the checkout process, I realized it looks like you have to enter your phone number, along with your name and email address.  The phone number is optional, and quite frankly I don't have a use for it.  You won't be receiving any calls or texts from me.  Why is it there as an option?  Because Weebly (my website builder) currently has no function to turn it off.  I've already made a complaint, and so have other people.  The only choices are to make it required or optional, though the verbiage on the checkout page doesn't make it clear that it is optional.  I don't have any way to change the phrasing on the checkout page, unfortunately.  

If you have any other questions or comments (or even just want to say hello!) I'd love to hear from you.  You can use the contact form and I'll get back to you.

I am so happy to introduce to you my newest sewing pattern, the Dahlia Hipster.  Dahlia is a low-rise panty with insets, either in lace or contrast fabric.  Options include a front lace overlay and a waist harness.

Do you love lace as much as I do? My stash of wide stretch lace has been growing into a small mountain, and I wanted to try it out in a sexy-but-comfortable panty.  After working on a few mid-rise styles, I decided to go low for this one. Back has medium coverage, showing just a bit of cheek.

Here it is, my first bra made with my custom bra sloper using the drafting method from Bare Essentials Bras, 3rd Edition by Jennifer Lynne Matthews-Fairbanks.

Pattern: self draft, 2-piece vertical seam cups with full frame.
Underwire: Carmen by Emerald Erin
Fabrics: Grey duoplex and powernet I think from Bra Maker's Supply.
Elastics: 3/8" & 1/2" black picot elastics from Fabric Depot Co.  Piping edge elastic along the neckline from Sew Sassy.
Straps: 1/2" ruched strap elastic.  Can't remember where I bought it, sorry.
Bow: 1/4" satin ribbon, heart charm from Joann jewelry department.

While I would not say that sewing a bra is hard, there are always a few parts I struggle with.  Every time I sew a bra, I try out a new technique or two to see if I can improve my sewing experience.  

This time around, there were two areas I wanted to try something new: encasing the ends of the channeling at the front, and making a strap attachment less bulky.

For the channeling,  I'd normally have the ends extend past the edge of the cradle, then close them off and trim them at the end after everything else is sewn.  I think I learned this method from the Harriet Bra instructions.  But after seeing a few Emerald Erin bras that use the neckline elastic to finish the top of the cradle as well as the cups, I decided to see if I could get the ends of the channeling under the edge of the neckline elastic.  I started the channeling 1/4" down from the edge, since I was using 1/4" elastic.  I didn't quite get the ends under the elastic, but at least they aren't sticking out past the top of the cradle.  

I usually attach the ring to a strap attachment that is part of the cup.  So far that has led to a very bulky seam that usually breaks my needle with several layers of fabric and elastics all coming together.  This time I decided to just let the armhole elastic extend past and thread the ring through that.  I probably should have made a tighter loop against the cup; it stretches out a bit when worn, obviously because it is elastic.  But this join was much easier for me to execute and left me with a much smoother fold.

Do you have any tips for sewing channeling or attaching the straps?  I'd love to hear them, leave a comment below.  Happy Sewing!

In my previous post, I talked about creating a custom bra draft using the method from the book Bare Essentials Bras, 3rd edition by Jennifer Lynne Matthews-Fairbanks.  After finalizing the fit of the bra draft, the 3-piece cup, cradle and band are turned into a sloper to make custom bra designs.

A sloper, in fashion industry terms, is a basic building-block pattern without seam allowance or design lines.  It is used as a starting off point to create various designs.  For a bra, the sloper includes a basic cup, a cradle without bottom shaping and a back band. Here's a peek at my sloper, drafted in Adobe Illustrator.

I'll begin this post by saying I have not been paid in any way to endorse or give a review of this book.  I'm just a bra-making fangirl giving her opinion!

​I was so excited when Jennifer Lynne Matthews-Fairbanks came out with the 3rd edition of her book Bare Essentials: Bras.  This new edition has a whole new drafting method that takes into account torso size and shape for a completely custom fit! I have the previous edition of her book and found it monumentally helpful for drafting bra patterns.  I haven't been completely satisfied with my Shin draft, (there were too many unexplained variables in the drafting instructions) so I wanted to try a different drafting method and compare.  

All of my patterns are tested by sewists across my size range.  Along with clarifying any details in the instructions, my testers help me make sure that my patterns can fit a wide range of bodies, and work in a variety of fabrics and trims. 

Below are some of their lovely creations.

Bernice used some scraps from a previous project to make Style A.

Bikini or thong?  Single string or double string?  Lace overlays or printed jersey?  The Sunflower Panty offers a variety of styling options to fill up your underwear drawer.  The string bikini is one of my favorite panty styles, especially during the hottest time of the year.  The sweltering heat makes me want as little fabric on my body as possible, and a string bikini is about as comfortably spare as I can get!

Next up in my fitting and alteration series is changing the rise length.  Wanting to change the rise length might be a personal preference, or it may be due to a difference in torso length.  For this fitting/alteration exercise I'm going to assume that it is due to a different body shape than what the pattern was drafted for.

During the testing phase of the Hellebore Hi-Cut, one of my testers said she was surprised by how very high cut the legs were, and her pair seemed to be much higher than the pictures indicated.  After a bit of conversation, we determined that her crotch length was 2" shorter than the length indicated for her size.  ​Let's use this same fitting problem here:

Next up in my panty fitting series is probably the most common problem I see; the back of the panty sliding into the bum and causing much discomfort.  In American English we call it a wedgie.  What causes it and how do we fix it?  Let's take a look.