Ruby and the other Jewels

You met Ruhee Rajan of Rubie’s Bras in a previous post, but now it is time to share with you how the bra patterns,  Ruby and the other jewels, Sapphire and Amethyst came to be. In the spring of 2016, Ruhee came in with a molded foam cup bra, wanting to clone it. Apparently Trish, her client loved this bra with all its push-up effect. But as you know, you can only clone a foam cup bra if you are willing to have seams in it. You can read that post here.

We really tried to get that same push-up with only one seam. But it was not to be. We needed more seams to get this incredible shaping. Eventually we came up with this seaming arrangement. I felt the offset vertical seam would give maximum push-up without the seam landing right on the nipple.

Ruhee to the Rescue

Fast forward to 2018. It was time to create a bra that had some good uplift, could use cut & sew foam, and did not have seams over the nipple. I also did not want to copy designs that other bra pattern makers had in their collection. That meant one I had in the works was scrapped. Ruhee suggested the seaming I created for her client. I loved that seaming so it seemed a good idea. Then she told me her client wouldn’t wear any other style of bra but this one, and I really saw the potential. Just like the Classic was the base for the Linda, the Shelley and the Sharon, this bra could be the base for many other bra styles.

Our design team, including Linda (of Uplift Custom Bras), Denise and I worked on prototyping and perfecting the pattern for our demographic, then we graded it up to complete the size range. I gave the pattern out to pattern testers who confirmed what we already know – this yet unnamed bra was going to be a big jewel in our crown.

But what should I name it? Hmmm…

We first thought it should be named Trish, after the client for whom the original bra was created. But then, I realized that the real gem in this story was Ruhee. I named the bra after her. So now you know – the bra pattern was named for Ruhee and Rubies Bras. The Ruby was the first of the Jewel Collection of bra patterns. Soon the collection grew to Sapphire, a partial band bra.

…and Amethyst, an all-lace bra with a lace band, cut & sew foam cups covered with lace edging and short strap extensions, also made from lace edging. Amethyst is due to release in mid October (so this is a sneak preview)

You’ll be happy to know that the cups and band of the Ruby and Amethyst are interchangeable. Therefore, if you want a lace band but you prefer a fold-over binding along the neckline edge, you can use the Ruby cups with the Amethyst band. Or the other way around. It’s up to you.

So now you know how Ruby and the other jewels in the collection came to be. Who knows if there will be a Diamond in the future? <wink>