A simplified Marlborough bra is the perfect pattern to showcase the lovely sheer, black, bra tulle and mint green elastics of The Huston kit.
My version: Instead of using a lace for the upper cup I chose to use the bra tulle, making sure to add seam allowances for the picot elastic I was sewing along the top edge (in place of where the lace scallop edge would be.)
My personal fit changes to the Marlborough pattern include a split lower cup (to allow for more volume) and this gives an extra seam line where the lower cup is. I overlocked all the seams and made sure they were enclosed within the lining (the bra is lined in the tulle) and I love how this highlights the seams as darker lines against the more sheer areas of tulle.
Because of the sheerness of the tulle I made sure to very neatly trim the tulle back, where it would be folded under the elastics as this seam is seen from the right side. The effect of this is quite a neat three-toned stripe of green and black.
The rest of the bra was sewn up as per pattern.
If you haven't tried making a bra from tulle before then I highly recommend it! Bra tulle is strong, supple, soft and has a fine drape. I love it!
The matching briefs needed to be a bit sassy. I know I wanted something high waisted and was also keen to try using elastic straps to make an adjustable waist - something I hadn't tried before. The Ava pattern by Ohhh Lulu was perfect! These were so much fun to sew!
I used 'The Huston' briefs kit which is made up of black stretch mesh and mint findings - so it perfectly matches the sheer bra. Rather than use the fold over elastic shown in the patterns instructions, I used plush picot elastic. Other than that these briefs are as per pattern.
And I love them! I'm itching to sew some more now!
It can be quite a challenge to make a matching set of bra and briefs, particularly when the bra pattern calls for non-stretch fabric. Sheer mesh is a great fabric to use to tie in to the bra's colours and the stretch factor means there is a lot of options for which briefs pattern to use.
Do you have a favourite material, tip or trick for making a matching set?