My first two bras

Sigrid was my inspiration for trying my hand again (I did it some time ago with good results, but not very satisfying) at bra sewing. She was also very nice and sent me some starting notions for bra sewing. The white padding that you'll see in the striped bra comes from her. Thank you, Sigrid!

Turquoise and brown bra, from elingeria kit.


Close-up of lace overlay.





Black and white bra, made as a SWAP extra :)


Inside of the bra (you can see the padding). I chose nude padding for the turquoise lace and white padding for the black lace. That way, the lace is better showcased.



Close-up of the lace and the white padding underneath.



Matching panties





The pattern is Merckwaerdigh BHS10, from Elingeria.

Pattern Description:
The pattern includes: 1 sports bra, 2 bras without wires and 2 bras with wires and underbust band. One of the wired bras is padded.

Pattern Sizing:
(US sizes) 30 A up to 42 A; 28 B up to 40 B; 28 C up to 38 C; 28 D up to 36 D
In European sizes, 65A to 95A ; 60B to 90B; 60C to 85C; 60D to 80D

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, with the changes made.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions are quite concise and they require previous experience in bra sewing. Most helpful to me was my previous reading on bra making. I found a wealth of information and tutorials on the web:

Sigrid's bra tutorial 1
Sigrid's bra tutorial 2
Sigrid's bra tutorial 3
Sigrid's bra tutorial 4
Bra making and FAQ
Threads - Bra Dilemma Solved
Sew News - copy your favorite bra
Crossing the channel - a very useful post on Beverly Johnson's bra making blog. Beverly Johnson is the author of the Bra-makers Manual. I've also ordered a classic bra pattern designed by her, but it's still in the mail.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked very much the three piece cup, with the third piece extending as a strap. I've also liked the the wider bra band on view A, with a curved

Fabric Used:
For the brown and turquoise bra, lingerie kit from elingeria.de containing microfibre, stretch lace and all the notions required except padding and underwire. For the black and white set, cotton/lycra, guipure lace etc from my stash.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
First of all, it's a question of size. I"m a 70 B in RTW so logically, I started with a 70 B in this pattern as well. The resulting bra was nice, but not perfect. First of all I made view D of this pattern and I didn't like the design of the cup as much as I like the cup of the view C. Second, without being too tight or really small, the cup seemed.... not perfect. Therefore for my second and third bra (the ones shown in this review) I've decided to trace a 75B for the cups and a 70B for the band. Perfect! The only adjustment to make was that in the brown bra, I found the fabric strap a bit too far away on my shoulder - not uncomfortable, but anyway. I therefore rotated the strap on the pattern piece, moving it 1.5 cm closer to the center front.

I've altered the bra band piece, preserving the design of the centre front and copying the design of the side and center back from view A. As mentioned previously, I liked the wider band, it is very comfortable. I've also liked the treatment of the centre back, the curved decoupage of the band and the insertion of the elastic strap beginning at the bra closure and curving along the decoupage. See a photo of what I mean below.



I've also combined the lace and the fabric as I wanted, not as the pattern said. For instance, in the brown bra, the center front lace overlay was my idea - I was looking for a creative way to use as little lace as I could (so I can have lots of stretch lace left for the waist and legs of my boyshorts) but with a maximum effect. For the black and white bra, I've decided to join the two bra band halves at the center front with a bit of fagoting, using the respective stitch on my machine and a bit of wash-away stabilizer underneath - see it below




Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
As you can see, I made this bra twice already. I actually can't wait to make it again. Sigrid warned me, lingerie sewing is addictive!

The brown and turquoise bra doesn't have matching panties yet but I do have enough fabric (elingeria.de kits are designed to make a bra and two pairs of panties). All my bras will have two pairs of matching panties, like the black and white one - a low rise thong and a pair of boyshorts. Both are copied from RTW.

These two are the best-fitting, most comfortable bras that I have, so I won't stop making lingerie any time soon. Let's see, I have three kits from Elingeria at home, two more in the mail... some other interesting fabrics in my stash. One of my next projects will be a camisole with incorporated padded bra. Possibly made out of remnants of cotton/lycra from my "geisha" top, with matching fuchsia red stretch lace.