The Most Comfortable Bralette: Bra Making with Madalynne August Recap

The song by Ella Fitzgerald goes, “Summertime, and the livin is easy.” Around these parts, that hasn’t been true in the least. The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. A good whirlwind, but definitely a whirlwind. Two Monday’s ago, I hopped on a plane to film 3 online classes with Creativebug in San Francisco. That Friday, I went from San Francisco to Redwood City to teach a satellite Bra Making with Madalynne workshop with Sewing Lessons of Redwood City. Hopped on a plane back to Philly on Sunday, got a nasty cold a few days after, and then this past weekend, taught another workshop at the studio. In a matter of 7 days, Bra Making with Madalynne literally went from coast to coast.

This was the 3rd workshop teaching my latest pattern with Simplicity, the 8711, and another testament to the wide range of sizes it can fit. The smallest size was a 34B and the largest size was a 42D. Linda, who traveled from Baltimore, measured a 36DD, but one of her breasts was 25% smaller. Actually, most women have one breast that is smaller than the other, so it’s not uncommon. We made a few adjustments to accommodate her size, and she as well as everyone was super happy with their 8711. Look at Colette in the pictures below – come one, you can’t fake a smile when the fit is that good. Amirite or amirite? Also, this time around, students used a different fabric, a metallic blue stretch mesh instead of a cream and floral black lace. Seriously, the fabric is D-I-V-I-N-E and everyone looked awesome!

Always one to surprise students, I asked Shaw Lewis, the owner of Expect Lace in Manayunk (psssttt… the only lingerie store in the city to carry a J cup – read my review here), to stop by at the end to give her tips on finding the best fit, her most popular styles and why, plus more. Everyone really enjoyed picking her brain and seeing different style bras that she brought on a live model. Super informative!

There was a surprise that I wasn’t in charge of. my dad, who lives in Florida, texted me Friday night at 11 PM, “I’m flying up tomorrow to see you.” I said, “Great, you want to learn how to sew a bra?!” I didn’t believe him, but shortly after 10 AM, he, my grandma and my grandpa showed up to the studio and for the first time, my dad got to see me in action. He didn’t make a bra, but he did make my day.

If a well-fitting bra wasn’t enough to make the class special, Lenox topped it off by providing their fine china. Their Radiance Collection looked stunning with the decor in the studio and it elevated an ordinary sewing class into an extraordinary day.

Fabric: All fabric + trims came from the 8711 metallic blue lingerie kit, which you can purchase here.
Sewing Machines: PFAFF passport™, ambition essential™ and ambition™ 1.0 (AMAZING! Read my review of the passport™ here  and my tips for sewing on it here.
Pattern: Madalynne X Simplicity 8711, which you can purchase here
Goody bags: Lace samples, thread from Gütermann, chocolate + more

See all the photos here

Sign up for a Madalynne workshop here

See even more photo on Instagram: #bramakingwithmadalynne