This past month, we’ve been focusing on basic bra-making and sewing skills. If you have a tip or know of an easier way to do the basics, we want to hear about it. As in all of our monthly challenges, you threaded your way through this Back to Basics challenge wonderfully! Some of you gave […]
This month of March, we want you to experience wireless freedom! For our “Wireless Freedom” challenge, we ask you to make creative, unusual or off-the-wall crazy wireless bras and bralettes. Yes, this month we are looking at non-wired bras and how to make them pretty and supportive, too. Over the month of March, our tutorials […]
One of the definitions of “bamboozled” is to be perplexed or confused by something. Have you been bamboozled by Bamboo fabrics? There is a lot of misinformation out there about Bamboo fabrics. Let us help you clear the confusion and help to give you a Solid Foundation in the art of working with this wonderful […]
When you are making your own intimate apparel, there are a number of basic skills you need to master in order to give you a Solid Foundation in the art. One of the most basic skills is working with elastic. Elastic can be very intimidating if you haven’t used it before. Here are 4 ways […]
We’ve started a whole new year of exciting bra-making challenges for you! This year, our overall theme is A Solid Foundation. We are focusing on helping you become the very best bra-maker you can be. Our first month’s theme is We’ve Got Your Back, in which we challenged you to show us your creative backs […]
One of the keys to great bra-making (and the theme for this year!) is A Solid Foundation of skills. This month, we go Back to Basics and challenge you to share with us photos of techniques you have found to make your bra sewing easier, faster or more professional looking. We’ll be sharing tutorials on […]
If the pattern you’ve chosen does not have a back fastening, you can add a supportive bra back for your swimsuit very easily. This bra-back keeps the suit on your shoulders while swimming, which makes it an ideal addition to the suit of competitive swimmers. The fastening can be placed high toward the shoulders and […]
At the beginning of our 2018 Ultimate bra-makers Challenge, we wondered whether anyone would stay with the challenge for the entire 12 months. After all, that meant that every month, they would be sewing new intimate apparel according to a theme we set, using our patterns, or by drafting their own. I honestly didn’t expect […]
If you are new to bra-making, you may be following the pattern instructions to a T. However, there are some changes to the back of the bra that will greatly impact your comfort, but they do not take a lot of drafting skill or sewing knowledge. Here are three Essential Bra Backs you should know. […]
In keeping with our “We’ve got your back” theme this month, we’d like to take you back – literally. Would you like to go backstage to see our Design Team? We like to say this is where the magic happens. The Design Studio is where our team makes all the samples you see in the […]
In our last challenge of 2018, we asked you to Let the New You Shine Through and add some sparkle and bling to your garments. Did you sparkle in this challenge? Oh yes, you did! Here are the sparkling “Let the New You Shine Through” Entries. Agnes This Ruby bra is my make for the […]
In January 2019, our theme is “Looking Back”. We’d like to kick off this year, by looking back at the Best Bra-making Tutorials of 2018. You may have missed some of them. Instead of you wading through pages of blog posts, we’ve gathered here the best of the tutorials we’ve posted, based on their popularity and viewer visits. […]
We love Scuba for bra-making! Not only is it always beautifully coloured and printed, but it is also co-operative at the sewing machine. Who could ask for a better fabric? If you don’t know Scuba, you might consider working with some in the New Year. We used this one fabric to share with you the Art of […]
This January 2019, we’ve got your back! For this “We’ve Got Your Back” challenge, we ask you to make creative, unusual or off-the-wall crazy backs for your bras, swimsuits, corsets or underwear. Yes, this month we are looking at bra backs and how to make them pretty and even more supportive than they usually are. Just […]
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 […]
The holidays are almost here, and for those of you wanting a gift for that special couple or for yourself, here’s how we made the His and Hers Santa Shorts. We used the Lillebror version of the Mens Underwear pattern to make the Mens shorts. We shortened both the waistline to make them “sexier” and […]
