Monthly Sewing Review – 2024 March Wrap Up

March has been a busy month! It’s been exciting to collaborate with the Bra Sewing Bee on my “Figuring Out Fit” series, I’ve been able to finish some projects, and I even did some mending! I’ve been feeling much more energetic than I did in February, and though I have been busy, I think I’ve been in a better headspace because I have been able to work on some projects in my spare time. I’m also excited about the start of the Bee, and have been doing some prep work so that I can participate in that next month!

Sewing Progress

This felt like a month to wrap up unfinished business. I started working on the Bravo Bottoms #2 back in January, but I finally go through my fitting process and am very happy with the pattern now.

On a whim I also tried out the Daisy Bralette. Although it didn’t really work out right away, I am excited to try blending this pattern with the Mysa Bralette to see if I can get the style of the Daisy to mesh with the fit of the Mysa, because that would be the best of both worlds, with the least amount of effort.

I also fixed my Margareta Bra that I sewed back in December. I hadn’t really been wearing this bra even though I was very proud of the construction, but I couldn’t quite figure out why. My first thought was that it was a very lightweight bra, and it’s been cold out, but I didn’t really think that was entirely the case. I realized the straps were the thing that were bugging me. I used a double loop of strap elastic, but they were still too long and too stretchy. Although support comes from the band and the cups do actually stay up pretty well on their own, the delicate lace on the upper cup is a bit flimsy without the strap to keep it in place, which I found very annoying to wear, so I really needed to fix the strap. I decided to cut them off entirely and re-do them using a technique I saw someone mention in the Hive for the Bra Sewing Bee and in one of last year’s sew along classes, where they used decorative stitches to attach a stabilizer (in my case, ribbon) to the back of the strap. Here’s what I came up with on my straps:

One feature I really like on my machine is how easy it is to mirror a stitch – it means I can have perfectly mirrored straps with the touch of a button! I think they look really cute (if somewhat difficult to photograph) on the finished Margareta:

The straps are much more stable now, and I think it really helps the feel of the bra, because everything has the correct tension right where it should be. I’m very happy I made this update, and the strap design is so cute!

I also worked on fitting the Emerald Erin Friday French Cuts this month in preparation for the Bra Bee class. I’m also working on some of the other patterns featured in the Bee (the Odessa Corset is on my to-fit list) and some new patterns I want to try for the fitting band classes. I decided not to use the Marlborough pattern that is being used in the Bee but I do want to try the La Bella Coppia Josey Bra and the LilyPADesigns Lusmaine, so I’ve started working on patterns to test those out as well.

Also, way back in November I was working on the fit of the Aries Bra, but I never really got around to making it. I got started on cutting out this pattern, finally, so this is also part of my March WIPs.

I’m also making an initial pair of the Emerald Erin Friday French Cuts so I can test the pattern before the Bee (but also because I’m too impatient to wait for the Bee to sew some). So far I’ve done two fit samples out of scraps and I’m now making my first “real” version. I’m sure I’ll have a review of this pattern up soon.

With any luck I’ll find time in April to finish some of these projects, so there should be some fun things coming to the blog soon!

Sewing Delays

I was still recovering my energy at the start of the month from having been sick several weeks ago. I’ve also been really busy with work and the competition season is ramping up in all of my non-sewing activities, so I haven’t had as many weekends at home to sew. But I’m still trying to find at least 1 night a week to work on my projects (even a little bit), and it has really helped to keep me sane while everything else has been so busy.

Finished Projects

Although not an actual sewn garment, I did write several posts in collaboration with the Bra Sewing Bee, which required quite a bit of research and time to write up, so I’m including them as part of my “finished projects” this month. It was really interesting to review and summarize the Bee’s previous fitting courses, and I’m super happy with the finished posts:

I’m also really looking forward to this year’s Bee expanding on the topics explored in previous year’s fit clinics. Hopefully I will have time to try some things and will definitely post about any fit-related sewing projects I work on soon.

This month I also had several finished sewing projects, including multiple variations of the Bravo Bottoms #2 pattern, and the Daisy Bralette:

And my sister also finished her Freja Bra that we started working on together back in January! She bought the Yvonne Kit from B,Wear when we did our joint order, but she was able to make 2 bras from the fabrics. She finished the Ruby a while ago, but with work travel she had to wait a while to put this one all together. Happily, she finally had time to finish this weekend. I think it turned out really cute:

Overall March has been a surprisingly productive month on the sewing side of things, and with any luck I might be able to squeeze out a last minute project before the clock ticks April. If I do I’ll share that in an upcoming post soon!

WIPs & Upcoming Plans

Of course, now that we are at the end of March, the Beginner Bra Sewing Bee has officially started, so I am planning to make another Sahaara as part of the beginner sew-along, but I am going to make one out of lace this time! I’m also planning to make matching Friday French Cuts as part of the Bee, and start working on fitting bands for the Josey and the Lusamine, as part of an experiment with wire spring. I got some materials to make the Odessa Corset top, so clearly I have a lot of plans to work through the Bee classes this year. There is no way I’m sewing all of this in April, but I’m going to at least try to keep up with the Sahaara sew-along because I already have that pattern mostly worked out.

Also, because everyone in the Bra Bee Hive is so full of helpful information, I may have bought some more drafting books:

I’m curious to test out some of these techniques and compare them to the other drafting methods I have tried previously, but I don’t think I will have a lot of time to test out new drafting until July, or maybe August at this point. I think I will focus on patterns, projects, and plans that are already in motion or that will be relevant to the Bee first, before adding more to the immediate project list. I do still want to sew some actual clothes this year too, but right now I’m happy to work on undergarments because the patterns feel small and manageable, which is really helpful as I head into my busy season.