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Messages - BrendaP

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4171
I didn't say in the rules but you can only use each letter once - the same as with the previously mentioned newspaper word wheels.

4172
You are both finding a lot more than I can. 

I do hope they are all legit English words and look forward to seeing them all.

4173
House Beautiful / Re: Cushions
« on: March 03, 2017, 16:43:46 PM »
Suggested waistcoat to DH but he says he wouldn't wear it ..

Waistcoat for yourself?
Smart A-line skirt for yourself?
Is it wide enough to get a scarf from the width?
Collar/cuffs/trim on a plain jacket?

4174
What lies beneath... / Re: Good knicker patterns
« on: March 03, 2017, 10:45:25 AM »
http://verypurpleperson.com/2013/01/tutorial-sewing-panties/
is good for showing how to sew both ends of the crotch so that the seam allowances are enclosed.
Not sure about her choice of fabric though.



4175
Previous sewalong entries / Re: Official Stash Sewalong Competition
« on: March 03, 2017, 10:29:12 AM »
Making this up as I go along but I'm going to say three months. I feel that's long enough to be considered as gathering dust in the stash. If anyone disagrees we can discuss.

Right-oh.  That means that the stuff that slipped into my basket whilst the old forum was down doesn't count.  Lots of other fabrics to think about though.

4176
Come on girls - and boys.  Tomorrow is the last day so start posting your numbers.

I've just realised that I'm out all day tomorrow so the deadline has been extended to 6:00pm.

4177
What lies beneath... / Re: Sources of bra making materials
« on: March 02, 2017, 23:24:14 PM »
I have just finished cutting a dress from some two-way stretch that is sort of nylon-y and shiny and very much reminds me of bra fabric. Could I use that? Which way should I put the stretch (as it's two-way) or do I want to eliminate it entirely?

Thanks so much!

AFAIK everything from Beverley Johnson, including her Shelley pattern, refers to DoGS - direction of greatest stretch which should guide you as to the direction you place pattern pieces.  But if you use your dress fabric for the cups, yes I would underline it, especially as you are a bigger girl and so you will need a bit of support which the underlining should provide.

4178
What lies beneath... / Re: Sources of bra making materials
« on: March 02, 2017, 23:16:32 PM »
If you want to use lace for the cups underline it.  Cut the cup pieces in lace and in non-stretch flesh colored cup lining fabric and treat the two layers as one.
http://fit2sew.co.uk/shop/15-denier-sheer-cup-lining/

4179
What lies beneath... / Sources of bra making materials
« on: March 02, 2017, 23:05:45 PM »
There are only a few retail outlets for the specialist materials needed to make a bra, and many of them are in America. 

If you start with Beverley Johnson's Craftsy course on bra making everything she refers to is available from her shop Bra makers Supply in Canada https://braandcorsetsupplies.com/#shop  Many of the products are also available from B-Wear in Sweden http://www.bwear.se/en/patterns/patterns/ and recently Fit2Sew in UK http://fit2sew.co.uk/shop/has started stocking the same products.

My red bra http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=11 was made with a kit from B-Wear.  It included more than enough fabric, channelling and band elastic but the strap elastic was quite short; they assumed you would be making the front part of the straps with fabric, which I wasn't planing to do, so I substituted different red strap elastic.  Also the red lace was IMO a very poor colour match so I didn't use it with the rest of the kit.  I did use it as a contrast with black http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=14 and I am glad I didn't use it with the red duoplex because with washing and wearing the red lace is now mid pink!

Another source of kits is Merckwaerdigh in The Netherlands. https://www.etsy.com/shop/merckwaerdigh.  My second bra was made from one of her kits, and although it looked nice the facric was a type of scuba and it made me really itchy and I couldn't wear it :'(  even after a couple of washes.  I am not usually allergic to fabrics.  I still have bits of a second kit (with lace and tricot fabrics) from there in stash.  Lovely bright colours but the elastics are all a bit flimsy and I didn't like the wires which are flat instead of the more usual round cross section.

Most of the fabrics, elastics and hardware I have used has come from The Sewing Chest. http://sewingchest.co.uk/index.php?cPath=91.  The main criticism of there is that unless you want to stick with plain black or plain white it is unlikely that you will be able to find all the required elastics in matching colours.  My black and red bra http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=15 and my black and gold bra http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=13 are both made (mostly) from materials from Sewing Chest.  Both have upper cups made from embroidered edging which has a mirrored design so that the cups match.  My burgandy bra http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=12 has black wings because they didn't have any bugandy power net or substitute.  I also made knickers to match using lightweight powernet at the back and that really hasn't worn well, there are bits of elastane fibre sticking out all along the edges. :(

I have bought elastics from The Bra Shop in Liverpool https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebrashop and found they were very quick to post, but I haven't bought fabric or a kit from there.

An online source of bra patterns is Orange https://shop.orange-lingerie.com/collections/all.  I have used their Marlborough http://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;pic=14 pattern a couple of times.  Because bra pieces are small, even with the bigger sizes, it's not usually necessary to join any bits of .pdf patterns.

VeryKerryBerry http://verykerryberry.blogspot.co.uk/p/uk-bra-supply-shops.html  has a list of other suppliers, but as I haven't used them I can't comment.

