A Pocket for Ingrid

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…
Amethyst Lace Bra Bra-makers Supply Pink and Black
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An Amethyst for me

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…

A Peek Inside a Mastectomy Bra

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…
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How to Draft a Mastectomy Pocket

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…
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Move the Strap on Ingrid

The Ingrid non-wired bra pattern has quickly become a new favourite among our customers. It fits really well on most women without any alteration. However, women with sloping shoulders or narrow shoulders might need to move the strap.  Here's…
Sewing Bras Designer Techniques Craftsy Taught by Beverly Johnson y-back with keyhole

Racer Back Ingrid

If you've made our new Ingrid pattern, you will quickly realize that it could easily be adapted to be a sports bra. One thing it lacks however is a back typical of sports bras - a racer back. These backs are often called Y-backs or sports backs,…

Disco Ingrid!

Our recent non-wired bra pattern Ingrid has had rave reviews from both testers and the first wave of the bra-making public. However, there are still some who are hesitant to try a non-wired bra, saying it might be too"matronly" looking. We made…
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How to make Hemless Boyshorts

Someone told me recently that some women didn't make their own underwear, because they felt the leg elastics would show as a panty line under clothes. This shocked me for two reasons 1. Who wouldn't want to make their own underwear? and 2. the…

How to Sew Ingrid

Ingrid is a non-wired support bra from the design team at Pin-up Girls. Together we've created a bra pattern with the largest size range on the planet. Ingrid has a lot of pieces, and they all contribute to the engineering of this remarkable…
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Sew Simple Bralettes

Recently I was asked to do a book collaboration with Nancy's Notions. I was thrilled beyond belief as I'd been a fan of hers for over 35 years!. The book would have 32 pages of how to instructions and photos for 6 projects plus a pattern. Sounds…
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A Ruby for your Treasured Chest

Our newest pattern, called the Ruby, is a foam-lined bra with offset vertical seams. Because it is foam-lined, you may not be familiar with the construction techniques peculiar to foam. Denise recently made her version and she happily shares…

3 ways to make a corset

If you are making a corset or waist cincher for the first time, you might follow the pattern instructions and think that's all there is to it. But did you know there are at least 3 ways to make a corset? That's right - three different ways to…
sheer bra cup lining FL-1 beige from Bra-Makers Supply hand shown

12 uses for Sheer Cup Lining

Sheer Cup Lining is useful stuff. It is light and see-through and stable as well. I am sure you use it for lining cups (after all - that's its name...) But there are many uses for Sheer Cup Lining that you might not know about. Here are 12 uses…
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Change your Bralette into a Nursing Bra

One of our staff members is out on maternity leave and she had a great idea to change her favourite bralette into a nursing bra. This is a great idea, Christine and we thank you for the photos you took of the inside of the garment. Here's how…

An Easy Cover-up

Picture yourself at the beach in your lovely new swimsuit...but you would like to walk along the beach to take in the sunset. Do you take your walk in your swimsuit, bikini or monokini? Or do you go back to the hotel room to change? Here's the…

A Big Book of Swimwear for all!

I've been wanting to write a much more in-depth book on swimwear since I wrote Make & Fit Swimwear some years ago. There wasn't any book on the market that went into the fitting, design and construction of all types of swimwear, including tankinis,…

Our Logo Bra – part 2

In my last post here, I showed you how we assembled the cups on our logo bra. We got this far along - the constrast colour is inserted into the seaming of the cups. We added a ruffled edge by cutting off a bit of some lace trim, gathering…
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Our Logo Bra – part 1

I designed our business logo several years ago. I've always loved the bra style that I used, even though it is not a style in my pattern line-up. It is a multi-seamed vertical balconette cup with a ruffled upper edge (that's a mouthful!) I decided…

That Peek-a-boo Bra

For those of you have been following my Facebook page, The Fairy Bra Mother, I recently posted a picture of a red satin bra that garnered quite a bit of attention. A lot of you expressed an interest in learning how to make it. So here now in…

How to work with Stretch Satin

Recently, I wrote a Stretch Satin Primer, detailing some tips on choosing and cutting wonderfully luxurious stretch satin. No post on how to work with stretch satin would be complete without some sewing tips. Here are some based on my experience. Stitching…

A Stretch Satin Primer

Stretch Satin is wonderfully luxurious and so silky, it's almost liquid to the touch! Nothing says sexy like satin! In this tutorial, I want to share with you a Stretch Satin primer, so that you will be able to create luxurious, comfortable,…
Lingerie Laundry Bag Bra-makers Supply

Top 10 Reasons why you need a Lingerie Laundry Bag

Lingerie laundry bags are an inexpensive and helpful laundry tool.  In my opinion, you should have a few on hand whenever you head to the laundry room. Here are the Top 10 reasons why you need a Lingerie Laundry Bag: You will avoid stretched…

The Stick and the Straw

Do you turn a lot of tubes? Do you make a lot of tiny spaghetti straps, straps for swimwear or bras? If so, you know the pain that comes from turning fabric tubes right side out. When our sales rep showed us this amazing gadget, I immediately…

Sports Bra Hack

Do you make up a pattern exactly as the pattern instructs? Or are you comfortable with changing...or in today's terms "hacking" the pattern to create a new look? We took our favourite sports bra pattern, Kerri, and changed it to have the same…

How to make lace edged underwear

Confession time....the problem I have with store-bought underwear is the elastic at the legs. It's got a stranglehold on my legs it seems, especially when I am sitting at the computer. To express it as a town from an Agatha Christie novel...Much-binding-in-the-groin.…
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Christmas Mannequin Tree

We needed something special for the display window in our new store. The shop features a window that is easily accessible from inside the store, with an opening large enough to accommodate a display that is almost one metre in diameter.We decided…
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Bedazzle it!

Every woman needs a little sparkle now and then. We recently started a project that (quite frankly) needed some help. It started as a plain ivory corset with a hand-sewn lace overlay. It was ok and some people thought it was stunning actually,…

How we made the Crystal Empress

Do you remember snow storms where overnight the world was transformed into a crystal wonderland? We do too! We decided to create a bra that invoked the spirit of a winter wonderland- crisp, clean and lots of bluey-turquoise colour.  I really…
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How to Insert Bra Cups into Swimwear

Do you know what stops most sewers from making their own swimwear? In a word, it's the cups. You might be able to muddle through inserting one pair of cups in one swimsuit, but what if you want to make that swimsuit over and over again. If you…

How we made the Spider Bra

A lot of you have commented on our Spider bra we made for Halloween. It's on our Ashley mannequin in the window of the new store (along with a life-size witch who cackles when folks walk by) A lot of you also asked how we made the spider bra.…
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How to make a Ruched Triangle Top

I love it when a customer brings in a garment from ready to wear so we can see it. Not only is it good for us to see what the trends are for that season, it gives us a chance to see behind the seams - and really check out the construction. In…
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Tale of Two Triangles

Every now and then someone brings in foam cups from a ready to wear swimsuit for us to match up to what we have. Most often we have something very similar if not identical. However recently someone brought in a swimsuit top that had triangle…
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When Bra-making meets Quilting

You probably already know that bra-making is not an isolated skill set. We borrow skills from all aspects of the sewing spectrum. But when Bra-making meets Quilting, you just know something special is about to happen. That's exactly what happened when…