Category: Busty Pattern Reviews

One Pattern, Two Bodies (Plus a Pregnancy Hack and FBA!): Chalk & Notch Fringe Dress – Lindsie’s Take

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It’s always super fun to see how one pattern sews up for people with very different body types, so I’m excited to show you another collaboration between me and Camilla (she_sew_fabulous on Insta)!

Just like last time, when we made the Love Notions Sunday Romper, Camilla and I chose one pattern — one that comes with a two bust options — and each made it up to see how it works on our bodies! This time, we chose the Chalk & Notch Fringe Dress. This pattern comes with both a B cup and a D cup draft. (Remember that garment sewing cups are not the same as bra cups! Check out this post to learn more!)

(See Camilla’s take here!)

I was excited to try this pattern because I’ve heard it works great on pregnant bodies, but will also work postpartum, including while nursing thanks to the button front!

I currently describe my body type as HUGE boobs, big pregnancy belly, and medium-size hips. (My current measurements are high bust: 35″; full bust: 46″; underbust: 32″; waist (lol preggo belly!): 39″; hips: 40″.) Camilla, on the other hand, describes herself as “a Mediterranean gal with big hips and small boobs.”

Camilla talks about how she chose her size over on her post, so go check it out!

For me, I chose to make view A, which has the nursing-friendly button front — while Camilla made a view B. I used a fun cotton poplin from Mood.

I started with a size 10 with the D cup draft, going based on my high bust. The size 10D accounts for a 39″ bust, with 3″ of positive ease for a finished bust measurement of 42″. I was obviously going to need a full bust adjustment.

The full bust adjustment

Based on measurements, a 7″ FBA would keep the ease consistent. I thought about reducing the positive ease at the bust and doing a smaller FBA, but ultimately ruled out that plan when I thought about the fact that my milk hasn’t come in, and I’d like to wear this dress for nursing. So a BIG HUGE SEVEN INCH full bust adjustment it was (3.5″ or 8.9 cm on each side).

I’m not going to do a full FBA tutorial here, because it really was just a straight forward woven FBA with a dart split, but I’ll include the instagram stories I did on this FBA just to give you a peek at my process:

If you look closely, you’ll see that I also moved the bust point down by about 1″ while doing the FBA. Note that the FBA actually lowered the bust point by about 1.5″ and to the side by about 1.25″, but, when I held the tissue to myself, I could see that my bust point was in line with the original bust point, just about 1″ lower. When I reoriented the darts, I just oriented them toward my bust point. There’s a more technically correct way of doing this, which involves cutting the darts and moving them up, but because of how wide my darts are and how close they were to the armscye, I decided to “cheat” a little.

(If you notice in these pictures that the darts look a smidge high, that’s because I’m wearing a different bra than the one I altered in … c’est la vie!)

I had to split both my bust and waist darts, because they were looking GIANT.

Also of note is that my FBA added 3-3/8″ length to the bodice at center front. This is important for my belly alteration:

Hacking for pregnancy

My next alteration was to tweak the pattern for my current shape. That is, I didn’t want the waist hitting at my belly, but instead at my underbust. I measured from shoulder point to underbust on my body and on the pattern, and found that I needed to shorten the pattern about 1.75″ from it’s new, post-FBA length for it to hit at the empire waist.

So I chopped it at the lengthen/shorten line. Because you can always take away, but not add, I decided to only shorten by 1.5″.

Now, I had added 3.375″ with the FBA then removed 1.5″, so I needed to lengthen my button placket and front facing by 1-7/8″ (the difference between 3.375-1.5).

I also shortened my back by 1.5″ along the lengthen/shorten line.

Solving other giant boob-related problems

If you follow me, you probably know I’m usually #teamnotoile, meaning I rarely make muslins. Most of the time, I’ll use my bodice sloper to make flat pattern alterations, and I’m frankly not obsessed with perfect fit when I can more easily obtain good enough fit with less work.

