White Satin Bra in Woven Fabric with Handmade Bra Closure

This is one of the most special bras I have made. It is all satin and this means all woven fabrics!
It features the lovely satin fabric I use for bonboneva satin knickers, one of the best selling products in the shop. It has a very special retro look. I made it starting with a pattern I wanted to try for so long and only used satin, metal findings and elastic for it. I made the closure too! So here come all the details and the story of this bra.

The Story 

I saw an all-lace unwired bra on Very Puprle Person's blog many months ago. And loved it. Who would not? It is so simple and so beautiful. I checked the pattern and found it includes a bra that has much different look and I liked it too. I love the simplicity in the lines, the retro look and the simple construction too! So I bought Merchwaerdigh BHS10 pattern to make them and decided to start with the simplest. I have not see an all-woven fabrics version of it and the white satin I had on the table looked the perfect fabric for its first incarnation here.

The Making 

I changed some things - I could not like the all fabric non-adjustable straps more than adjustable ones /though they look lovely!, I just prefer adjustable ones/. It also felt more natural to have the simple back so I eliminated the scoop on the back. The detail, that I think makes it really special, is the me-made closure. It does make it so different. Polyester closure would look a bit cheap on this special satin bra in my opinion, so I made my first DIY bra closure!

Other minor changes included making the bottom front band a one piece and changing the upper cup  lines a bit. I also graded the bra to get closer to my bigger cup size. I was not sure I will manage to reach it on the first try and I did not actually.

About BHS10 Bra Pattern

I bought this pattern after I liked view C, however I started with making view A, which you see in this post. I like the pattern a lot. It is not really elaborate in instructions. However, as it is not my first bra it was not an issue at all. Still, if you are trying it as your first bra sewing experience they will suffice, I think. Instructions may seem scarce but they are clear and useful. If you are drawn to more couture approach to sewing, you might feel these instructions are bit simplified. However,  if you are drawn to couture sewing, you will most likely know enough to sew it with no instructions, I think.

I happened to be outside the size range, which was perfectly OK actually as I knew it before purchasing the pattern. I just had to try it and have at least one Merckwaerdigh pattern and BHS10 looked a perfect to match to my liking.

This one is a paper pattern, I received by the post. It has several pages instructions and one bigger sheet of paper with all the pattern pieces. Each bra view /style/ has a page of instructions actually, stating which pattern pieces from the patter sheet to be used and basic construction method. All the styles and material required for each of them are on another page, as seen on the product images.

The pattern pieces do not have seam allowances. This is a common European patterns feature. Since I am European, I am used to adding seam allowances myself and actually liked this. It is easier to make changes on a pattern, like I had to change the size, the back. It will take you some time to add them, but on a bra pattern the lines are not long enough to make adding seam allowances boring.

I have to admit, I am used to introducing many, many changes. It is part my drafting routine that I naturally use when using a pattern. No matter if I drafted it myself or I use a pattern, I bought, I tend to constantly change things and make every new project a bit different.  Having said this, I actually like the absence of seam allowances.

The Fit

The bra feels nice. I only need to remake it to reach my size. Extrapolating circumferences led to a cup, a size smaller than what I need. So I think this will be a collectible bra for me - I will keep it for the first closure.

I found the bra looks nice with the satin knickers I make. These are the best selling knickers in the shop and I think the style match is a good one. The little tags are actually used instead of watermarks on all pictures. It is quicker to add one of the tags I have than processing the pictures.

I hope you found this story useful, especially if you are considering making Merckwaerdigh BHS10 bra yourself.

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