I made this with the Denise bathing suit pattern and drafted my bra cups into the top, a lot like I did for one of my bathing suits I made! I used the same bra cup pattern that I did in my coral bra from week 1 of the challenge- a horizontal seam with a split lower cup!
I used this stretch knit lace fabric which I would say has a good 25% stretch and used some coordinating fuchsia fold over elastic to finish all the edges- and of course a gold G-hook for the back closing.
I lined the bra cups with cut&sew foam in this nice peach colour. I LOVE this foam, it gives the extra shape that I need and matches my skin tone flawlessly!
This foam is also just really easy to work with- you can use your regular bra pattern, take off the seam allowances inside the cup and zig-zag them together! What I also love about foam is that you can use different fabrics to cover it! I covered it with this stretch knit lace, and didn’t have to worry about reducing my pattern for stretch, or the shaping of a stretch fabric for a bra cup! Love it!
Loving my cut&sew foam and my new body suit! Will definitely have to make a bathing suit just like this 🙂
And now onto your lovely bra-makes!
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First we have this beautiful corset from my favourite french man- Joël!
Joël made this under-bust corset for his lovely wife for valentines day! I love the fabric!
What a great silhouette this gives, I might have to make myself another corset!
petijibus (at) gmail (dot) com
This is her self-drafted long-line vertical seam bra. Â What a great fit!
And we have to talk about these colours! She dyed everything except for the strap elastic and the front frame using Dharma Trading Co. acid dyes. Love it!!
Linda made this strapless bra for a client to go under her wedding dress! She used MB pre-formed foam cups and the Camille lace from Bra-maker’s Supply. How beautiful is this! And so special for under her wedding dress!
Ilna made this bra with Azalia pattern from Marinique Kollege and Langere.
This is a before picture of the bra with lace over most of the cup- which she said was not a flattering look at all. So she modified it…
To this! She lowered the lace and gave it more shape! necessity is the mother of invention! and she did a great job re-vamping this bra- make! Great job 🙂
Mom re-vamped an old swimsuit by adding a cut&sew foam bra inside. The bra adds extra shaping and support!
She finished the neckline edge of the bra with black fold over elastic- so that it will match in with the suit in case the edge shows! Then she attached it to the side seams and the shoulder seam! Perfect bathing suit update!
Karin made this bra with a gorgeous polka-dot bamboo (that you might recognize from another bra last week!!) covering a pre-formed foam cup!
She also made some super cute panties to go with the set! These are the ‘Lola’ panties from OhLulu – her favourites! She also did a super cool post where she tested four different panty patterns and reviewed them! Definitely go and check that out on her blog!
Michelle made this bra from the Sewy Rebecca Pattern with black cherry duoplex and lace. She also rocking those beautiful bridge crystals again- love that bling!
Overall she thought it was a pretty good pattern (despite some instruction translation issues) and the inside seams on the cup are very nicely finished! Look at all the pretty lace on the band too! Gorgeous, don’t forget to check out her post on this bra too!
This is David’s canary yellow and black lace ‘Kybele’ foam cup bra. He made this spring bra with inspirations from a harness, bikini and stocking girdles!
dpolrolniczak (at) wp (dot) pl
Christina made both of these mastectomy bras! Don’t they look great! I love the choice of lace 🙂
She calls this one her ‘January blues’ bra and the one above her ‘February pinks’ bra! so lovely!
cf_green (at) yahoo (dot) com
This is Diana’s Triangle bra and Thong Poetsie, Diana’s self-drafted bra pattern! She made this beautiful bra and panty set using silk, lace and strap elastic!
How stunning is this! I love the black and red and the super strappy back! very very sexy! Check out Diana’s post for more info about her gorgeous set!
Amy self-drafted this three piece cup and made it out of this gorgeous fuchsia lace and fabrics and findings that she dyed to match using acid dyes.
She definitely went the extra mile on this bra, adding silk channelling, a silk ribbon bow and getting fancy with her hardware! Beautiful set!
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Next we have a bra from Ginny of Ginpins!
Ginny made this pretty Marlborough bra using things that were leftover in  her stash!
How pretty! It’s so nice when that works out, and you have everything you need to make a bra waiting in your fabric drawer!
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Last but not least we have this pretty bra by Kerri of Lady K’s Wardrobe Unlocked
Kerri is working on a new project where she is playing with different skin tones, and what that means across the wide range of beautiful skin tones that exist! This week she has started in the darker end of skin tones, with this rich chocolate colour and muted lace on the upper cup! Very nice! t
Now I have two announcements!