Buuuuut, in this case, since I had added a honkin’ 7″ to the bust and chopped 1.5″ off the full bodice, I decided I needed to make a muslin of the bodice. It was a good thing.

I was absolutely chuffed at the fit. Loved it. Needed a skirt to weigh it down, but goodness the darts were pretty perfect!

Until I realized something. I had to put it on like a button-down shirt, one arm and then the other. If I pinned it together at the waist, I couldn’t get it on. Not over my bust, nor over my belly.

You see, this pattern is intended to be pulled on. The finished waist at a size 10D is 35″ — just enough to eek over the 39″ bust it was drafted for. But I had added 7″ to that, and a 35″ waist wasn’t going to eek over my 46″ of bust.

So I had to pivot. I ended up removing the waist darts on both front and back (trust me, I’m mourning this too! love those darts!), and decided to elasticate the waist instead.

The pattern & fit

This was my first Chalk & Notch pattern, and I WILL BE BACK. The pattern went together SO BEAUTIFULLY. I often have problems with facings not quite matching, and that wasn’t an issue here at all. The whole thing was just so well drafted, and I think it would have been an easier sew if I had opted for view B, which has simpler sleeves and no buttons.

Honestly, I’m excited to sew this up again with the waist darts (what can I say?! I just love darts!) once either my boobs have settled back to pre-pregnancy size, when I would have needed just a 1.5″ FBA, or when I have the energy to add a zipper.

I love the button front on this pattern, and that there’s no gaping! I also love that this will allow me to nurse in this dress when the time comes.

Also, the sleeves. I wasn’t actually sure I was going to love the sleeves, but they’ve really grown on me. I used vintage buttons throughout, and I just love the little pop of pearlescent that they give my shoudlers.

The best thing about this dress, though? THE POCKETS, obviously.

As you can see, I did add a waist tie for just a bit more waist definition, because the elastic wasn’t quite defining my waist as much as I’d like. Again, can’t wait to make this again with darts. But here it is without the waist tie, for those wondering:

Busty Pattern Review + Pattern Launch | Yawning Mama Nursing Mama and Empress Bralette

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Ever since I became pregnant, there’s been a shift in my sewing. For one, I’m getting a lot less sewing done, unfortunately (working on it!). For two, I’m having to focus less on patterns with cup options, and more on patterns that will serve my changing body.

This means out with the underwire bras (which I’m still salty about! I miss them 😭) and in with the stretchy bralettes. (With a healthy dose of baby powder to prevent between-boob yeast infections, because that’s a thing, y’all.)

I’ve been struggling to find a nursing bra pattern that comes in my size. The ever-popular Lotus Bralette from LilypaDesigns, which has a built-in nursing option, is a smidge too-small for my current 14″ full bust to underbust difference. And while Lilypad’s Lanai Wireless bra, which also has a nursing option, comes in my size, I’m reluctant to work out a non-stretchy bra pattern right now. (The last time I tried to make a non-stretchy bra, it fit one week and then didn’t fit the next, which was SO FRUSTRATING! Growing boobs are HARD.)

So when Yawning Mama, a fairly new pattern brand, did a call for testers of their new set of bralette patterns, including both a nursing AND a pumping bra (which might be the first pumping bra pattern on the market!), I jumped at the opportunity.

Oh! The Options!

This bra pattern comes with so many options. For those who are breast/chestfeeding, the Nursing Mama Bra (yeah, I don’t love the gendered language either), the Cross-Front Bra, and the Pumping Mama Bra are all boob-access friendly. The Nursing Mama and Pumping Mama bras have options for side slings or full slings, giving the maker options based on your individual preferences.

For those who aren’t feeding a babe (or, in my case, about to!), the Cross-Front Bra and Empress Bralette are both great options.

Both the breast/chestfeeding bras and the non-nursing bras can be made into a camisole (including maternity option!), tankini, or tunic using the cami add-on pack.

Let’s Talk About Sizing

Alright, now let’s talk about sizing. When I first saw the size chart, I was unconvinced that this pattern would work for me, and I bet some of you are similarly skeptical.

