Doctor T Designs

I had planned not to work on any challenges in The Hive while I was working on things to wear at the end of the month event I’m going to, but when there was a collective decision to try the AFI Atelier Maya pattern “for science”, well, you know I had to jump in.

The AFI Maya is a free pattern, which made it a good choice for this collective experiment. It also comes in a really large size range, which was helpful too. I’m definitely towards the higher end of the range of available sizes, but between the range of band and cup sizes, there’s a lot of options with this pattern.

I didn’t have a lot of time to work on this pattern, so I decided to just use my self-drafted band and skip over messing with the band pattern. I did have to make a lot of changes to the cup pattern though and had a fairly sizable omega adjustment to get the pattern to work with my larger volume and smaller wire line. The cup pieces are based on the 40H pattern, but my band most closely resembles the 40C pattern.

It took me three tries to find the correct starting size; the calculator suggested a 40G, but it was too small. I went to a 40I, which was too large, and I ended up at a 40H to get the correct starting size on the cup. I still like making paper cups to test new patterns and get a sense of how the pattern looks and a general idea of the sizing on the pattern:

I will say that although adjusting the upper cup did bring me close to the brink in terms of losing my mind, I was able to get a pretty reasonable pattern with only 2 tries on the upper cup. I probably should have done more testing, but I was feeling a bit crunched on time so I decided to just jump in. I also probably should have been smart and made the pattern in sheer cup and duoplex, but since the pattern was designed for a foam cup, I decided to just go all in and make a foam cup bra covered with my cherry jersey fabric from Kashi at Metro Textiles.

And here is my finished Maya Bra:

I think it’s a bit easier to see the design lines from a slight side angle:

Here are some details of the fun elastic on the neckline and the strap attachments:

I think the pattern came out a lot better than I was expecting! Probably I could have had a tidier result using some of the more stable fabrics, but I am super happy to have something simple and cute in this cherry fabric. It will be nice to have in my wardrobe, and I think I can tweak the pattern a bit for an even better version next time.

Official Pattern Review

Pattern Description: 3-piece cup underwire bra. This is a free pattern from AFI Atelier.

Pattern Sizing: EU 60-100 AA-K/US 28-44 AA-K. You can only download one size at a time from the website, so if you are trying to find your size it may take several “orders” to get the correct downloaded size. I tried a 40G (the size recommended by the calculator on the website) but ended up trying a 40I (the size that more closely corresponds to my RTW size), before settling on 40H as my starting size for the cups. I have to do an omega adjustment and my band size corresponded to a 40C, though I ended up using a self-drafted band for this project instead of trying to fit the Maya band.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  There are no instructions for this pattern, but there are a lot of sew alongs and tutorials on the internet because this is a free pattern. AFI Atelier has very extensive pattern instructions on their paid patterns, so I can understand why they might not include them for a free design where they are not getting paid for the time to develop the instructions. I recommend looking for the Liz Sews Maya Bra sew-along on YouTube; it’s a six part video tutorial and great if you haven’t seen a bra before.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done with it?  Yes, I think so! I made this version with a foam cup and a stretch jersey fabric cover; I think the jersey was really stretchy and distorts where the seams ended up a bit, but overall it looks a lot like the line drawing.

What did you particularly like/dislike about the pattern?  I wasn’t going to make this pattern because I had trouble fitting a different AFI pattern, but I was encouraged to try it when a group of us in the Bra Sewing Bee Hive decided to see how the pattern would work for different body shapes. I didn’t have high hopes for this pattern initially based on my previous experiences, but I was actually pleasantly surprised at the very round shape of the cups and I really like the end result of the shape of the bra. I also really like that this pattern is free! I do not like having to request each size individually (I wish it would come in a size packet per band length perhaps) and the upper cup was challenging to alter to fit my body. I’m also not a fan of the “T-back” straps and need a bit more wire spring, so I used my self-drafted frame with the cups. Overall though, I’m surprised how much I like this pattern!

Fabric used: I used sheer cup lining for the structural layer of the front frame and foam for the cups, with a cotton jersey for the fashion fabric, and power net for the back bands and all the usual bra elastics to finish it off.

Pattern alterations or design changes you made:  I used my self drafted band so I only made alterations to the cups. I did an omega adjustment to blend the 40H cups to a 40C wire line, and took in the neckline of the upper band quite a bit. I took about 3/4” of length out of the underarm seam and probably about the same out of the neckline edge. I also had to adjust the curves a bit to true up the lines and have them fit in my cradle but overall it was not as much alteration as I was expecting. I also adjusted the DOGS (degree of greatest stretch) line to point a bit more angularly towards the apex on the lower cup pieces. After making this version I think I will need to take another 1/4” out of the neckline edge, but overall I’m really happy with these alterations.

Would you sew this again?  Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, I’m definitely making this pattern again! Next time I will probably use just fabric without the foam to get a different feel for the pattern and to get a better check on the overall fit. I would recommend the pattern, but maybe not for brand new bra sewists. While the pattern being free might make it a bit more accessible, I think the lack of included instructions and the need to order each size individually would make it hard for a new person to identify and adjust their sizing, especially if they don’t have any context for wire sizes. I would recommend the pattern to someone who had a bit more experience with bra sewing, because I think the pattern is pretty good, but I expect most people will need to make some alterations and will have better luck with the pattern if they don’t need instructions and have some experience altering or sewing other patterns.

Conclusion:  Overall I’m really pleased with how the pattern looks, and I am excited to have a really comfy and cute new bra. I think with a few small tweaks the Maya might actually become a TNT for me, and I’m excited to try some more variations using different materials.

I’m really happy to have the Maya as part of my pattern catalog because it’s really different than most of my other usual bra styles. And since I was decided to participate in this Maya fitting experiment, it gave me the push to finish my cherry lingerie mini wardrobe, which I hope to be posting about soon!