For the last day and a half, the ladies in Stockholm at the 2nd annual European Bra Summit have been making bras with the cups of pre-formed foam. Some call them contour cups, but we call them foam cups. We had five ladies from all over Sweden, Finland and. Taiwan in this class! First we […]
The first beginner bra class is over in Stockholm and what a first class group they were! As soon as they settled in yesterday morning, they were eager to sew. The language barrier was not a problem, as their English was WAY better than my Swedish! But I drew on the board whenever it seemed […]
My first full day in Sweden and it started off with a trip to my favourite Swedish grocery stor – Ica Maxi! Ica Maxi has everything from clothing to groceries and lots of whatever you might want! Apparently, the Ica Maxi in Haninge, which is where we are just outside Stockholm, was modelled after the […]
On Wednesday, I will be leaving for Sweden for 2.5 weeks, where I will be teaching bra classes again this year. If you haven’t been to Sweden, here it is, a large part of the country is coastline. I will be in Stockholm, which is the “Venice of the North” There really is a lot […]
Thin is In! I guess some people are concerned about going ‘thin on the top”, but today’s post is about going thin on the bottom! In the case of a bra band, thin is in! You may ask, why would you want a thin band? Does your band roll up or in? Do you have a little […]
It is hugs all around and pack it up for another year. Sadly, today is the last day of the corset class and the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference. Both are coming to an end this afternoon. Just after lunch I said good byes to Margaret, Noreen and Becky as well as Jeanette, all of whom helped me […]
The Saskatchewan Stitches Conference is drawing to an end, but our corset building class is just beginning. We have a small but enthusiastic class of corset builders. Corsets have gained some recent popularity as a garment to wear on the outside, not the inside as you may have believed. You can wear a corset as […]
The ladies in Swim Week, my 5 day swimwear class were busy finishing up their suits today. That means they will soon be ready for the beach! One lady decided to add coloured piping to the princess seams. But no fabric could be found until….we turned the fabric over and had a look at the inside of […]
Today was the second and last day of the landscape class taught by Heather Grover. Yesterday I got my layout of the waterfall done, more or less. Today I started adding textures and shadows. Look at how layers of tulle over any fabric can simulate shadows. I used three layers of brown tulle under the […]
I am taking a class this afternoon at SSC! This is a first for me. The class is called Landscape Quilting, and although I am not planning a quilt by any means, one certainly could incorporate all these elements into their quilting projects. The teacher is Heather Grover, and here are examples of her work. […]
When students finish their Shelley bras, it’s time for the Shelley Digital Fashion Show. Shelley is my designer bra with a split lower cup, a power bar on the side for push-ahead support, and a lace upper cup. Shelley always looks great with virtually any combinations of fabric colours and lace. Here are a few that our students made […]
Today was the first day of out Shelley class and they won’t be finished until tomorrow, so I won’t have photos of any Shelley’s until then. However an interesting thing happened tonight. Tonight was my night as the “live entertainment” part of the evening. Most of the other instructors do a trunk show, or some […]
Today was the final day of the beginner bra classes at SSC, here in downtown Muenster, Saskatchewan. We had 12 happy bra-makers sewing their Classic bras for two days. Today they took them home along with the pattern that had been adjusted to fit them. Not many women volunteered to show their bras when I […]
We started another bra class today at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference in the tiny hamlet of Muenster. The town is home to a monastery where, each spring, hundreds of enthusiasts of sewing, quilting, knitting and other needle arts gather to spend up to 11 days in creative bliss. Here was the scene in my class […]
Nina’s Arrival Back in the fall of 2013, I got a call from Margaret, of Bras Bold & Beautiful, asking if I still wanted a Bernina 930. Apparently she was teaching bra-making in Edmonton at Central Sewing Machines and one had just come in on trade. I said YES before I even asked what kind […]
Today was the first day of the first bra class at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference (SSC). The class didn’t finish their bras but that’s not at all unusual. Tomorrow they will finish In the evenings, we always have some great group activities. Here is a view of Wendy’s portable store at SSC. She carries all […]
