Backstage with our Design Team
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…
Tour of the New Store
We are pleased to announce the re-opening of our Grand New Store on Ottawa Street North in Hamilton, Ontario. Your memory is serving you well if you remember that we have been on Ottawa Street for seven years. Our new store is just two doors…
Open House at the Enchanted Castle!
Open House at the Enchanted Castle!
Considering I was an absolute "wreck" the week before, our Open House at the Enchanted Castle Saturday June 25th turned out to be the most fun I've had in a looong time! Why do I call it the Enchanted Castle?…
Bra-makers featured in Vogue
Bra-makers featured in Vogue
For many years, sewing has been hidden in the closet of the upscale fashion magazines. It's like anyone who sewed their own clothes was to be pitied, as the poor cousins of the ready-to-wear family. For more than…
Bust Out the Bras Bra-making Contest
Bust Out the Bras! Bra-making Contest
Announcing our first ever - Bust Out the Bras! Bra-making Contest. The Bust Out the Bras! Bra-making Contest is open to all bra-makers, regardless of experience! It is a DIGITAL contest so no bras will…
Wanna see something truly magical?
Wanna see something truly magical?
Not very much in the fabric world is news to me - when you've been around fabric and sewing for ...well, let's just say a really long time, you see fabrics come and go. So every now and then I really do wanna…
New Band Elastics
New Band Elastics
We made a commitment over a year ago to have all the same style of band elastic available in our 14 stock colours. We chose these new band elastics because we knew their firmness would be good for all body types and for all…
Dead Bra Day – February 13
For bra-makers the world over, one day is associated with a gift of lingerie, and that is Valentine's Day. But hold on...if your bra drawer looks like this, do you really have room for more? If they all fit well, and you wear them, yes,…
Christmas in the Village
Christmas in the Village
We have a weird little corner in our store - it's under the stairs leading to the apartments upstairs. That corner is usually the catch-all corner for remnants, left-overs and sale items. Not an attractive corner…
In the News!
Great news! We were written up by Paola Lorrigio of the Canadian Press and featured in the Hamilton Spectator, City News and others today! So we are in the news! You can see three of our students here - Julia in the back left, Adrienne up front…
How is a Bra like a Slipcover?
How is a Bra like a Slipcover? In other words, what do a bra and a slipcover have in common?
1. They are both expected to fit over a curved and shapely surface. The skill needed to cover a curved surface in fabric is needed to make both bras…
Crystal – like catnip (sort of)
The new crystal collection has just arrived! Stunning pieces of Austrian cut crystal in really good designs, suitable for beachwear, clubwear, formal and cocktail dresses and bodybuilding competition wear. Does that last one surprise you? It…
The Costco Connection
It's official! The article in the Costco Connection magazine about the Fairy Bra Mother is out. You can read all about it here or in the magazine which is sent to all Costco members. On page 64 (way at the back..lol) But still...Costco…
Steampunk Heaven
Love Steampunk? Love corsets whose grommets match the busk and other metal trims? Then you are reading the right blog post!We just received our custom order of antique bronze grommets, size #00, which is a 3/16" or 5 mm size. I have not seen…
Multiple Births at the Enchanted Castle
Just arrived at the store - the four colours of power nets we have been waiting for! These are all the Regular Power net FP-1, 60" (150 cm) wide, with a blend of nylon and spandex. It is the firmest power net we have for bra backs. It seems…
Dyeing in the Kitchen
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…
Stretch into Spring
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…
Sew Hungry
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…
In the Enchanted Castle – a Royal Birth
Today was kind of a bittersweet day. I was SO excited for the arrival of my newest baby...a Kansai coverstitch machine for the shop. I am getting a brand new one. BRAND SPANKIN' NEW! I want it for teaching students to use the industrial machines…
The Beauty of Pantone
Ever wonder how manufacturers get all the colours in the materials they are buying, to match exactly? They use a Pantone colour chart! If you don't know what a Pantone colour chart is, stick around while I show you the Beauty of Pantone!
Pantone…
Let it Snow!
Let it snow! When I was younger, my mother would get all excited about the day after a snowfall. If it snowed hard, the kids would be home from school, under mom's feet. It wasn't that day that mom looked forward to. No, sir. It was the…