Doctor T Designs

I’ll admit that I’m probably as shocked as anyone that I’m writing this post. I picked up the Daisy Bralette pattern on a bit of a whim when I was purchasing some other patterns from Bra Builders. I wanted to get the Odessa Corset top (which is currently free), and after reviewing so many fit clinics as part of my collaboration posts with the Bra Bee, I was also really interested in getting and testing out the Josey. (Yes, I know – it looks very similar to the Margareta and the Willowdale, but at this point I really wanted to get it to compare because it was so similar. You know. For science.) Anyway, while I was adding items to my cart I decided I really liked the style lines of the Stitch Love Studio Daisy Bralette (it’s sort of a cross between the Sahaara and the Mysa, though I believe it was published before either of those two patterns). And since I was working on my Bravo Bottoms #2 fitting and was in the mood for some quick projects, I decided to give it a test.

The Stitch Love Studio Daisy is a really simple bralette pattern, with options for fabric or a lace detail in the front, and instructions for longline and hook and eye back closure variations.

My measurements put me squarely in the 2XL size, so I went with the larger size pack. I cut out the 2XL pattern and sewed it up in my now ubiquitous “tester” cotton jersey from deep stash:

Standing back it’s not too bad, and the style is pretty cute, especially paired with the Bravo Bottoms #2 boyshort. However, I think even on the dress form (which is not exactly my size) it’s pretty clear that there are some fit issues:

The band is a bit loose, and the cups are not quite the right shape. It’s a bit complex to immediately see how to adjust the pattern though, because the overall volume seems to be ok, and there isn’t anywhere that clearly needs to be pinched out or given extra space. The fit isn’t terrible; it’s just not quite in the right places. If I was going to try again, I would probably go back to the drawing board and try fitting the 3XL cup pieces into the 1XL band pattern to see if I could redistribute where the volume was existing, but I thought even that might not work based on what I was seeing from the first sample. So I decided to set it aside and think about it for a bit.

Initially I was a bit disappointed because I really like the style (and have some cute fabric coming from Kashi at Metro Textiles that I absolutely need to use with this pattern), but I realized it was going to be a lot of work to fit this pattern. But then I had a thought. I looked at the band shape compared to the Mysa bralette I had made from LilyPADesigns, and it is almost identical. The Mysa fit me much better right out of the envelope, so I’m now wondering if I can somehow frankenpattern everything together to get the style of the Daisy but the fit of the Mysa. I haven’t done this yet, but it’s on my list of sewing things to do in the next couple of months. Especially because I have really cute fabric on the way…

So, even though I haven’t really figured this pattern out yet I thought I would give it a review, since the next time I work with it, it will probably be debatable how much of this pattern actually factors into the result.

Official Pattern Review

Pattern Description: From the website: “The Daisy bralette is a cute, comfy, easy to wear garment for those days when you are lounging around the house or just going out. You can lengthen the band for a bustier style or even convert to a one piece back band for stretchy fabrics..” I bought the pattern because I really liked the style lines and the way that it was designed to be used as a mix of lace and non-lace fabrics.

Pattern Sizing: It comes in two sizes ranges: XS-L or XL-3XL, with the bust measurements ranging from 32″ up to 49″. I measured in the 2XL range, so I made that size of pattern as a first fit test.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  The instructions were ok. I think if you have a lot of sewing experience or if you have made a bra before, they are fine. While I think the construction of the bralette is very easy (perfect for a first project), I don’t know that these instructions are the most beginner friendly, as they feel a bit condensed. The instructions also give you advice for how to construct some of the different options for how to use the pattern, but I think this might be confusing for a beginner.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done with it?  Yes and no. Since I wanted to do a fit test, I didn’t use any lace or really precious fabrics on this project, so my version does not have the same sort of lace design as the samples. However, the overall shape of the garment looks very much like the envelop and pattern drawings.

What did you particularly like/dislike about the pattern?  I really like the style, and I like that the pattern tries to tell you how to make variations without having a bunch of extra pattern pieces. I also really like how the cups attach to the band – this sort of shaping is very easy to construct, which is really nice. I think that the instructions are probably the weakest part of this pattern, but they aren’t too bad.

Fabric used: I used some leftover cotton jersey from previous projects and fold over elastic to finish the edges. I was hoping to just do a basic fit test, so I didn’t get too splurgy on the materials for this project.

Pattern alterations or design changes you made:  I was making a fit test, so I went with a straight 2XL without any adjustments. I plan to make substantial changes when I come back to this pattern in the future.

Would you sew this again?  Would you recommend it to others?  So, as much as I enjoy the style, unfortunately, this pattern’s shaping is not very similar to my body shaping, so I would need to do a lot of work to fit it. This is not a criticism of the pattern (the drafting is great), but it does mean I will need to consider how much work I want to do to make another. Because the fit of bra patterns is very dependent on the body type they are drafted for (either wide and shallow or narrow and projected, generally speaking), I think it might be easier to reassess my starting point and go about this from a different approach. Right now I am heavily considering using a different but similar pattern that fit me much better (the Mysa Bralette from LilyPADesigns) and seeing if I can somehow draft the Daisy’s style lines onto the Mysa pattern I’ve already made. If I do that I will try to document the process in a future write up. For the Daisy, I would recommend the pattern if you are not in the super projected camp (like I am). I think it’s a super cute pattern, easy to put together, and would probably give a really good result to most people, but at this point I have accepted that I’m on the extreme side of the spectrum in terms of projection, so if a pattern isn’t drafted with that body shape in mind, I have to do a lot of extra work to make it fit me. I might be willing to do that work, but perhaps in a more roundabout way, and at some point in the future.

Conclusion:  Even though the pattern hasn’t really worked out for me (yet) I’m still happy I tried it. I think it’s a really nice pattern, it just didn’t work for me. I am happy I can see the pattern pieces though, because I think it will help me modify the style lines of another pattern, so that I can get the look of the Daisy without having to go through all of the steps of making it fit. I have a few other projects I want to work on first, but I hope to come back to this pattern soon to try and get something more functional for myself.

I’m happy I made a quick project so that I could get back into the swing of sewing after having been sick, but I’m ready to move back to some of the more complex projects I had planned before I took this detour. I’m actually really excited for some of the upcoming projects on my list, because they are going to overlap with the upcoming Bra Sewing Bee! I am looking forward to making a lace Sahaara as part of the beginner sew along, and also working on some new projects as part of the main Bee. I’ve already got several new design ideas kicking around in my head, just from some of the bonus videos we’ve already had access to in The Hive as part of the conference, so my “to sew” list is growing, and I’m trying to be reasonable with my expectations. April is going to be a very busy month for me, so I don’t know if I will be able to get as much done as I would like, but hopefully some more projects will be coming to the blog soon!