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Ladies – we have your nudes!

When looking for a bra that is virtually invisible under any clothing, lingerie shopping experts advise buying a “nude” colour; in other words, a colour that matches your skin tone. But there are dozens of skin tones from very light to…
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Fully-Seamed Ahead!

Stockings are often sold as One Size Fits All, but that’s rarely the case in practice. Especiallywith winter weather on the way its the perfect time to curl up in cozy stockings or readingsocks, and now you’ll be able to draft and see…

Talking Body(Suits!)

Bodysuits are all the rage; whether it's being worn as the main part of a stylish Underwear-As-Outerwear look, used as the base of a Halloween costume, or simply underneath your clothes to bring out your inner Wonder Woman we've been seeing…
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Making masks!

I prefer to think of my time these days at "I get to stay at home" rather than "I am stuck at home". That being said, sometimes you have to go out. I get that. You can make a mask for yourself or your loved ones just in case they must go out…
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Let’s Make Banded Panties!

How about we buck tradition and NOT use elastic when making panties? It is possible, you know, as long as you substitute bands made from elastic fabric for the usual elastic around the legs and waist. Let's make banded panties - it's easy once…
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Hacking Cheryl for a Lace Back

Our underwear pattern Cheryl has proven to be a very popular pattern for us. That back seam provides great shaping over the derriere and the alternate versions of the patterns provide lace details that any lace-lover can appreciate. But…
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Convert a Sweet Sixteen into a Babydoll

One of the easiest ways to have that iconic Babydoll pyjama look but with full support we need today is to use a pattern we already know and love and convert it to a modern interpretation of that classic nightwear. Our Design Team paired…
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Make Ingrid into Baby Dolls!

Baby Doll (pajamas) were all the rage in the 1960s. Women of a certain age will remember (with fondness, hopefully) all the frilly styles that were especially appealing to teens and young women. The Baby Dolls almost always had a full skirt,…

Three Essential Bra Backs you should know

If you are new to bra-making, you may be following the pattern instructions to a T. However, there are some changes to the back of the bra that will greatly impact your comfort, but they do not take a lot of drafting skill or sewing knowledge.…
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How to Draft a Mastectomy Pocket

October is Breast Cancer Month. Every year, breast cancer claims the life or the well-being of someone we know. Studies indicate that 1 in 4 women are affected by breast cancer in some way. But is there something we can do for those women who…
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Move the Strap on Ingrid

The Ingrid non-wired bra pattern has quickly become a new favourite among our customers. It fits really well on most women without any alteration. However, women with sloping shoulders or narrow shoulders might need to move the strap.  Here's…
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Our Logo Bra – part 1

I designed our business logo several years ago. I've always loved the bra style that I used, even though it is not a style in my pattern line-up. It is a multi-seamed vertical balconette cup with a ruffled upper edge (that's a mouthful!) I decided…
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When Bra-making meets Quilting

You probably already know that bra-making is not an isolated skill set. We borrow skills from all aspects of the sewing spectrum. But when Bra-making meets Quilting, you just know something special is about to happen. That's exactly what happened when…
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Shamrock Valley

Our lovely Shamrock Valley bra was created using our Shamrock Valley Quartet. If you haven't used a Quartet as a starter to sew up your own DIY bra, then perhaps this bra will serve as inspiration. There are three unique areas we focused on…
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Happily Ever After – How to Draft a Vintage Nursing Bra

Happily Ever After - How to Draft a Vintage Nursing Bra In a earlier post, I showed you the Vintage Nursing Bra in my Once Upon a Time series. In this post, I'll show you how to draft a Vintage nursing bra made of modern bra-making materials,…

Almonds and Bulges

I like to make up words for my students so they remember the technique associated with them more easily. (Do you remember what DoGS means?) So when it comes to fitting bras, it’s no different.  So lets’ talk about Almonds and Bulges… In…
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How to draft a Garter Belt

How to Draft a Garter belt Garter belts were an essential foundation garment - there were no stay-up stockings, nor had panty hose been invented yet. Putting on a garter belt was an everyday activity. Not today. Garter belts have entered…
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Cloning a Seamless Cup

Cloning a Seamless Cup It is very rewarding to clone a bra you love from RTW (ready-to-wear). You already know it fits. Besides, Cloning a Seamless Cup can save you time and money if you can get the fit on the first try. In order to clone…
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Can We Make a Seamless Swim Bra?

