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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Completed: An Olive Watson


Guys! I **MADE** a bra! I also had this entire post written two weeks ago, and blogger ate it when I went to add some more photos. Apologies if this is short, I'm still annoyed that happened!



This is such a fast, satisfying make. I've really started to savor the idea of "slow sewing". I think after I've whipped up renfrews in a couple hours, "fast" fashion with less fiddly bits are losing their appeal. Give me details, sharp corners, precision!


I didn't think I'd ever make underthings. I'd seen a lot of the old-school bloggers doing this many years ago, and thought they were crazy. Well, here I am. The Cloth Habit Watson pattern came out in November. I liked it but still clung to my "making a bra isn't for me" attitude. Of course, I starting having Watson envy, because I saw all these amazing versions popping up everywhere, and I love me a soft-bra.


So I did it. I made this bra, you guys. I ordered a kit from Blackbird fabrics, and I cut everything out and I just took it one step at a time and it LOOKS like a legit bra. The hardware and the elastics are really what makes this.


I've since made a couple of other versions (I will hopefully write about those in a more timely manner than this one) and for my fourth version I've modified the back band piece to continue the slope from the underarm. I don't care for the curve of the straps where they attach to the back band, they typically don't sit flat and can cause some discomfort. My plan is to first attach the strapping to the back band RST, and then extend the underarm elastic all the way to the back on top of the strapping for the first pass, and then flipping it for the second pass. Will report back on how that works out.


One of the biggest things that kept me from moving forward faster, was the fear of setting in concave/convex curves. The last attempt I made was last summer for a bustier style top, which I was muslining for a dress to wear to a wedding.  Here's that muslin:


The inside is horrendous. Oh well. I'm kinda glad I kept that so I can look at it again. I think maybe I'll revisit that style.




It was all swears and seam ripping so I ended up trashing that idea entirely for my faithful McCalls 5850 with a halter strap added.


Three row hook and eye closure for the long-line style


I uh, got a new sewing machine, and the topstitching is DYNAMITE.






The guts! This was such a great experience, and I can't recommend this pattern along with the sewalong resources enough!

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