Doctor T Designs

This month the Bra Sewing Community is celebrating BRAugust! It’s primarily an Instagram Challenge to post about Bra Sewing every day, but I’ve largely gone away from posting on Instagram so I decided to do a weekly summary here on the blog, instead of the daily posting just to keep a bit more manageable of a schedule.

The prompts are based on the schedule put out by the Bra Sewing Bee (originally posted in The Hive). Here’s what we’ve got going on this month:

So without further ado, let’s jump into the prompts!

August 18 – Book Recommendations

There are a lot of great sewing books, but my top picks are probably the Beverly Johnson manuals and the Porcelynne Bare Essentials. The Johnson books are amazing in terms of fitting resources and style alterations, and the Porcelynne book has given me some spot-on band drafts. I still haven’t found a book that has given me a convincing cup draft yet, but there are a few I’ve recently purchased that I am excited to read later this year.

August 19 – Selfish Sewing

Most of my bra sewing is selfish sewing. Definitely the most selfish is when I cancel on other plans to get some sewing in. I try not to do it that often, but sometimes I know that spending time in my creative little corner will just be better for everyone and help me recharge as a person. I think that, in some ways, bra sewing is the ultimate selfish sewing because so much of what I make is just for me and not something that other people get to see.

August 20 – Tip/Trick/Gadget

Probably my favorite “trick” is to enclose the back band seam between the front band and front band lining. It takes a bit of twisting and burrito-adjacent turning to get the seams fully enclosed, but it looks great on the inside and gives a really great finish.

Another favorite “trick” of mine is to do a single layer of fabric on top of a foam strap and finish the edges with fold over elastic (above). You can even finish one side with FOE first then put lace on top and finish the other side to get a stylish look but reduce any scratchiness from the lace (below). It gives a great finish with minimal bulk, minimal fuss, and super comfortable straps!

August 21 – Color Blocking

I haven’t really tried color blocking in a bra yet, but it would be fun! I have a lot of design ideas I want to play with, so maybe I will add this to the list. Right now the most colorful bra I have is from the cotton challenge in July. Not exactly color blocking, but definitely color-ful!

August 22 – Bra Guts

I really like the insides of bras when the channeling is a fun color, and I think they always look so good when the gothic arch technique is used for the center front elastic! I also love when the seams are fully enclosed – so tidy and satisfying.

August 23 – Little Black Bra

I think my Angie’s Twin from last year is the better example of the “little black bra” but I also love my black Josey from this year’s Bee! Even though I wasn’t that pleased with the construction on my Angie’s Twin I still seam to wear it a lot, and the Josey quickly became one of my favorite patterns after making it and refining the fit of the cups and the band.

August 24 – Organization and Storage

Since I started sewing bras a year and a half ago my bra supply stash has grown rather large, you know, as a stash is wont to do. I’ve got kits that are bagged and stored in bins, and then non-kit supplies that I store in some large Art Bin boxes, organized by color. I’ve also got a growing lace and trim collection, which now have their own storage bins and are also sorted by color (though the stretch lace has been moved to its own box). I really need to get the Cricut out to make some nice labels though because right now they have sad post-it notes that keep falling off the boxes. Then I’ve got a few boxes of newer supplies that need a home… Honestly I really need to figure out my fabric storage situation because while I’m happy with the start I’ve made at organizing my supplies, what I’ve got going on right now really ain’t it.

And that’s it for this week of BRAugust! I’ll be back with more next week!