You know what I can’t stand? When people just abruptly stop posting without any explanation why. SO much more annoying when they do it right after announcing a “comeback.” How lame.
Dammit, I’m sorry I did that! I’ve really kind of lost interest over the last year because of some combination of I hate taking pictures x Mr. Nice and I have more time off together x I miss having most, if not all, of my existence “in real life.”
Unfortunately having “in real life” sewing friends isn’t something that you find easily, and while I have been sewing the past year, I just haven’t been blogging about it. Two things have made me REALLY tempted to though, the first being….
Madalynne’s Bra-Making Workshop!!!!!!
Whoawhoawhoa I went the Saturday before last and it was SO COOL. I couldn’t stop thinking about it the following week and I’m so sad I can’t go do this every Saturday.
It was held in a gorgeous space and hosted by New Old Fashioned in Philadelphia, with perfect decorations, amazing food, makeovers, a photo booth, snacks, and take-home goodies! Meeting Madalynne and Lladybird was, no joke, like meeting celebrities. I was kind of star-dazed. (OhmygodIsatnext to Lauren. She IS as funny in real life as she is on her blog, in case you were wondering. And her hair is an awesome shade of emerald. AND Maddie used her machine to show us the steps so I had a front row seat to a REALLY talented seamstress. Um. It’s very different than when I sew.).
By the way, we made a BRA.
And I have to tell you, this is a bra. I am over the moon with this thing. Making it blew my mind, but wearing it and having it be…. THE BEST BRA I HAVE EVER WORN… is kind of amazing. Truth be told I hate every RTW bra I have ever worn, thos wretched things. I guess there is no “perfect” but the differences I feel when I wear this one is how much more stable and balanced it is. I guess you would call that support – not something I felt like I needed a whole lot of, but it feels really nice! And nothing is digging and tugging at me… and it fits! To be more specific, the side and back bands are much wider than on most bras I buy and the difference is really noticeable. The straps and elastic we used also seem like better-quality than those bras we pay way too much money for.
Constructing a bra is not nearly as hard as I envisioned and I feel really empowered to completely do away with RTW bras and start an arsenal of handmade. I started perusing recommended websites for lingerie supplies, if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them. The one question I was left with wondering about is materials, I feel a little confused about fabric types (powernet, tricot, powermesh, ah what?!) and best elastics/channeling/straps. I’ve been trying to do some research and if you search “bra” on Madalynne, it’s like a little encyclopedia of lingerie education. I would have loved to see swatches of these things and understand the materials better.
I could gush FOR. EVER. Not only did this little workshop come with all the delights listed above, but our pattern, fabrics, and even some new sewing tools were included. AWESOME. There’s enough to make some matching underoos! Doing it.
You can check out more pictures on Instagram (#bramakingwithmadalynne and #newoldfshnd were a few of the hashtags). I even created an Instagram account so I wouldn’t feel left out – I realize it is the most obnoxious name because of all the underscores but I couldn’t think of anything else. Sorry, love, @_awfully_nice_
AND you can see recaps and really good photos (oh my, I’m in some of them!) on Madalynne and Lladybird.
It was so great I couldn’t resist coming out of retirement (ha! that is so ridiculous I can’t even take myself seriously!). You know what else makes me want to sing and dance about sewing? Ginger jeans!!!!! Ahhh! Maybe I’ll even post again.
