Mårbacka Bralette

My recent craft interest is lingerie. Often invisible, but oh so important for feeling and comfort. For me, finding the perfect bra seems like a mission impossible, there is always something that’s wrong; the band itch or feel too tight, the wires leave marks on my skin or the cups are too big. I’m also not very fond of the idea of wearing a bra filled with padding. Because of this problem, I mostly wear wireless bras which I like, but still, there are moments when a sport top or bralette is not enough to complete a look – no matter how tiny your chest is!

The thought of making my own bras has struck me before, but at that time I could not find any good resources or how to’s on the net, which made me think it might be too complicated to pull of at home with my Husqvarna. Now, a few years later, the sewing blogosphere is bursting with examples of hand made bras and instructions. So, what am I waiting for?

Before venturing out on the mission to create the perfect wired bra I decided to start of with an easier project, a bralette pattern from OhhhLulu. This way I could experiment with elastics and the notions used for the shoulder bands and back without the complexity of the cups, wires and bands. I worked with a silky fabric with a lot of stretch that simplified the fitting.

The pattern I started from is called Bambi, a bralette with a three-piece cup. I cut out and sew a lot of muslins in different types of fabrics (quilt cottons, jersey, lace) but I was not able to get a nice, smooth finish of the seam. No matter what I did they felt bulky. I noticed on OhhhLulu’s shop that no of the bra she sells are based on that pattern, can it be that it is not as good as the others? I decided to hack the pattern and change it to look like one of her other patterns. Having only one seam over the bust made everything look nicer, the seam also gives some support and shape as the shoulder bands pull the seam upward.

I will definitely make more of these bras with some changes in the placement of the shoulder bands and shape of the front part. Maybe next version will be in bias cut quilt cotton? For that project I will research more on nice, flat seam finishes, as the inside of this bra could look much nicer.