Iris Bralette Tutorial: Longline Pattern Hack

Christmas is almost here, and what a perfect time to use some of my luxurious and sparkly fabrics!  Stretch panne velvet and gold stretch mesh are made up into a longline hack of my Iris Bralette pattern.  This pattern hack is super easy, and creates such a pretty silhouette!

We will begin by tracing off the cradle and band pieces.  Be sure to mark the notches and match points.

 To the cradle piece, extend the side seam and center front lines.  Add 2" to the length; I followed the curve under the cup then straightened the center front.  You could also make the bottom completely straight from the side seam to the center front.  

Repeat for the band, extending the side and center back lines, then adding 2" to the length.  Be sure to extend the strap placement line as well.

The sewing steps are exactly the same.  The only change is when you come to attach the straps to the back.  Time to make a decision: how economical do you want to be with your strap elastic?

If you follow the instructions for Back E, you will make loops of the strap elastic and secure them to the bottom and top of the band. This is the most stable method, but will use quite a bit of strap elastic for this longline version.

Another option would be to add extra length to the strap (add in the width of the band) and secure the cut end into the bottom elastic, and bartack at the top of the band.  This will save a bit on the strap elastic, but will place the O-rings at the front strap attachment.  If you are cup size D or larger, I would recommend this method or the one above, for the most stability.

The most economical version, which I chose for my sample above, is to use the same strap length called for in the pattern, and  secure the cut ends into the top elastic at the band.  As you can see on my form, it is pulling up slightly.  I would recommend this method only for smaller cup sizes, probably D or less.  If this were a bralette I planned on wearing frequently, I would have used one of the first two methods, but since this piece is just for fun I decided to save a bit of my strap elastic.

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Here is the front.  Isn't that gold mesh pretty?  Just the clarify, no that isn't a seam going across the front of the cradle.  Somehow there is a line pressed into the velvet, and I didn't see it until my bralette was all sewn up.  Oops!

I'm glad I took the extra effort to change threads when I made the second pass on stitching the elastics.  I used the beige color over the mesh parts, then switched to burgundy over the velvet.  It looks so much nicer when the threads blend in, I keep reminding myself to take a bit of extra time.

Do you like longline bras?  Are you making any special lingerie projects for the holidays?

​Happy Sewing!