My current underbust is 32.5″ (82.5 cm) and my current full bust is 46″ (116.8 cm). So, based on this size chart, my underbust is a size small. But the biggest cup size for a small — the green cup — is only for a 43.5″ (110.5 cm) full bust, a full 2.5″ (6.4 cm) smaller than my full bust measurement. So I asked “uhhhh, hey, sooooo how will this fit me?”

The designer, Danielle, was super helpful. She instructed me to choose the small size for the back and underbust, but to choose the medium green cups — if I wanted it to fit snugly — or the large green cups — if I wanted some more room to grow. Since my milk has yet to come in, I chose to use the large green cups.

My First Toile

For my first go at this bra, I used some cotton spandex that Yawning Mama had sent for tests (shout out to designers who provide materials for testers!). The only pattern change I made was to make an omega adjustment to the dart, making the dart 1″ wider at the bottom.

It … did not work.

I mean, it wasn’t horrible, but this bra had almost no support, and the darts were about an inch too far to each side for the placement of my apex. The side seams are also about 1″ too far back.

This bra works pretty well as a sleep bra (which apparently I need to get acquainted with before baby comes, since I usually sleep braless!), but not so much for day-to-day wear.

But I could tell that this bra was promising, we just weren’t quite there.

So I prepared to make some changes:

  • Move the darts inward by 1″ by removing 2″ from center front fold
  • Use activewear nylon spandex for more support
  • Use 1″ elastic at band instead of 1/4″ elastic for more underbust support
  • Keep the 1″ enlargement of darts

Making It Work for a Busty Body

Now, I’ll quickly note that all of these changes are ones I’d strongly suggest for the small band, large cup among us, and for even the large band, large cup busty folks, I’d highly suggest using a fabric with a firmer stretch and more recovery and using 1″ elastic at the band.

Made as-directed, this bra really isn’t appropriate for busty folks who seek lots of support for a day-to-day bra. If you’re into lots of comfort and just want something to keep your twins from flailing around, by all means, make this bra as instructed — some people prefer that kind of fit! But if, like me, you want a bra that holds you up, make these changes.

Because the pattern doesn’t have larger cups drafted for a small band, for example, I wasn’t super surprised to find that the darts were in entirely the wrong place, since the large green cups likely anticipated my breasts would be wider rather than projected.

This goes back to the issue of breast shape that we see in underwire bra making — we all know that I’m narrow-rooted and projected, and that most bra patterns anticipate my breasts being much wider than they are. But, in a simple bralette like this, it’s not a change that’s drastically hard to make.

My Final Bra

Armed with a handful of changes and fabric with a firmer stretch and better recovery — my old favorite sports bra nylon spandex from Porcelynne — I had another go.

This one fits so much better. It’s supportive, though not as supportive as an underwire bra (or probably even as my Porcelynne sports bras), but this may have more to do with the fact that I sized up instead of down in the cup to account for more growth down the line.

Overall, I definitely plan to make more of this pattern. I’ve been mostly wearing Molke bras since becoming pregnant, so I’m also curious to try the Cross-Front bra from this pattern set.

I also love the full sling option, and I think I’ll also give a go at adding this sling to a Porcelynne Jackie bra pattern, since that pattern seems to lend just a smidge more support.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Using the affiliate links in Sew Busty posts is a great way to support the costs of running Sew Busty, as when you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me pay for the hosting, domain, design, and other costs associated with administering this site. All opinions remain my own.

Busty Pattern Review | Jackie Sports Bra from Porcelynne

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As you may have read yesterday, my sewjo has been at a serious low, along with my mental health. But when Jennifer from Porcelynne — the QUEEN of busty bra patterns — announced she was coming out with a new sports bra pattern, I HAD TO TRY.

Jennifer was kind enough to give me a sneak peek at this pattern — which just launched Sunday — in exchange for me sharing my honest feedback with you all!

This pattern is 25% off through Friday (when all Porcelynne patterns will be 25% off for Black Friday!). On Monday, Porcelynne will include a free tankini add-on pattern with purchase of any sports bra pattern — including Jackie, Christina, and Laurel!

