Monthly Musing ~ First time nerves

Helen Cloke beginner advice lingerie supplies

This month I launched an online business.  It's all brand new.  Never having been involved with e-commerce before I've had a lot of learning to do and luckily I've had some skilled people holding my hand and guiding me along the way.

These feelings of excitement, uncertainty and intimidation, reminded me of how I felt years ago when I wanted to start making bras but had no clue how to go about it.  So for those of you who may be looking at photos of all the pretty, handmade bras out there and feeling the same way I felt as a newbie bra maker then here is my advice for you (now if only I could go back in time and tell it to myself!)

1. Just start already!

Seriously.  Just start.  It's going to be messy and scary and your first bra most likely wont fit but the only way to achieve a professional looking, great fitting bra is to get the ugly out of the way first.

So very, very ugly but it had its purpose

2. If you need to, start small.

There are plenty of beginner friendly patterns for briefs out there - a lot of them are even free.  So you don't need much to start sewing, usually just a small amount of stretch fabric (which we all have in our stash, right?) and a couple of metres of picot / lingerie elastic.  There's a lot to be learnt from making a pair of briefs.  Sewing with small seam allowances, precision sewing and practice of applying elastics, for example.

Evie la Luve - Bella Panties - practice mirror cutting lace and fold over elastic application

3. Introduce yourself with a bralette.

A bralette (or soft bra) is a bra without underwires so they are generally a little bit more forgiving in the fit.  Even if, like me, you don't really wear bralettes it's still worthwhile making a few.  You can have the satisfaction of having sewn some pretty and functional bras before you tackle the 'trial and error' of underwires.

Cloth Habit - Watson Bra - A great place to start

4. Don't worry about 'right'

When I first started out I was so worried about my supplies not being 'right.' I live in small town NZ (small town like this morning the postie pushed biked up to my front door to give me my mail and have a chat.) and it was really hard to find any of the bra supplies listed in the patterns - duoplex, tricot, powernet etc.  It took me a really long time to start because I felt like I was already set up for failure.  But the thing is, with your first attempts at least, it doesn't much matter if you are substituting in things that you already own so long as you keep the fabric properties the same.  One of my first (and actually one of my favourite) bras was created from brushed satin fabric left over from a flower girl dress I made my daughter.

One of my first underwire bras - made from dressmaking fabric scraps

5. Get the fit before the pretty

I've always loved lingerie!  Walking in to a lingerie store with all the beautiful colours, patterns, laces, ribbons and diamantes was such yummy eye candy.  And this was how I set out to make bras - needing them to be absolutely, beautifully co-ordinated pieces of art.  This resulted in terrible disappointment when all the effort I put in resulted in a poorly fitting, unwearable bra.  So think basic.  Focus on getting a well fitting, basic bra which you can then modify with all the bells and whistles in further makes.

6. Do some fit research

There is now plenty of information out there that covers which bra pattern best fits what shape breasts.  Do some research to make sure you are starting with the right pattern for you.  This may not be a pattern for a bra style you would normally gravitate towards but starting with the right foundation will mean less changes necessary for a perfect fit.  You can always modify the style later to more suit your personal tastes.

7. Perfect one pattern and make multiples

Once you have your perfect fitting pattern and some basic bras made, then style it up!  It's amazing how one pattern can look so different depending on the fabrics used or subtle changes made to the style lines of the pattern.  Make the most of the one pattern you know works well before moving onto the next pattern that catches your eye.  I've made so many different Marlborough bra's and each one has a different personality so I don't feel like I'm just filling my lingerie drawer with repeats of the same thing.

Two very different Marlborough bras

8. Don't be afraid to ask

There are some great, bra specific (closed) facebook groups around. Sign up to them and ask questions on their forums - there are so many lovely people who are happy to share their knowledge.  I'm here too - so contact me - blog comments, email, instagram, whatever medium works for you.  I love helping people get started on bra making!

So tell me, what held or is holding you back from starting your bra making journey?

Happy Sewing,

Helen

 

COMING SOON ! ~ A lingerie glossary.

I remember how confusing all the new terminology was when I began my bra making journey so I'm putting together a glossary of terms that will continue to grow as I think of more entries or get asked questions.

 

 

 



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  • Muriel.Nahtzugabe5cm on

    Hi Helen,
    first of all I would like to wish you all the best for your new business.

    Now to your blogpost: A few years ago I said “no, I will never sew bras, this is something I will definitely buy RTW”.
    Bra sewing seemed to be too intimidating, althought I already sewed for many years at that time. So many different materials are necessary – how should I figure that out.
    But then in 2015 a German blogger hosted a bra sewing sew along and I thought, okay I give it a try and never stopped sewing bra since.
    At the beginning I found it very helpful to use kits to get all the materials and to learn which elastic/fabric is which and which amount of stretch is expected from the different fabrics.
    I also started with sewing soft bras and I helped me to learn to work with those materials and the very small seam allowances.
    Once I sewed my first wire bra I used this pattern for over one year and modified it several times (lace version/ different band widths ….).
    I have to admit, that although I thought that the first bras fitted better than any RTW bra before, I replaced them once I got better (re-used wire/strap elastics/bra closure). With the help of online courses (craftsy fairy bra mother) and local bra sewing courses I managed to get an even better fitted bra.
    As you mentioned I also think that the first bra doesn´t have to be pretty – work on the fit and your techniques and then sew the pretty bras.
    Greetings from Germany,
    Muriel (nahtzugabe5cm.de – German for “seamallowance 5 centimeter”)



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