Bra Making with Madalynne: A Star Event

Mimosas – that’s how the 17th Bra Making with Madalynne began. If you’ve been tuning into my Insta-stories recently, you’ve seen @abestinken pop up quite a bit. She’s my #wcw. My gal pal. My fellow gym rat. We met on a whim last winter when I walked into a yoga fusion class she was teaching. I consider myself a fit person, but let me tell you, my arms, my thighs, my butt, my back… everything was so sore after. And we only used 5-10lb weights! Hurt so good. Since then, we’ve become attached at the hip, literally, and trade sewing lessons for personal training lessons. We’ve both challenged and changed each other mentally and physically. Back to mimosas though. I finally convinced Avery to attend a workshop and she was the bold, go-getter who finished her first “breakfast wine” faster than you could say “gulp”. I’m not implying she’s a drinker, or that drinking in the morning is the right thing to do, but she has a yolo, joie de vivre attitude that I love about her. The wine didn’t hurt her performance either. Although I cut out her left boob, she trooped through the sewing all by herself and ended up being a rock star. I have photos to prove it. Go Avery go!

Another awesome surprise – I had a repeat student! Ezza attended February’s workshop and had so much fun that she attended another and brought two friends. I’m hoping to see her and her friends again for the bodysuit class. Vivi is attending; all of them together would be like the.perfect.sewing.day.ever.

At this class, everyone made a to-be-released Madalynne X Simplicity bra. I’ve hinted many times that another batch of patterns will be coming out, and I was beyond thrilled the students could get a copy and sew them before anyone else. At every class, I like to teach variations of my patterns so that students learn techniques that aren’t in the directions. This pattern calls for galloon lace, and I showed them how use lace/fabric that isn’t. Actually, the fabric was a printed Sport Lycra from Spoonflower and was custom designed by C.Banning. For this class as well as the July and August sessions, I’ll be using fabric designed by Cinne that are a play of stars and stripes. I used this striped design to make my bodysuit. I’ll will be posting about that striped amazingness another day.

So about Spoonflower’s Sport Lycra. Have you used it before? It’s a great option for lingerie, active wear and swimwear. Students layered the Lycra underneath glitter stretch mesh; glitter mesh as well as laces can be itchy, so putting Lycra underneath created a bra that is soft and comfortable, not to mention super cute. I was a little nervous that the print would be juvenile, but it worked. All the students were a relatively small cup size, so the cups and back band weren’t lined (technically, they were lined, but on the exterior). The bridge was lined with sheer cup lining – regardless of size, you need that piece to be super firm/stable. There was woman who was a size 40D and for her bra, we lined the cups with sheer cup lining to provide additional support.

Just like the last workshop, Rustic Gem gifted a tassel necklace to one student. Congrats to Val for being the lucky winner!

Patting myself on the back for another great bra workshop. There won’t be a workshop in June since I’ll be teaching at Mimi G’s Conference in California. I’ll be back to a regular monthly schedule in July. Click here to sign up now!

Fabric: Printed Sport Lycra by C.Banning and Spoonflower
Trims: From my lingerie kits (blush pink and lavender sold out, but apricot still left!)
Sewing Machines: PFAFF Passport 2.0 (AMAZING! Read my review here)
Pattern: Madalynne X Simplicity bra (to be released June 2017)
Catering: Le Pain Quotidien
Giveaway: Tassell by Rustic Gem 

Check all the photos here

See even more photo on Instagram: #bramakingwithmadalynne