A couple of other useful websites with bra-making info are:
http://www.foundationsrevealed.com/index-of-articles/bra-making/how-to-make-a-bra/161-bras-determining-your-size
and
http://learning.makebra.com/instructions/

Edited to make the links work properly!


4180
What lies beneath... / Materials for bra making
« on: March 02, 2017, 22:15:07 PM »
A bra is anly a small garment but it needs a lot of different fabrics, elastics and hardware.  Buying a kit is one way of getting all (or most!) of the bits needed but in time you will amass a stash of some things and need to stock up on other bits.

Drawing of bra anatomy attached so that it's clear which bit I'm referring to.
Sometimes the wing and the outer part of the cradle are cut as one, sometimes there is a dividing seam.
Cups have at least two pieces, often three or more pieces.

Fabrics:
Generally it is recomended that knit fabrics are used for bras rather than woven fabrics.  IMO that is probably as much to do with the non-fray properties of most knits and the narrow seam allowances (1/4"- 6mm) used.

For comfort in wearing the wings need to be stretchy, but at the same time quite strong as much of the support actually comes from the wings.  Firm/heavy powernet is best, or a heavyweight lycra but if in doubt use your lycra fabric double.

The bridge, and the rest of the cradle if not cut with the wing piece, needs to be rigid; ie non-stretch.  The fabric often recommended is duoplex.  Other fabrics will need to be underlined with a non-stretch 15 denier 'bra lining'. Plain net curtain fabric will also work so long as it doesn't fray.

The lower cup also should be non-stretch and underlined with 'bra lining.
The upper cup can have a little stretch in smaller sizes, but larger sizes should be underlined.

If you want to use lace for the cups use skin coloured bra lining.

Elastics:
The lower band elastic is the most important.  It is plush on one side and usually with a picot edge.
The under arm elastic is similar, but usually a bit narrower

Some bras have a neckline elastic which is narrow with a fancy edge.  Often it's the same sort of elastic which is used around knicker legs.  If the upper cup is lace it's more usual to sew a very narrow (2mm if you can get it) soft elastic, or transparent swimwear elastic,  along the inside of the cup just below the dips of the lace scallops.

Strap elastic, also sold as suspender elastic, is quite firm with only a little stretch.  It comes in a range of widths from about 8mm up to 25mm.  The bigger the bra/cups and the more support that needed the wider the strap elastic should be.

Wire channelling is a fabric tube which is stitched around seam between the cups and the cradle and into which the wires are inserted.  It is usually a plush fabric but occasionally smooth knit.  A non-wire style bra still needs either channelling or a seam tape stitched over the seams.

Hardware:
Hook and eye fastenings are the usual back closure.  They can be 1, 2, 3 or more hooks deep and usually have two or three rows of eyes for adjustment.  The hooks are always attached the right back and the eyes to the left back.
For a front fastening bra either a bikini clip or hooks with a single row of hooks can be used.  The difficulty is fitting it into the width of the bridge.

The straps are usually made with one end passing through a ring and then to an adjustable slider.  The ring is attached to the back of the wing, usually by means of a short piece of strap elastic.  The diameter of rings and sliders should match the width of the strap elastic.  Wider straps use a second pair of sliders in place of the rings.

Wires:
There are a number of different styles of wire depending on the style of bra and it is important to but the right style and the right size.  Here is a lot of useful information about bra wires.
[http://sewingchest.co.uk/index.php?cPath=91_37_54]




4181
Blue or green - or a scrappy mix of all the colours used apart from the red.

4182
Trying not to make rude words.

If a rude word is in the OED you can use it.

I think there is only one - and that's just mildy rude; I'm pretty sure I saw it several times on the old forum with no comments or moderation needed.

4183
Tech Know How / Re: Pixlr Express requires Flash player 10
« on: March 02, 2017, 08:28:01 AM »
If you are using a Mac you don't need any third party software to reduce the size of your photos.

Save them into Photos, edit/crop if you wish, and then click 'file' on the top toolbar and choose export You will be asked for Jpeg quality and size - medium and medium is generally fine for TSP gallery - and then choose where to put the exported file; desktop is easiest.

Then when you insert an image on TSP you get the 'browse' option so navigate to your desktop and choose that image to upload.

4184
Yes, it's based on the pinwheel in some newspapers - but I haven't said that any particular letter has to be used.

No minimum number, though I expect you all to find patch, work and patchwork.  Maximum is however many you can find.

I have a concise OED which is about 20 years old and I will go by that although if you find any modern technological words I will make an effort check them elsewhere.   There's slang and slang, some words are in the dictionary, some aren't.  There's one which I found which has two altrnative spellings, I will allow both spellings so if you find that one and include both spellings it will count as two words.  No foreign words or foreign spellings which aren't in the OED, and no abbrviations.

4185
Sewing Machines / Re: Juki TL-2010Q
« on: March 01, 2017, 10:20:00 AM »
Oh Ruby

Bernice sounds very tempting - but she is so far away from me.

 Of course a new motorbike needs a new sewing machine for balance.  Juki and Bernia are made in the same facory, I'm sure you'll get on well with a Juki. 

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