Ultimate Bra-makers Challenge 2019

This past year, we offered up a Bra-makers challenge to you. Every month, we set a theme with supporting tutorials, designed to get your sewing motors revving. Why? We wanted you to expand your thinking, step up your construction skills and challenge your design thinking process. Well, my Fairy Bra Children, you did it! You rose to meet our challenge and made some spectacular garments. You challenged us, too! Every month, our Design Team worked hard to come up with garments that reflected the challenge theme. Moreover, it was our pleasure to prepare tutorials to guide and coach you along the way. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! Here then, are the monthly themes for the Ultimate Bra-makers Challenge 2019, which we are calling “A Solid Foundation”. We hope you have fun this next year!

January –  We’ve Got Your Back! – It’s common at the first of the year to look back over the past. In this challenge, we literally are looking back. We want to challenge you to show us creative backs you make for your bras, panties, swimwear or corsets. We want to see the back of your garments. We want to see a side of your garment that isn’t often seen. Here’s your chance to show off those self-designed racer backs, lace-up backs, or other inventive back closings you’ve thought of. Our tutorials this month will be about making creative backs. Stay tuned tomorrow for the post with all the details of the January challenge!

February – Building on Basics – One of the keys to great bra-making is a solid skill foundation. This February, we challenge you to share with us techniques you have found to make your bra sewing easier, faster or more professional looking. We’ll be sharing tutorials on the basics of intimate apparel sewing. Think of this month as the underpinnings of your underthings.

March – Wireless Freedom – This month is about Marching toward freedom – freedom from wires! Wireless freedom, as they say. So the bras you make this month won’t use any underwires. Let’s see all those creative bralettes, Ingrids, and your wire-free conversions from the Classic or Jewel series of bras. We’ll guide you along the way with some tutorials about making wireless bras.

April – A Spring in your step – this challenge is about making garments for an active lifestyle. How about jumping into the challenge and working with spandex, Supplex, wickables and other performance fabrics? Any type of activewear is eligible – be it shorts, leggings, running gear or gym wear. You can even make ath-leisure wear, that perfect combination of activewear and leisure wear.

May – Spots and Stripes – Here’s a challenge that will have you seeing spots before your eyes. Actually, you’ll be seeing spots, dots, lines and stripes. Let’s challenge our thinking about these pattern basics and create garments with dots and stripes. That’s any kind of dot or any kind of stripes, in any kind of intimate apparel. The trick is to use them together in the same garment.

June – Blushing Bridal – June is the time for brides and we share the joy of an upcoming wedding of one of our own staff members by challenging you (and us) to create garment suitable for a wedding trousseau. You can make any garment suitable for a bride’s trousseau or honeymoon. Oh, this is going to be so romantic!

July – Totally Twisted – You’d expect our summer challenge to include swimwear, but this challenge is Swimwear with a Twist. That means your swimwear has to have a touch of a fabric twist, gathers, or ruching. Let’s get creative and manipulate fabric into swimwear, bikinis or other beachwear.

August – Lacey Daze of Summer – In 2018 we asked you to construct garments using two pieces of lace in the same garment. We won’t ask you to do that again this year. Well, not exactly. However, we are asking that you use lace and a sheer fabric together in the same garment. Cool and comfortable, as well as beautiful.

September – STRAPtember – We often see interesting straps in ready-to-wear, but how many of us actually try those straps on our own garments? Here’s your chance! We challenge you to make interesting, innovative and inspiring straps. The straps can be for a bra, bralette, swimwear, or other intimate apparel. Our tutorials this month will feature straps from ready-to-wear you can make at home.

October – Fall into Fashion – Have you “fallen” for a gorgeous look from ready to wear, but want it to fit your body? This challenge is about “falling” for fashion and re-creating the look for yourself by cloning or copying a ready-to-wear look. Be ready to be inspired!

November – Movember – Once again, we welcome Movember by making some menswear. in 2018, we released a free pattern for a men’s tank top. So many women wrote to say they used that pattern for themselves! This month is about creating menswear…OR using a menswear pattern to create something for a woman. Should we release a new menswear pattern? Maybe, just maybe…

December – Snowy and Snuggly – Stay warm and cozy this winter in your new favourite snuggly underwear. Not only do we encourage you to make warm and comfortable underwear, but why not think outside the box and try lining your bra with something that will take the chill off? It could be cotton lining, foam, fleece, fur, or something you come up with on your own!

The rules for the Ultimate Bra-making Challenge are, as always quite simple: the garment must be made in 2019. It can be any type of intimate apparel, made of any fabric, using any pattern. It doesn’t have to be for you, and it doesn’t have to be modelled on a real person (although if it is, be sure that person is ok with us showing the picture on social media.) We ask that you submit the photos and a short description of the garment (including what pattern you used, and what construction details we should know about) to [email protected] before the last day of the month. Two winners will be chosen by random draw on the first day of the month on Facebook Live.