The Jackie Sports Bra comes with multiple options: a zip front closure, a hook and eye front closure, or a pull-over option. Better yet, Jackie is fully interchangeable with Porcelynne’s Christina and Laurel patterns, so you can opt to use Laurel’s hook and eye back closure with Jackie’s front, or do Christina’s racerback with Jackie’s front.

Jennifer’s patterns are amazing because most of them, including the go up to an N cup for bands 28-52, making her range one of the most (if not the most) size inclusive on the market. (I say “most of them” because things are just a bit more confusing when it comes to the Eve modular wired bra pattern, which you can read about here.)

Needless to say, I’m a big fan. In my opinion, everything Jennifer touches is gold.

Because I needed an easy project, I chose to go with the pullover option. I definitely am eager to try the front zip, and will certainly make a point of tackling that option in the future, but I didn’t have the spoons for it this time around.

The front closure option is cool, but my absolute favorite part about the Jackie is the straps! These straps — made with cut & sew foam covered by fabric, and made adjustable in a very clever way — are sooooo comfy.

The pullover option went together fairly quickly. Remember, I’m a sloooowwww sewist, so don’t take my hours as an indication, but this bra probably took me 7 hours? For a first time with the pattern, that’s on the short side for me.

Since I was literally wearing my Christina while I made my Jackie, I decided to go for the same size I had made my Christina, even though my boobs have grown a bit since I made Christina: 30J. Back when I made my Christina, a 30J was already sizing down in the band and cup for a compression fit. Now that my boobs have gained another 1.5″, I probably should have gone up to a 30K for a compression fit, or a 32L for an encapsulation fit.

Let’s talk about support: This bra isn’t quite as supportive as my Christina, which is my go-to sports bra. But that’s probably more because of my fabric choice than anything else. While I lined this with the same 200 gsm black wicking fabric that I used for my Christina, the outer fabric isn’t quite so heavy.

For the outer fabric, I used a combo of the same black wicking fabric for the center front and side back panels, a 195 gsm mustard swim for the side front and back panels, and a polka dot swim fabric for the inner front panels. I’m not sure what the weight on the dot fabric is, but I’d be willing to bet it’s slightly lower than the mustard fabric. On my Christina, I cut the main on the grain and the lining on the cross grain; on my Jackie, I cut everything on the grain.

This pattern is designed for 200-320 gsm+, so I was at the verrrry minimum weight called for by the pattern for my lining, and just under that for my outer, and I’m near the top of the cup size range, so it’s really no surprise that the support isn’t as good as my Christina.

And it’s not that the support is bad. I did a forearm stand in this and felt totally secure. It just doesn’t quite pass the jumping jack test.

I continue to stand by my assessment that Porcelynne is the best company for large-cupped bra patterns, and I can’t wait to see what Jennifer comes up with next.

SEE MORE JACKIES! As part of the launch of the Jackie Sports Bra pattern, Porcelynne is hosting a blog tour. Tomorrow’s post will be on Girls in Uniform, who is posting a second Jackie make (use Chrome’s translate feature if you don’t read Dutch!). Other Jackie makes include:

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Using the affiliate links in Sew Busty posts is a great way to support the costs of running Sew Busty, as when you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me pay for the hosting, domain, design, and other costs associated with administering this site. All opinions remain my own.

Busty Pattern Review + One Pattern, Two Bodies | Love Notions Sunday Romper

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Today, I’m pretty damn thrilled to collaborate with Camilla, the gorgeous qween behind She/We Sew Fabulous!

It’s no secret that Camilla and I look different. I’m an hourglass, with an emphasis on the top — giant boobs, small waist, pretty big hips. Camilla describes herself as “a Mediterranean gal with big hips and small boobs.” So we thought it would be fun to try making the same pattern and see how it looks on our very different body types!

Here are Camilla’s super fun versions!