Yesterday was a day of firsts for me. First, I was denied access to my flight out of our local airport because I was five minutes beyond the 45 minute boarding time cut off. Five minutes! For “safety” reasons, they said they could not let me board because there would not be time to x-ray […]
If you have been reading this blog, you may remember that every year I go to the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference, which is held in a most unusual location – a monastery! Yes, a real monastery in downtown ( I am kidding!) Muenster, where the population doubles when the Conference is in town!I have been teaching […]
Re-purpose a Nifty Notion If you own a cover stitch machine, you may be aware that it can do some amazing things. One of the things it can do is to make 3/4″ (18 mm) strapping for bathing suits, sundresses etc. A smaller version in a 3/8″ (9 mm) width is great for belt loops. To do […]
Lock stitches, not horns In my cover stitch class, I often hear women say they have owned a machine for years, but it hasn’t been out of the box! Are we intimidated by this funny looking machine? Often, we don’t get lessons on the machine when we buy it. Or we get a quick lesson […]
After the last post on dyeing, I thought I would share a list of the items that we have dyed successfully. Generally speaking, nylons and nylon/spandex blends dye very well, but so do some metals and plastics. Test to be sure. I have had some metal sliders and rings that would not dye, and others […]
Roses are redViolets are blueNo coloured elastics?Here’s what you do!Yes, you can create custom colours to match your fabrics so your elastics, findings and hardware will all be colour co-ordinated. Here’s a bra that started out as white fabric, white elastics and white lace. First let’s talk about the fabrics and findings that will dye […]
In 10 days, I will be leaving for my annual migration to the lovely rural hamlet of Muenster, Saskatchewan. There will be a surge in population that the town has come to expect at this time of year. Like the annual migration of mallard ducks (oh yes, they arrive this time of year too!), hundreds […]
When I look at all the cute bra fashions online and in magazines or catalogues, a lot of them have what is referred to as “wide set straps”. Look at the bra on the dress form below. This is a bra with wide set straps. The straps are set more toward the shoulders than it […]
Pirate’s Passion – the Sunburst Bra Pirating or knocking-off…those are both very strong words for the act of copying someone else’s lingerie designs. In fact, some would consider it stealing. Mostly, I agree with that, especially when it comes to patent infringement (well, some of you know why I feel that way!) But when I see […]
Boob Camp May 2014 was over yesterday, and while I wander around looking at empty spaces where these wonderful ladies worked so industriously last week, I know they have all gone home with some great new bras, plus all the knowledge they learned while they were with us for the 5 days. However, our Digital […]
Do-it-yourself Breast Form After my rant yesterday, I thought I would share with you how to make a do-it-yourself breast form for yourself or someone you care about. These breast forms are washable as well as being as light as you want them to be. You can swim in them or wear them in a […]
Foam Cup Pockets? – Yes, you can! In our Boob Camp this week, we have a student who has had a mastectomy. This is good thing, as all the other students in this class get to see how we put pockets in a bra ( which is useful information for any bra-maker!) One of the […]
Rant of the Week – Men Buy Better Breasts I am on a rant today. I have a student in my Boob Camp this week who has had a mastectomy, and she cannot afford to buy a prosthesis. What’s a prosthesis? Commonly known as a breast form, a breast prosthesis is generally worn by women who have had a […]
I am sure everyone at some time has wished they could add a little more length to the back band of their bra. Especially if you have gained a little weight. And especially if you have gained a little weight, have vowed to get that weight back off, but in the meantime…refuse to buy a […]
What can you do when the only foam cups in your size really aren’t the style you want? Today we had exactly that dilemma presented by a student in Boob Camp. The only cup that fit her was the balconette style in the size 52 (which means it is close to a 38G, or a […]
The last few posts have been about tulles, those lovely embroidered meshy tulles that are so at home on an upper cup! But not everyone wants tulle all the time. Sometimes you just want a stretch lace. For panties to match your new bra, as just one example. Here are some stretch laces that are […]
Twice per year, in spring and fall, our street in the fabric district hosts Sew Hungry, a gathering of more than 30 food trucks from all over southern Ontario. (Personally, I think it should be called Sew Into Food, but I digress…) This week, we had students in for Design & Draft, and this was the […]
