Lace Set or is it?

  Sewing another bra and brief set has been on my sewing must do list for a few months now.  It somehow got put to the back of the queue despite long since buying all of the notions I needed from Elle-Joan's.  Time somehow managed to change my plans, well sort of!  My mother gave me a top that my sister had put in a donate bag.  It is a Lycra blend of some sort but looks like lace.  I don't think it had seen much wear, if at all.  It wasn't my style but certainly contained plenty of fabric worth salvaging.

I knew I wanted to have another go at making Makebra dl03 like my previous version, but this time I thought I would trial a c cup for size.  The b I felt was a little skimpy despite being my rtw size and the size I measured myself at.  I also wanted to have a go at making the Watson briefs by Cloth Habit despite being actually very happy with my usual McCall's 5400 briefs.  It was a bit of an indulgence spending NZD22.00 on a pattern to use for briefs but I also knew if it was successful it will well and truly pay for itself over time because I no longer buy rtw briefs.

Yesterday morning, with an entire Saturday to myself, I set to work.  For the briefs I measured at a medium but actually cut them a little larger just in case they were too snug a fit.  In hindsight I think I could have made a straight medium.  I also wasn't sure about the elastic as the instructions only say stretch as you sew and don't give any real measurements.  I guessed based on my swimwear elastic lengths but for the next pairs I think I will make it slightly tighter.  They are a good fit but as always there is room for improvement.

The only other change I will make to future pairs is to splice the crotch piece to the front and cut it in one piece as per my McCall's pattern.  I didn't bother with these ones because of fabric constraints.  The crotch lining was harvested from an unwanted but unused tee shirt.

The bra took the longest to make.  I had to keep referring to the online tutorial because there are no written instructions for this pattern.  I think I may need to copy and paste them from the website to speed the process up a bit in future.  Because I have made this pattern before, I really only needed a refresher anyway.

I am really pleased I opted for quality findings this time because I have found the elastic on the band particularly stretched out on my trial bra and the cheap Lincraft foldover elastic did the same.  The only thing I would change for next time is to use slightly wider foe because this narrow stuff wasn't easy to work with.  I chose it for a sleeker look but in future I think I will use the wider stuff because I can get a neater finish and a more even stretch.