A British Outfit: Designing and drafting the bra

Hello all! I have something a bit different for you today. In the final year of uni I have to do an independent research project, and luckily for me I had the option to choose a practical topic. Very much inspired by

Nicki's One Year One Outfit project I aim to find out how feasible it is to create an outfit of clothing that has been made exclusively from British materials. I then want to see how well each garment bears up to every day use and to see how much it would actually cost to sell these garments to the public. Included in this outfit is a bra, pants (or knickers to those under the pond), shirt, trousers, jumper and shoes. I thought it would be fun to blog about the process as I go, so let me tell you all how I got to this bra muslin that you can see below.

If you take a look at modern underwear almost every component is unsuitable for this challenge. Stretch fabrics contain elastane (or lycra) which is a synthetic (or unnatural) fibre. Elastic itself is used to hold the fabric snug against the body. Metal or plastic rings hold the straps in place and metal hook and eyes fasten the bra at the back. I decided to look back in time, right up to the beginning of the evolution of the bra in the 1920s and 30s. The unfortunate thing is that by the 30s elastic had been invented and so was still instrumental in keeping the bra snug against the body, as illustrated by

this bra here

. However the earliest bras made in the 20s were not made to fit close to the body, but instead just to cover the chest area.

This one I found

fastens with hook and eyes at the back. I also found contemporary bras made by

Cara Marie Piazza of Calyx intimates

which are made from naturally dyed silk.

This bra from her collection

and

this 1930s bra

were my main inspiration for the designs below, but if you want to see the myriad of vintage bras and sewing patterns I looked at they can all be seen on

my pinterest board dedicated to the topic here

.

I drafted a bra using the basic bra pattern given in Michael Rohr's Pattern Drafting and Grading which was published in 1961. The lines were simple, it was drafted for non-stretch fabrics and it would be easy to adapt into the design that I wanted. First I had to draft a bodice block to fit my measurements before then using that to draft the bra pattern. I used the bodice block that came with the book, but then had to take a whopping 8 inches out of the bust so it would fit my body. I then decided that it would be a good idea to muslin the bodice up quickly, get it to fit like a glove, and then draft the bra onto it.

Because I'd adjusted the bust to co-ordinate with my own measurements the bodice fit pretty well. The darts were perhaps a little high, but it was decided to leave them as is and see what would happen in the bra fitting.

This meant that I was then good to go with the bra drafting. I stopped at step number three before elastic was added in at step number four. I made the cup a princess seam by cutting down the dotted line between A and C on the pattern pieces and left the back intact.

Michael Rohr's Pattern Drafting and Grading, published in 1961

 The next step was then to trace off the pattern pieces, cut them out in calico and sew them up, ready for a fitting. You may note that the design of the bra below is completely different from my original designs, but it was nice to have a very fluid process and important not to set everything in stone. In the next instalment of this series, I'll share the fitting process. I hope you enjoyed this slightly different content from me. I'm certainly enjoying the challenge that this project brings.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren xx

Cosy Jumper

Hello all! For this months Minerva Make I decided that I needed something to combat the impending cold and this Atelier Brunette French Terry fit the bill perfectly. I aimed to make the perfect layering piece. You can read all about the making process on the Minerva Crafts blog here.

 Thanks to Minerva Crafts for the materials for this project and to Zoe for the pictures,
Lauren xx

A new silhouette

Hello all! The fabric for my latest Minerva make has had many incarnations in my head, and you get to see the version that made it all the way to the finish line. I've been working on my princess seam bodice block and combining it with a pencil skirt to make a dress pattern. The original next step was to swing out the skirt pieces to make a full skirt for this dress, but I was curious to try out this new silhouette to me so I left the new dress blocks as they were. You can read all about the making process on the Minerva Crafts blog here.

Thanks very much for reading, to Minerva Crafts for providing the materials for this project and to Grace for taking the pictures!
Lauren xx

Checked Shirt

Hello all!  My third and final year of uni has started in full force ( I'm 3 weeks into making for the first show of the season) but this is one of the things I made to wear on my trip to Amsterdam before summer holidays had finished.

My wardrobe plan for Amsterdam was all about the layers. Jeans, plus a tank top, then a shirt, jumper and coat to be added or taken off when appropriate. This worked really well. The fabric I think is some kind of cotton blend that I bought in Birmingham with Ben last winter. The original plan was to make it into a dress but it's going to be worn a thousand times more as a shirt.

I used the men's shirt pattern that I drafted for uni last year and that I used for the white linen shirt I made a few months ago. This time I made the yoke a little longer and added seam allowance to the collar so it's much more in proportion. The only thing I'd change now is to widen the cuffs a bit.

I paid particular attention to the pattern matching across the centre front, side seams and sleeve seams. Miraculously the collar actually matches the yoke, with no particular planning. The only change I'd make at the cutting out stage would be to centre the check at the pleat on the back piece. It looks a little off here.

I did the proper plackets this time, and I'm slowly getting to grips with the technique. It really helps to have a ready to wear shirt in front of me so I can see what I'm aiming for. The placket could do with being a bit shorter, and so could the sleeve.

My biggest mistake with this shirt was to flatfell the seams on the left hand side of the shirt on the outside and the seams on the right hand side on the inside! At this point in the game it was too late to change it, and probably only people who sew will notice, but I know that I could have had a neater finish had both the sleeve seams been flatfelled on the inside. The hem didn't particularly like being folded over twice and topstitched and I wish that I had bias bound it.

Despite all of this, I love this shirt and will never take it off.

Thanks very much for reading and to Bethan for taking the photos!

Lauren xx

Ginger Jeans

Hello all, I've found myself wearing jeans more and more lately and so I wanted to expand my very limited collection. I used the Closet Case Files Ginger jeans pattern as a base. I always have my eyes peeled for good denim but I find it in the weight, colour and stretch I want quite hard to find. Luckily Minerva Crafts was there to save the day. I normally prefer lighter denim and I did consider bleaching this one when it arrived, but the darker denim is growing on me. You can read all about the making process here.https://www.minervacrafts.com/blogger-network/post/ginger-jeans-2

Thanks for reading and to Minerva crafts for all of the supplies for this project,

Lauren xx