Doctor T Designs

And we are on to the final bra pattern I made as part of the Bee on a Wire class! The Josey was my most-sewn bra pattern in 2024, so perhaps it’s a bit odd that I would scrap my tweaked and tested pattern and completely start over, but I wanted to fully embrace the process from the Bee on a Wire class, so that’s what I did.

I’ve made the Josey quite a lot, and it’s become my go-to bra style in my wardrobe, so it was a bit weird to start over with the pattern completely. However, since I was embracing the process I decided to just go with it and see where it took me. Firstly, I used my paper cups to test the different starting sizes, and I ended up starting with a straight size 50, compared to the 44 wire/52 cup omega adjustment mashup I had done previously. I followed the steps of alterations suggested by the Bee on a Wire teachers, and I ended up with what is probably my best fitting bra ever.

To achieve this though, I did have to do something I’ve never done before – I cut my wires! I kept trying to make other wires feel comfortable, but I really needed a vertical style wire, but the regular verticals were too short and the long verticals were too long. I ended up cutting 1″ off the outer edge of the Porcelynne 46 Long Vertical to get a perfectly fitted custom wire length to fit in this pattern, and I love it! It was definitely a bit scary, but I used tools and materials I bought from Porcelynne (both to cut and to re-tip the wire), and I used safety goggles and a heat gun, in addition to the heavy duty wire cutters. It was a bit scary, but I’m definitely team “cut your wires” now.

I also put a lot of extra lace detail on this bra – on the side and back band, and on the upper cup. I also used my fancy machine stitches to stabilize the strap. Overall I think that this is a really subtle tone-on-tone look, but I still think it’s really pretty! This bra kit is Wintermint from Bra Builders with the Jade colorway for the fabric and trim.

Pattern Review

Pattern Description: The Josey is an underwire bra pattern with 4 piece cup, lace upper cup, and g-hook back straps to allow for a crossed strap option.

Pattern Sizing: The Josey comes in 2 size packages: the Josey and the Josey Plus. The Josey has you pick a frame and cups based on underwire (UW) size and the back band based on your underbust band measurement. The Josey comes in 44UW-52UW with band sizes to fit 27″-42″ and the Josey Plus 54UW-60UW with bands for 29″-46″. For the Josey this anticipates a Horizontal Hemisphere (HH) between 9.25″-12.25″ and a vertical hemisphere (VH) of 8.0″-10.0″ and the Josey Plus expects 12.25″-15.75″ HH and 10.0″-12.25″ VH. I had previously made a 52 cup in a 44 frame, but after taking the Bee on a Wire class I started with a 50 cup and frame, and a 36 back band. I will say that I don’t think the measurements are helpful in finding a starting size on this pattern; it was much better for me to make paper cups and test which starting size seemed the best, rather than going off measurements which led to my size mash up previously.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  The instructions for this pattern were really good. The instruction manual is very detailed and includes lots of helpful instructions, diagrams, and tips to get a better result. I think the instructions on fitting might be a bit overwhelming if you’ve never sewn a bra before, and I didn’t find that my measurements lined up at all with the size I ended up sewing, but overall the information in the instructions is really helpful and worth taking the time to read and review, even if you end up going a different way. Fitting aside, if you’ve never constructed a bra before I think you could make something quite successful just following these instructions.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done with it?  Yes – it looks like the line drawing!

What did you particularly like/dislike about the pattern?  I really like the fit of the band – it’s the best fitting band I’ve made from a commercial pattern, and I applied a fitting adjustment that made it even better. I also really like the style of the cup. Even though it’s a fairly common style, the Josey gives quite a lot of space on the upper cup to showcase a nice lace motif. It’s a bit unfortunate that the size options are so limited in this pattern, but if you are on the larger sizes and can fit into the range it’s a really good pattern style to try, especially because it has larger sizes than many of the other patterns on the market.

Fabric used: I used a kit from Bra Builders that included lace, microduoplex, firm power net, and the standard bra findings.

Pattern alterations or design changes you made:  For the Bee on a Wire class I started with a size 50 cup and frame, and 36 back band. I didn’t have to do too many alterations once I found the right starting size. I took a 1/8” dart out of the upper neckline, a 1/4” curved dart out of the power bar, and applied the “magic band” (IYKYK) edit that pivoted the back band upward and reduced the length of the upper band. While going through the fitting process I was using 46 vertical wires, but they ended up being too short. The Gigi’s 46 Super Long wires fit, but felt too wide, so I decided to try cutting 1” off the Porcelynne 46 Long Vertical wires, which ended up with the wire being the perfect length. I used the Porcelynne tipping material to help finish off the wire edge so it doesn’t poke or tear up the fabric. In terms of style changes, I changed the back from using G-hooks to attach the straps and give cross-strap options into a standard ballet back design and increased the hook to a 4-high instead of a 3-high based on the materials I had in my kit. I also stabilized the upper strap with ribbon because I prefer non-stretch straps.

Would you sew this again?  Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, I will definitely sew this again! I think this is one of my best fitting bras, and I really love the way this turned out. I don’t have any further modifications I want to try, other than maybe playing around with moving the apex inward slightly to try and correct for my body’s natural east-west tendencies. But that’s more of an experimental project for the future than a need for the pattern to fit and feel comfortable. I would highly recommend this pattern to others if you fit into the size range, especially if you are in the Josey Plus sizes where there may not be a lot of other pattern options in your size, aside from a few brands who specialize in the larger sizes. I do think this pattern works best if you can put a bit of extra time into find the right starting size, which is probably less intuitive than in a lot of other patterns I’ve tried, because the size ratios don’t often match up to give a clear picture of where to start.

Conclusion:  Even though I’ve made the Josey a lot and it was probably my best fitting pattern before I took the Bee on a Wire class, I’m really happy I decided to approach this pattern anew. I also learned some construction tips and techniques that resulted in a bra that fits pretty close to perfect. I’ve made this pattern a lot in the past year but I’m sure I’ll make it a lot more moving forward now that it has an even better fit. I’m really excited by all of the fitting and sewing tips and tricks I learned in the class, and that I now have a pattern I can just use to sew something pretty rather than needing to continually tweak the fit every time I sew.

Thanks for following along with these pattern re-reviews! Overall I’m so happy I took the Bee on a Wire class. It was a lot of effort, but I feel like I learned so much about fit, alterations, and just the process of fitting a bra. I wasn’t afraid to experiment or trust the process, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I would absolutely take the class again or one similar if I was given the chance. I feel like I have four very different but all well-fitting bras that I can make and wear, which really gives me so many options in terms of style and design. At this point, I’m hoping to make some matching bottoms before moving on to try applying the fitting techniques I learned to new patterns. I’m also excited to see what new classes and information will be available at the Bee this year – lots of fun and new sewing adventures coming soon!