Oh la la – I made a bra!

Yes, the bra making adventures continue! 🙂

  
So after I made that first Watson bra, I adjusted the fit on the cups, ripped it apart & re-sewed. Probably should have just re-cut and re-made the whole thing from start to finish, just salvaging hardware, but now I know better 😉

Next, I made the Pin Up Girls Classic Bra, following the Craftsy course – it’s a fabulous course & taught me a whole bunch! 🙂

The fit was not ideal on my first draft. I was actually pretty upset at first because I thought I might need another cup size, which would mean I’d have to buy a new pattern, but the lovely and wise Beverly suggested I might just need a little extra added to my upper cup so, just like you would with any other garment muslin, I cut a slice into my upper cup and bam!! I had a better fitting bra – it was pretty comical how my bust just kinda sprang into place with that little extra room lol. The wedge I added to the pattern is pretty big – 1.25″ – and I haven’t sewn it up yet but when I do I’ll share my findings 🙂

Next I decided to try the Orange Marlborough Bra. I love the style and had a kit from Merckwardigh I was willing to sacrifice for a test run lol. The lace is a stretch lace, white with black detail, so I decided to play with this by lining the lower cup, bridge & frame in white, the power band in black, and leaving the upper cup unlined. You can see the contrast better from the inside but the subtle contrast is nicer on the outside.

  
  
I doubled up the lace for the band, and used the lace scallop as the bottom trim on the back band, but finished the frame at the bottom in band elastic as normal. I also had to cut the width at the back band down quite a bit to fit the 2×3 closure on.

I would probably prefer the feel of the band being in powernet next time but otherwise, I love the way it looks and feels! 🙂

  
I was thrilled that the bra fit and looks great on without adjustment so I bar tacked the underwire casing closed and sewed on a pretty jewel at the center. Will DEFINITELY be making this beauty again!! 🙂 

NL 6096 & Shiseido Event

Recently, I entered to win an invitation to a VIP event in Vancouver, presented by Shiseido Canada in partnership with renowned beauty expert Dave Lackie and celebrity makeup artist, Nina Westbury. When I  learned I was one of the lucky recipients, I could hardly believe my luck! Back in the day, when I was a makeup artist myself, I would attend product launch events sometimes (and loved them!), so it was a really lovely treat to be able to meet these wonderful people in person and participate in an evening celebrating beauty once again 🙂

As the event was hosted in a lovely candlelit room, my pics are a bit grainy, but I wanted to share them anyway as I think they will get the point across, and you’ll forgive the image quality, right? 😉

I had never been overly familiar with Shiseido products, but my perception was that they had quite a good reputation for quality, and I was not wrong. They place a lot of focus on research and technology, employing over 1000 scientists purely for the field of research into skin care breakthroughs, and even have their own wing at Harvard.

lovely packaging for a lovely product – Shiseido Ultimune

The event was held at a hotel downtown Vancouver and the care and attention put into the decor and presentation was impressive 🙂

Raspberry flavoured champagne and peonies by candlelight 🙂

I was fortunate after the event was over, to have the opportunity to chat one on one with the hosts – all absolutely LOVELY people and so generous with their time, taking a moment for everyone who wanted to talk 🙂

Me getting to meet some of the loveliest people in the beauty industry! Clockwise from top: Elaine Shigeishi, Shiseido Vice President; Dave Lackey, beauty editor, and Nina Westbury, makeup artist

Sweet, sweet loot!! A swag bag for everyone attending, including eye shadow palette, mascara, eye makeup remover, eyelash curler, and a generous sample size of the new Ultimune Eye. We also received a lipgloss, which has already replaced my previous favourite and taken up permanent residence in my purse LOL.

And for anyone who is interested in what I wore, I made New Look 6096 in a lovely cotton eyelet from Blackbird Fabrics. It was a pretty quick make, but because of the construction method, you really can’t check the fit until it’s done. The top of the bodice and waistband use elastic for fitting, but there is SO MUCH EASE built in that the fabric poofed out quite a bit, between the waist and the bodice top edge. I pinched out a 2″ wedge on each side and sewed it down, elastic and all LOL. Thank goodness my machine is a beast, and can handle half an inch of layers! It’s not perfect, but makes the dress wearable, and I think it works well enough. Obviously, were I to make it again, I would adjust the flat pattern considerably to ensure a better fit.

The bodice instructions call for the fabric to be self-lined but because I was using eyelet as my main, I used a cotton batiste to back it (which I was going to do anyway LOL). In addition, I drafted a short lining for the skirt bit, because, eyelet LOL. I left the lining short enough to allow for several inches at the bottom where the eyelet could shine on its own.

All in all, a pretty wonderful evening was had – I met some great people, had an excuse to make a cute new dress, and I am looking forward to trying all the new products!! 😀