Doesn’t Camilla look great?! Most importantly, she loves the romper! So much, she made it twice. And I agree with her assessment that it looks amazing on her!

I’ve had this pattern forever, so I was excited to use it! I grabbed some Girl Charlee pineapple print cotton spandex from my stash — originally slated to be a Charm Barbie bodysuit, but then I fell out of love with that pattern and with Charm — and I was off!

The Sunday romper comes with two bust options — a regular front and a full bust front. Camilla used the regular front, while I used the full bust one.

Time for some honesty: I don’t hate mine, but I can’t say I love it either.

The photos I chose for this blog are the most flattering photos I could get, but here’s how I feel in it:

Basically, I feel a little like … shapeless? I prefer garments that clearly define my waist, and this particular garment has too much fabric at the top to do that well. It feels like it goes out at my bust and, despite the elasticated waist, doesn’t really come back in until my hips. So I get a square shape that I don’t prefer.

If I were to make it again, I would shorten the bodice substantially, since getting rid of some of that extra fabric would help me love it a lot more. (When I tuck in the top a bit, I get a shape I actually quite like!)

The original pattern also had the shorts going much longer, as you can see in Camilla’s pictures. But I felt very frumpy with longer shorts, and honestly was on my way to totally hating this romper, so I chopped them to the tiniest inseam. Here’s what my romper looked like before I chopped the shorts:

If you ask me, shaving off the shorts saved this romper for me. It went from 🥴 to 🤔 in my book! I won’t reach for 🤔 regularly, but I’ll definitely wear it sometimes. I’d have probably donated 🥴.

There are a few things I love about this romper though. Namely, it’s suuuuuper comfy and it has pockets! And I honestly think it’s perfect for a day on the beach, as a swimsuit cover or just for lounging.

Camilla LOVES hers, though, and I agree that it’s super flattering on her body. As she puts it, she loved it so much she made it twice! Just goes to show that fit is one thing — both of our rompers technically fit — but some patterns are just going to work better on some bodies. (Though, I want to say, this is a matter of preference! Any body can wear any garment! It’s really a question of whether the wearer enjoys wearing it!)

Sewing the Sunday Romper was pretty straight forward. Camilla opted for her serger and coverstitch, but y’all know I hate serging, and I don’t have a coverstitch. So I used my Pfaff Ambition 620 on a narrow zigzag for most of this garment. (I prefer the narrow zigzag over a lightning stitch or a stretch straight stitch.) The neck band was the trickiest part for me, but it wasn’t too bad!

This was such a fun experiment, and I’m glad Camilla and I teamed up to do this! I hope we do it again! I got to try a new pattern and ended up with a garment I’ll definitely wear to the beach, as well as any time I need a comfy frock.

I want to note one more time: “flattering” is a social construct, and we all have different ways of defining it. For me, this romper isn’t the most flattering on my body because it doesn’t fit my preferences and because I don’t feel super confident in it. But I don’t buy into the idea that only certain bodies can wear certain styles. That’s rubbish! This romper could totally work on another busty body, and other people might even prefer the way this hugs the body!

Busty Pattern Review + New Busty Wrap Dress Patterns! | Designer Stitch Jenny & Pippa

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When I was creating the Sew Busty Pinterest boards, one suggested pin kept coming up as I pinned Designer Stitch’s boob-friendly designs:

It was the Designer Stitch Jenny Wrap Dress, and it was one of only a handful of patterns by Designer Stitch that didn’t include cup options. But I HAD TO HAVE IT!!!

Designer Stitch’s Ann Grose being a dear friend, I sent her a quick PM, not having looked at the pattern too closely: “Hey Ann, how hard would a full bust adjustment be on the Jenny dress?”

She explained that Jenny was one of her early patterns, before she started offering cup options, that an FBA wouldn’t be too hard, and that she “just needs to do it!”

Well, I had meant me doing an FBA, but if y’all know me at all, you know I’m a lazy sewist … so I was more than happy to let Ann do the work for me! 😂 So off she went to draft garment cup options B-E, and I was more than happy to help in the testing phase!

