Bra and Undies and a lesson in testing stretch!

I found recently that I really needed some new underthings so spent some time trying to perfect my bra and undie patterns and realised something.....Whilst I'm pretty good at remembering to test the crosswise stretch of the fabric, I often forget about length ways stretch.....and it's amazing how much the lengthwise stretch of a fabric can affect a garment - especially bras and undies.

First up Bras:

For a while now I've been waking in the morning and really wishing I had a simple pull on bra I could throw on without the whole rigmarole of doing up clasps etc I do have a couple of sports style crop tops but I've found that when I wear them I get this whole mono boob thing going which is a look that I don't like, plus they are so high cut at the front they show under a lot of my clothes, so wanted to have a go at making something like the bralettes that I see a lot of people making.

My wish list for the new bra:

• Bottom elastic band closes with a simple snap (I would like a bra without any closures but they then tend to be very hard to get on and off so I am happy to go with a simple snap)
• As few pattern pieces a possible
• Made from stretch fabrics for comfort
• A solid non stretch band over the shoulder - I've found that elastic over my shoulders really tends to dig in so I prefer a solid shoulder strap.

I made two bras one right after the other, using 4 different fabrics

Fabric 1 - deep purple - heavy weight scuba fabric - 25% stretch across, 18% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 2 - Butterflies - medium weight scuba - 40% stretch across 30% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 3 - Black dragon- lightweight scuba fabric - 40% stretch across 40% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 4 - blue/green - lightweight swimsuit material - 50% stretch across, 40% stretch lengthways

I started with the back pattern.  I wanted something with a fair bit of coverage for comfort so used an old sports crop top to quickly draft something.   My original draft had the straps a lot closer together in the back but when I tried it on it put too much pressure on my upper shoulders so I moved the straps out by 2" to get this. 

This was a little bit to far out so for my second attempt I brought the strap attachment back in about 3/4"

I fully lined the back of both bra to finish off all the edges.  The top bra is made from fabric 3 and lined in fabric 1 whilst the second bra has both outer and lining in fabric 4.  You can see that the first bra looks smaller as it has a lot less stretch to it.

For the first bra I finished the edge around the cut out in fold over elastic but for the second one I just used the lining to finish it which is why the cut out looks bigger.

For the front of the bra I started with an old bra lining (made out of fabric 2) that I had made a while ago but didn't use - it's been floating around my sewing room ever since.  This pattern was drafted from my normal bra pattern but simplified to just a bridge and two pattern pieces for the cup and designed for use with a stretch fabrics.

When I tried this on it fitted quite nicely so I went ahead and cut it out of my fabric 1 to create a lining as I did the back piece -  but then realised my mistake - with the lack of  vertical stretch in fabric 1 the bra was now impossibly small.  Thankfully I realised early enough and I was able to unpick it. 

So I went back and cut a lining out of fabric 3 instead, this had enough stretch that the bra pretty much worked, though it is still a little snug. 

I made a few modifications to the pattern for my second attempt.  I moved the straps in by about 1/2" and extended the inner cup piece in and up to provide more coverage.

I found that the front neckline needed a little more support so added fold over elastic stretching from one shoulder strap to the other..  To make the straps I used  a black cotton sateen material interfaced on both sides.  The straps widen over the shoulder for extra comfort.

 For the bottom band I used some elastic with some rubber bits woven in so that it doesn't move about.   I don't think I'll use this again as I find that it gets quite uncomfortable by the end of the day.

Having had these bras in my closet for a couple of months now I can definitely say these are my two favourite bras.  The second blue/green one is the most comfortable and gets reached for first, the one and only downside is that it doesn't provide much in the way of support - not even a light jog could be sustained in this - but it's great for lounging around the house which is really what I wanted.

whilst the first bra gets chosen if I want a bit more support but still comfort. 

I definitely want to go back and try this again, this time in a medium weight stretch fabric lined in the light weight for the best of both world and with softer plush elastic.

Next up underpants and again I had issues with stretch.  The pattern itself is pretty simple, they have a gusset, fold over elastic around the leg holes and the top is folded over 3/4" wide elastic. I made three pairs of pants that fitted nicely, then left the pattern for a month or so before going back to make more and this time ended up with the goldilocks of underwear.  When I went to make this batch I pulled out a bunch of scrap fabric thinking I could use up some scraps and paid no attention to how much stretch the fabric has.

The first pair (the bottom of the stack) had only 30% stretch across and minimal lengthways stretchy stretch so they ended up too short. By attaching the elastic to the top and using that as extra height these are wearable, but not great.

The second pair (Middle of the stack) was made from a super stretchy fabric 50% across and 50% lengthways  so these ended up as full on granny panties just about under my arm pits.

Finally for the third pair (the top pair) I got the right amount of stretch (40% across and 40% lengthways) and ended up with a good pair of pants. 

Lesson of the day.  Double check the stretch in your fabric before you make underwear and bras!