Sheerest non-stretch fusible interfacing?

Well, you have Lee-Anne's book -- what does she say?

You could always use Stitch Witchery and self-fabric.

Melinda, who is very glad to see you finally are starting to work on making your own and knows it will be very rewarding

Uh, I'm so inundated with Lee Anne's information on how to design and alter patterns that I can't seem to find much on the fabrics. I'll keep searching, but in general I'm disappointed that more space wasn't given to styling and fabrication. Those areas are where I need the most help. The book is *definitely* super on the patternmaking and alterations part, no question. But since I'm just copying an already well-fitting bra, that's not so important to me. I think I might even return the book. :-(

Re: stitch witchery and self-fabric Yes, that's an option.

Re: finally starting to make the bras Don't I know it! I'm champing at the bit to get my pattern back from Brenda!

Pora

Pora, there used to be a company called Elan Patterns, but it seems as though they do not have a website any longer. Sew Sassy still carries their patterns, though:

However, what I really want to say about Elan is that the woman who created the patterns, Cindy Elam, IIRC, had a great article in Threads several years ago about making bras. You might check the Threads article archives for this. As I recall, she had lists of bra-making supplies, as well as other info.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

wurstergirl wrote:

My hands-down, first choice for the softest, sheerest interfacing is organza, preferably silk organza (I suspect rayon organza would hold too much moisture). In my experience, non-woven sheer interfacings are simply not strong enough to take the strain in a bra. I also have to note that there is a degree of stretch in the weft of all wovens. So even with organza, you need to be careful how you place the crosswise grain.

Phae

Yes, I was wondering if organza would be good. I assume you don't find it itchy? With Thai Silks down the road I can get it in lots of colors...

Pora

Tulle, which I see in bras all the time (prolly designed by women-hating men ;) is itchy but not real silk organza. They usually put a finish on it but you can wash that out. My dad used to work for a company that used high quality silk organza in a painting process. They got it in huge bolts and he used to get me the bolt ends; it was fabulous stuff and comes in handy for so many things.

Phae

Painting or printing? I've used it for silk screen printing. These days the same process usually uses nylon: stands up to the wear better, and cleaning is easier.

Painting.

Yeehaa, I went to Thai Silks and practically lost my mind. (I've never seen silk matte jersey in bolts before!) Unfortunately the selection of organzas was a bit limited, so I'll probably go back and pick one that is close to my skin tone. But what I did buy was 1/4 yard of tone-on-tone pale butterscotch chinese-print silk tapestry. It's a beautiful match to one of the bras I disassembled, so I've got everything else to make a complete bra. It might be a bit heavy and I'll have to be careful about covering the seams so they don't chafe. But I couldn't help myself, it was such a good color match. And it's so stable it won't need any facing.

Also picked up a few darling cami-boyshort sets at the discount store in beautiful colors and fabrics. I'll cut the camis up and reuse the trims for the bras and keep the bottoms to have matching sets. Okay, I really should stop shopping now...

Pora