I was so happy to see my UPS man today when he delivered my Ditto Form!  ​Here she is, modeling a bra I've been working on.

My typical gusset lining for panties is white organic cotton jersey.  But when working with lace and other sheer fabrics, the lining will be visible and white is possibly not the best option.  I draft my panty patterns with the gusset seam higher up in front than typical RTW panties, so the gusset is more easily seen on the body.  If nobody else is going to see your undies, then maybe a white lining doesn't bother you.  But if it does, I wanted to share with you three other options. (The panties in the following photos are the next pattern I am working on! Stay tuned!)

This example uses red lace and red mesh fabrics, so I used a red cotton/spandex jersey for the gusset lining.

In this panty, there is green lace for the front and black mesh for the back.  The lace has such a beautiful floral pattern I really wanted it to pop, so I matched the black mesh back and used black cotton/spandex jersey for the gusset lining.

Here I have a lining in a light tan color behind the coral lace.  Finding a fabric relatively close to my skin tone was harder than I thought it would be.  I eventually found this bamboo/cotton jersey from Koshtex on Etsy.  If you can't find a fabric close to your skin tone in yardage, look for a cheap t-shirt.  I have seen cotton camisoles in Walmart in light beige and brown, so that could be an option.

Do you like to adjust your gusset lining fabrics to match or prefer a white gusset?  One of the things I love about making my own lingerie is having the chance to not only get a perfect fit for my body but make all the choices for colors, fabrics and trims to fit my personal needs.

​Until next time, happy sewing!

First off, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who filled out the survey.  I asked for ten measurements, which I know was a bit detailed and took a few minutes of your time.  Thanks to your help, I can expand my size range.

The results of the survey were surprising to me in several ways.  I am even more glad now that I put out this survey, because it proved that some of the assumptions I had made were completely wrong.  I thought I’d share with you some of the findings.  I have no formal scientific training, so data analysis is not my specialty.  

I would like to expand the size range for my bras/bralettes going forward, and to do that I need your help!  I need more size data to increase my size range and also improve the fit of my current sizes. 

If you would like to help, please fill out the sizing survey.  All answers will be anonymous, and only viewed by me.  I need only 10 measurements and your underwire size.  This survey is for open to all sizes; every bit of data helps me! 

​Thanks so much for participating. 

I have a friend who broke ten (!)  ribs and her collarbone last December after being thrown off her horse.  Since then her bones have mended, but she still has a lot of pain and swelling in her abdomen every afternoon.  She told me that wearing a bra is very uncomfortable, and has mostly resorted to wearing only a camisole under her shirts.  

Now, my friend is about the same size as me, and she previously took a lesson from me in bra-making, so I knew she wouldn't think it too strange for me to make a bra for her.  So a few days ago I issued a design challenge to myself, to design a bra that put only a minimal amount of pressure on the back. 

I was inspired by some of the wrap bralettes that have just come out, like the Gemini Bra by Gravity by Grandy, the Wrap Bralette by Merckwaerdigh, and also some triangle bras like the Jordy Bralette.   I love the look of these bralettes but I was concerned that the multiple layers of wrapping and wide elastic would cause my friend too much pain.  I wanted to stick with 1/2" band and strap elastic and see how much support I could get.  

Much better!  I love how it turned out.  The back is simpler without the closure, and the shape of the cups is better, and the wrap front was changed to a v-neck.  For this one I used two layers of pantie spandex by Sew Sassy.  It is an 80/20 nylon/spandex knit with 75% stretch in both directions.  The cups fit very smoothly, but I noticed the apex seems to be a little too far towards the side.  For now, I will give this bra to my friend to try out and see if it is comfortable for her.

I want to make another bra for myself, and I'm thinking to try lace, and probably change the dart to a two-piece cup.    I know someone will ask if I'm going to make this a pattern for sale.  I'm thinking about that, and I honestly don't know if this style would really work for larger cup sizes.  I would probably increase the width of the elastics as the sizes get bigger, but I'm not sure if that would be enough.  I have gotten feedback on the bra patterns I have already published asking to increase my size range, so I definitely don't want to release a pattern only in small sizes because that really isn't fair.  ​What do you think?  Any interest in a pattern?

Today I am happy to share with you the lovely projects created by my hardworking pattern testers for the Maritza Sports Bra.  Enjoy!