At the same time, Ann got a bunch of requests (from me and from members of the Sew Busty facebook community) to add cup options to her popular woven wrap dress, the Pippa.

I’m really excited to announce that both the Jenny and the Pippa now have cup options B-E! All of Designer Stitch’s patterns cover waists 23.5-47.5”.

The best part? Designer Stitch patterns are on sale for 50% off with code SALE50 through July 9!

I’ve only made the Jenny so far, so I’m going to give you a little review. Then, we’ll circle back to see both the Jenny and the Pippa on other busty bodies.

The Jenny Dress: A Review

The Jenny is a semi-fitted sheath silhouette with grown-on cap sleeves. The pattern includes two options: A classic option with no bells and whistles, or an option with a wrap front. We’ve already established that I was obsessed with the wrap front, so that’s obviously the route I went.

Having made a bunch of Designer Stitch patterns lately (what can I say, I LOVE that DD cup size option!), I knew that a 3DD graded out to a 4 at the waist by reducing the waist darts. Then, I graded back into a 2 for my bitty booty. I did what I like to call a muslin-ish, where I cut it out and baste it together to see if it’s reasonable. No zipper. No hem. Call it a lazy gal’s toile!

The muslin-ish fit seemed good. The darts were in the right place and it felt like a good size.

Once I made it up in this amazing cotton poplin I had from Mood Fabrics, it was a bit tight about the tummy and hips. I blame it menstruation, which had so rudely reared its ugly head – bloat and all – between when I did my basted up muslin and when I sewed up the real thing. So I moved the seam 1/4″ out on each side, giving me an extra inch of room. The fit was super comfy after that!

I was amazed that, despite me being only 5′ tall, this dress hit right at my knee without length adjustments. That said, all my shortness is really in my legs, and maybe my calfs specifically?

Now, I LOVE this cotton poplin, but if I made this dress again, I’d probably make it in something less subject to wrinkling and bunching. While we were out getting photos (and tea! Always tea!), I was fighting the wrinkles that were appearing from walking around. That’s the downside of cotton, my friend.

Anyway, I freaking LOVE this dress and I adore the cup options that Ann so graciously added!

The Jenny and Pippa on Busty Bodies

Jenny dress

Now, I want to show you the Jenny and Pippa on some various boobalicious bodies:

Sew Busty Community member Kelly is wearing a Jenny in a size 8DD bust, 11 waist and 7 hip. While I use the dart to add room at the waist, Kelly uses a straight grading technique, using the size 11 dart.

Brenda is wearing a 2C bust, graded to a 4 through the waist and hip. She has also lengthened the bodice, done a small sway back adjustment, and lengthened the skirt.

Marieke looks amazing in this brightly-colored frock, doesn’t she?!

And here’s Barbara wearing her gorgeous version of the Jenny!

Pippa dress

Here’s Synthia rocking an animal print top version of the Pippa!

And Marieke with a gorgeous dress-length version.

^Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Bra Month | Busty Pattern Review | Porcelynne Eve Bra

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I want to tell you about my absolute favorite bra pattern today.

Are you ready?!

It’s the Porcelynne Eve, and it is, in my opinion, the gold standard in wired bra patterns.

Most bra patterns take into consideration two things: the cup and the underbust. But this doesn’t capture the beautiful diversity in people’s bodies – that we can have wide roots or narrow roots; that we can have V-shaped torsos or barrel-shaped torsos; that we can have close-set or wide-set breasts.

The Porcelynne Eve takes all of that into consideration.

You see, the Eve is a modular bra pattern, meaning the band and cup patterns are sold separately. Why? Because it allows you to get a more custom fit, without a ton of alterations to the pattern. Here’s how it goes:

1. First, you choose your wire (using a breast root trace, like we talked about recently!), then you get the band pattern that corresponds with your best wire shape

2. Next, you make a fitting band. We’ll be talking more about this later this month! This helps you make sure you’ve chosen the best wire size.