Can We Make a Seamless Swim Bra? The summer is here! And what better way to celebrate summer than with a custom swimsuit you make for yourself? I have no doubts that your hand made suit can rival the suits you buy in the shops. The question…
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When Life gives you Grapefruits…

When Life gives you Grapefruits... Sometimes I hear breasts called different food related names, such as fried eggs, lemons, grapefruits or melons. You get the idea. We can deal with that. When life gives you grapefruits... or even a set of…
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Double Lace over Foam

Double Lace over Foam I have a surprise for you today - not one bra but two bras in different colour ways - double lace over foam! They look completely different from each other but the techniques used to create them are essentially the same Here…
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Peachy Pink Lace Bra

Peachy Pink Lace Bra Here's just the thing for spring - a peachy pink lace bra. This one was featured in the Craftsy Class  - Sewing Bras: Foam, Lace & Beyond.  Let's go Behind the Seams to reveal its drafting and construction secrets. Features…
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Alpha to Omega

Alpha to Omega You may have found that you buy a bra only to find that the wire is way out toward your underarm and pokes you? Or after a few hours (or minutes) the wire slides down your rib cage. Often, there is a flat area of fabric next…
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The Ivory and Green Demi Bra

The Ivory and Green Demi Bra Do you remember the bra from the title card of my second Craftsy class, Sewing Bras: Designer Techniques? It's a lovely ivory and green demi bra with a big bow at the front. Here's a reminder. I love that bra! The…
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The Giraffe Print Bra

The Giraffe Print Bra I've received several emails about the "Craftsy bras", or more specifically, the bras that were made for and featured on my Craftsy classes. I guess people want to see them close up and in more detail than was shown in…
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Make your Bra a Longline Bra

Make your Bra a Longline Bra I get asked all the time about when a longline pattern is going to come out in the Pin-up Girls line. It isn't likely to be anytime soon as I have lots of "other" bra patterns in my brain struggling to spring forth!…

Sewing Bras: Foam, Lace & Beyond

Sewing Bras: Foam, Lace & Beyond Banish boring bras from your wardrobe! Elevate your skills as you learn techniques for adding style and support with lovely lace, flattering foam cups and more in Sewing Bras: Foam, Lace & Beyond, the…

Horizontal Hocus Pocus

Horizontal Hocus Pocus As promised in this last post, I am sharing with you how to convert your Classic Bra to a horizontal seamed cup. If you want to do that, stay with me for background theory.  It's not magic or horizontal Hocus Pocus,…
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Heather in Red and Black

Heather in Red and Black With the launch of the most recent online class through Craftsy, I decided to do a regular blog post on the bras created for the lessons. But you may not recognize some of them...as I will be featuring them in a different…

Dissecting Ulla

After my last post about Cloning Ulla, I wondered how the pattern of the cloned bra compared to my Pin-up Girls Classic Bra pattern. As you know, the Ulla bra company is known for their large cup sizes so it would be interesting to see what…
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Cloning Ulla

Recently a student brought me an interesting challenge. She purchased a ready-to-wear bra and wanted one just like it, but not necessarily the same fabrics. I call this... wanting something the same, only different! Her bra was a European sized…
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Press and Peel a new Bra

Here at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference, we were lucky to have a student in our class who found a new way of cloning garments. When we combined that method with some bra-making ingenuity, the results were nothing less than spectacular!…