What I Made: Alba

Want to hear a joke? Strapless bra.

Until recently, I had a love hate relationship with strapless bras. Even when I was smaller than a 32A (I recently grew to a 32B/C), I felt like I had to wear one with anything strapless, the exception being a top that had some sort of bra built in. They prevented nipple show through and provided shape, so mission accomplished in that sense, but only because I spent half the time pulling it up and making sure it stay put. No bueno. So when I was designing my summer 17 patterns with Simplicity, a strapless definitely had to be in there. Yes, you can say I’m biased, but I really, really like the 8437. I’ll tell you more about why below, but first, let’s get to the details about the fabric + trims.

FABRIC + TRIMS
all fabric + trims came from my 8437 kit
Self fabric for all piece of bra and center front/back on undie: White ribbed Lycra
Center front lace panels on bra and side panels on undie: Yellow stretch galloon lace
Lining for all pieces of bra and center front/back panels and front side panel on undie: White stretch mesh
3/8″ pom pom picot plush elastic for top and bottom of bra and waist and leg opening on undie
3/8″ plush channeling on vertical seams on bra
1/2″ sewable boning (cut in half and inserted into channeling)
Cotton jersey for crotch lining on undie

PATTERN + CONSTRUCTION
Okay, so why is the 8437 my favorite strapless bra? First, the band is narrow-er. Not super wide, but not super skinny. It’s a happy medium between being supportive and flattering. Additionally, the seams all around the bra have channeling encased with sewing boning. This gives the bra and your girls shape, but also helps it fit less like a bandeau to more like supportive, normal bra.

The construction was exactly per the instructions. For those of you who aren’t so good at following instructions, I have a full (and FREE!) video tutorial here. The panty is the 8228 and follows all pattern instructions as well.

Shop Madalynne Lingerie kits + tutorials here