3. Once you’re sure your band and wire fit properly, you purchase the cup pattern that corresponds with your wire size. You sew up the cup, baste it into your fitting band, and check for fit again!

4. Finally, you make a final bra that’s custom fit for you!

You can see all the modular patterns here!

The band pattern includes bands for different torso shapes. So, for example, there’s a different band pattern for me, with my 5″ difference between upper bust and underbust, than there is for my friend, who might have a 1″ difference between upper and underbust.

The instructions, which Porcelynne has very generously made available on their blog, even go through common alterations, such as narrowing or widening the bridge, fine-tuning the torso shape adjustment, and dealing with breast asymmetry.

For me, the modular pattern makes a huge difference. I mentioned on the bra pattern roundup that I couldn’t get the Pin Up Girls Classic to work for me, because it was going to need a ton of alterations to fit my narrow roots? Not so with the Eve. I barely had to alter the pattern at all. I followed the instructions for a slight torso shape adjustment and widened the bridge a smidge, and that was it. And both of those are super easy adjustments to make – nothing like altering the whole cup for a smaller wire.

Now, I want to make this clear: I think the Eve is the gold standard in bra patterns. (And no, no one is paying me to say that; I recently became a Porcelynne affiliate, but I had been singing this pattern’s praises long before I even knew that was an option! The affiliate program just helps me pay for the maintenance of Sew Busty 🙂)

But there is one thing I don’t like about the pattern: the size calculator. For me, the size calculator put me in a size 4 cup. (The Eve uses numbers for cup sizes, so they don’t directly correspond to ready-to-wear sizing.) If it wasn’t totally sheer, I’d show you the results of my size 4 trial … it was MAJOR QUAD BOOB.

I ended up with a size 14 cup. Now, that sounds like a lot of cup sizes, and it is. But I do want to mention that the Eve’s cups are all a ready-to-wear half cup bigger than each other. In other words, a size 14 cup is really only 5 cup sizes – not 10 – bigger than a 4. But still.

So my advice is to ignore the size calculator when it comes to choosing your cup size, and instead check your horizontal hemisphere measurement against the cross-cup measurement chart that’s included at the end of the instruction booklet. (Don’t know about the horizontal hemisphere measurement? Check out our guide to bra making measurements here!)

My horizontal hemisphere is about 12″ (12.5″ if I measure leaning forward). The cross-cup measurement of the size 14 cup for the 42 vertical wire (my wire size) is 11-7/8″, so wayyyyy closer to my actual breast measurement than the 10-1/32″ cross-cup measurement of the size 4 cup for the same wire. I’m sure the calculator works for some people (I’ve heard, for example, that it works great for those with shallower projection!)

So, basically, I’d recommend doing your first toile using the cup that most closely corresponds to your HH, not the one the calculator suggests. (But use the calculator to figure out what torso shape to use for your band and what torso adjustments you might need!)

Overall, the Eve is absolutely the best bra pattern ever, in my humble opinion. It’s the closest to a custom draft that you’re going to get without either paying hundreds of dollars or spending hundreds of hours.

I’ve made this bra now a bunch of times, and have even made it into a sloper from which I made a vertical-seamed bra!

Also, I just want to show you the difference between the fit of a t-shirt while wearing my old, too-wide-at-the-root, ready-to-wear bra, and the fit of a t-shirt in my Porcelynne Eve. These pics were taken the SAME DAY.

What do you think? Are you curious to try this pattern?

^Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Bra Month | Busty Pattern Review | Pin Up Girls Ingrid Wireless Bra

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Let me tell you a secret: I have a complicated relationship with Pin Up Girls patterns.

On one hand, I love them, because the PUG Sweet 16 Bralette pattern was my first ever bra, so it holds a very special place in my heart. It taught me so much, not only about bra making, but also about my own body and myself in general. And it taught me that I can, in fact, put these 30J boobies into a bralette.