#1- I’m going away on a family vacation to California this Thursday, and I’ll be there for the next two weekends!! I’m so excited! I’ve made my week 7 & 8 bras in advance (both cut&sew foam bras!) And I’ll be posting those, along with all of your bra-makes the next two weekends! but don’t be worried if I take a while to respond to your e-mails, the challenge will go on!! lol
#2 (and WAY more important!!) The amazing ‘Meet the Makers’ post that Karin put up on her blog, Mrs.Weavers Finest Unmentionables, this week! It was so nice to hear about all of your bra-making inspiration and how much you’ve been enjoying this challenge and our bra-making community! I am so happy to be hosting this challenge and to have so many amazing people join me in this challenge! Don’t forget that she is doing a second Meet the Makers post! Because there are too many amazing people to cover in one post- so make sure you check back for that post coming soon! And thank again Karin for doing these posts 🙂 I feel like it brings our bra-community closer 🙂Â
As always- don’t forget to check out the Pinterest board, and the Flickr Group if you enjoy those platforms! To grab a challenge button and to send your bra for next week to bra.a.week@gmail.com!!
You can also check out Week 1, Week 2 , Week 3 , Week 4 and Week 5 of this challenge for more amazing bras!
Hi Erin, your creation is fantastic as they all are. I'd like to make my own workout gear with bra support inside and after reading this I'm so inspired!
I've got the Craftsy bra making course, but I've been too busy with work to give it a go��
Thanks for the post and wish you a great holiday!
Thanks!! I'm so glad that I could inspire you! I hope you find some time to yourself to get working on your bra project- and when you do I'd love to see it!
Gosh Erin, your bodysuit is just absolutely gorgeous! I'm blown away weekly by the skill and creativity of all the participants in Bra-A-Week challenge — Amazing!!! Amy, the fuchsia color is making me swoon…a lot — such a pretty set!
Erin, what part of California are you visiting? I'm at the tippy-top of the state on the coast. It's quite rural and not really a destination, unless visitors are coming to see redwood trees (which are totally worth the trip, by the way!).
Thanks Ginny! Your bodysuit last week was gorgeous too! I am also completely blown away by everyones talent and creations, it really is amazing!
I'm visiting San Francisco, travelling down the coast to Orange County. I have two uncles who live around there! I'm so excited! I would love to see the redwoods someday too though!
Such a great variety!
I'm loving Diana's gorgeous thong. Erin, your bodysuit is just so fun. The fabric looks like lace but very opaque… seems like a cool fabric find! I outgrew my bodysuit pattern and really need to make another (they're really cute peeping out of a buttondown!).
And thanks, Ginny!
Thanks Amy! Your set is so beautiful, and everyone submissions have been fantastic!
The fabric on my bodysuit is lace, it looks more opaque in the picture than it is in real life, but it is still fairly opaque, I was so happy when I found it at Ann's Fabrics here in Hamilton, I still have quite a bit left for more projects too! I think this will be cute to wear in the summer with some high waisted shorts!
Oh my goodness Erin, you are so so talented! That bodysuit is amazing. This might be a stupid question but how do you wear it? Like under clothes as regular underwear, or is it a special occasion thing?
Thanks Siobhan! That's not a stupid question, and actually I haven't owned one before so I'll be figuring that out! I probably wouldn't wear it everyday because it's not the most practical (you pretty much have to get undressed to go to the bathroom because I didn't put a hook and eye in the crotch) But I can see myself wearing this more like a top in the summer with some shorts, maybe button up blouse open over it, or tied. I'll have to style in a couple outfits and do a post on it!
Erin, this challenge has been so inspiring. I love the different bras every week. Thanks everyone.
Thanks! I'm so happy that I could inspire you 🙂
Hi Erin, I love tuning in to see what everyone has made each week. Everyone is so talented!!!
Maybe I could borrow that bodysuit sometime 😉
Mary M
Thanks mom 🙂
Beautiful bodysuit & other creations great too 🙂
Thanks Stephanie- everyone is so talented!! 🙂
Wow what a beautiful bra's! Every Sunday I'm looking foreward to the new post. 🙂
I look forward to making them every Sunday- you all send me such beautiful creations!
Beautiful creations you all! Everybody seems to get more creative every week. How I wish I had such a wonderful supply of lace and materials, not to mention the other supplies, nearby! Can't wait for the next post.
Did you add an underwire to your swim suit? Im working on a costume for myself (i do drag) and I don’t really want to add underwire because i have nothing that needs support. If i added padding would that be enough for the shape?
This suit does have an underwire. I think that padding could definitely work- it would really depend on the style of the suit and the overall look you’re going for. Underwires can help for a lot of shaping though 🙂