We were looking forward to the planning and decorating of our 2018 Christmas Mannequin Tree since the summer. What colour should we use? What style of dress should she have? Real branches or artificial? All these questions brought forth ideas to discuss and finally formulate into a plan for our annual window display. In 2016 […]
We got a lot of comments when we posted this lovely Sapphire bra on social media. Denise, our talented instructor (and member of our small but mighty design team) made this using one of new printed fabrics. True to her style, Denise added piping in some strategic areas. Today we’ll share with you how to […]
Here are our Manly entries for the Ultimate Bra-makers Challenge. Most of you used our Men’s Underwear Pattern, but a few of you also took advantage of our FREE Men’s Tank Top offer. I am sure the men out there are quite happy to be seated in their wonderful new underwear! A couple of men […]
You have almost finished the Ultimate Bra Challenge for this year. It’s been lots of fun and some of you entered each and every month. It’s been a great way to challenge yourself with new skills and sewing outside your comfort zone. You’ve become a whole new sewing maven! You’ve let the new you shine […]
Our Men’s Underwear pattern has been getting rave reviews. It has an inner support sling and two stylish views, both with over-the-top access. That’s a growing trend in men’s underwear, in a manner of speaking. However, if your guy prefers front access, there is an easy modification to the pattern you can do. Here’s how […]
I love the look of binding on the edge of a garment. (Not Fold-over Elastic, but proper double folded fabric binding) When I make my own knit tops, I almost always use binding on the neckline. Why? Because I have a lovely industrial cover stitch machine in my sewing room at home. It’s a leftover […]
October’s Ultimate bra-making Challenge was about being a Breast’s Friend. We asked you to create a bra or a prosthesis for someone who has survived breast conserving surgery. Many of you told us that even though you personally did not know anyone that you could sew for – you still wanted to give this a […]
November is known as “Movember” here in Canada. In Movember, thousands of men join the movement to grow a moustache (also called a “mo”) during the month to raise awareness for prostate cancer. Even men who never wear facial hair, let it grow out for this worthy cause. Support your man in Movember by doing your part […]
One of the things women love about our new Ingrid bra pattern is that it is so versatile. We designed it as an everyday, wireless bra for the larger sizes, but apparently it can be used for much more than that. Women have turned that pattern into a racer-backed sports bra, a bathing suit, and even […]
The newest pattern in the Jewel Collection from Pin-up Girls is the Amethyst Bra. Amethyst is a bra that uses lace edging on the upper cup and the front frame to create a designer look. It uses the same basic block as the Ruby bra. Like the Ruby, it has great lift and shape; however […]
It wasn’t so many years ago, that mastectomy bras were a lingerie store’s “shameful little secret”, secreted away in a back corner. Linda Crawford of Uplift Custom Bras tells of a client of hers who, once she asked for a mastectomy bra, was quickly “shushed”, then ushered into the basement of the store to see […]
October is Breast Cancer Month. Every year, breast cancer claims the life or the well-being of someone we know. Studies indicate that 1 in 4 women are affected by breast cancer in some way. But is there something we can do for those women who have undergone a mastectomy? Yes there is. We can make […]
We are pleased to present our Ultimate Bra-making Challenge Entries. September’s theme was Dancing Queen, so we challenged you to create dance costumes. Some dance costumes are made from spandex, but others have crinoline and tulle. We wondered how you would rise to the challenge of working with fabrics that you might not have sewn […]
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, […]
The alarming statistics show that the life of every woman, young or old is affected by breast cancer in some way. It may be your best friend, your mother, sister or even your daughter. It may even be you. October is Breast Cancer month and I am challenging you to be a Breast’s Friend and sew […]
The three newest patterns in the Pin-up Girls collection are Ruby, Sapphire and the soon-to-be-released Amethyst. Since I typically name my patterns after women in my life, and these patterns are clearly named after gemstones, some have asked why Ruby? Get yourself a cup of tea…here’s the story of Ruby… Once upon a time (no […]
We love Boob Camp, but we especially love Summer Boob Camp. The weather is perfect and we get so inspired by the students that come from around the world to be with us for 5 glorious days. We call that a “sew-cation” but some call it a “play-cation”. Whatever you want to call it, it […]