But, having made the Sweet 16 and the Classic, I also know that I end up needing a lot of alterations to these patterns for them to fit me, as they aren’t drafted for my narrow-rooted, very projected shape. And I hate doing a million alterations. It’s not the patterns’ fault, or the designer’s. Patterns, in general, are just drafted for a specific type of body. They have to be, unless they are custom drafted. And bra patterns are no exception.

Are you an average-to-slightly shallow projection, average-to-slightly wide rooted boobalicious person? Then PUG patterns are likely perfect for you, because that’s exactly the shape they’re designed for, in my experience.

But for me and my very projected, narrow-rooted boobs, I usually have to add projection and remove width on the wireline to make these patterns work for me.

But the Ingrid was different.

The Ingrid is a wireless bra, and it is exceptionally size inclusive in the cups, going up to a 9″ bottom cup depth – much higher than most bra patterns (though not as high as I’d like to see patterns go!). (Not sure what bottom cup depth means? Check out the Sew Busty Guide to Bra Measurements here!)

The style lines of the Ingrid reminded me a lot of the my trusty (but not super well-fitting) Panache non-wired sports bras, so when Gigi’s Bra Supply hosted an Ingrid sew along and gifted me the Ingrid pattern (with no obligation), I jumped at the opportunity to join!

My BCD lives somewhere between 5″, while wearing my well-fitting Porcelynne Eve bra, to 5.5″, when naked and leaning forward. Having heard from others with similar shaped breasts that the Ingrid runs a tad small in the cup, I made a toile in the 5.5″ BCD size with no changes – fully expecting to need to make changes after making my toile.

But when I tried it on, I didn’t need a lot of changes!

The apex was in the perfect spot, but the band was a bit too big and the cups were too wide. The power bar/side panel wasn’t sitting on my breast at all, so it wasn’t doing its job of pushing me forward. But I conquered all of that with one alteration: I ended up doing was taking a curved wedge from the side of the upper and outer lower cup, like this:

For my final version, I sewed it up in yellow duoplex from Gigi’s Bra Supply, as I was itching to have a yellow sports bra! I also chose the option with wider band elastic, as I like to feel a little more covered while I work out. For the straps, I used leftover black satin to cover some leftover cut and sew foam that I had from another project.

Now, the construction on this one is a bit more advanced, as it has a lot of pieces. The cup, by itself, has 5 pieces, and then you have the center front and the wings on top of that. So I would probably recommend this bra pattern to someone who is at an intermediate level, having sewn a bra or two before. An adventurous beginner could probably tackle it, given the time and dedication, but it’s not as well-suited for an adventurous beginner as, say, the Jet Set Natural pattern that we’re currently working on for our sew along.

But, after all this, I ended up with a fantastic sports bra.

It’s not 100% perfect. I do aerial dance, so I spend a lot of time upside down, and after a while, gravity starts pulling my breasts up out of the bra. They haven’t escaped, but I do get a bit of quad boob. But I can’t help but thinking that Beverly – the designer of PUG bras – wasn’t expecting people to be hanging out upside down in these bras 😂 To fix that, I’ll make the neckline higher on my next version.

This bra has excellent boob separation for a wireless bra, which I appreciate not having a uni-boob look.

While this bra passes the bounce test, after a few jumping jacks, my boobs do try to sneak together. On my toile, I had fixed this by taking in the center seam by about 1/4″ on each side, for a total reduction of 1/2″. I was nervous to do the same on my yellow bra, though, since I hadn’t applied elastics on the toile, and I was expecting the elastics to make things a bit more snug. They did a little bit, but not enough to make up for this alteration. So, on the next one, I’ll also take in my center front. Frankly, I may even go back and do that on this bra.

Overall, I’m quite chuffed with the Ingrid. I find it to be very nice as a sports bra, though I probably wouldn’t wear this as an everyday bra – it’s a bit too much bra for me for daily wear, personally.

If you’re in the US, you can get the Ingrid from Gigi’s Bra Supply. For my European friends, B’Wear carries it. And for everyone else, Bra Maker’s Supply has international shipping!

Busty Pattern Review | Designer Stitch Kate Vintage Crop Top

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I’ve long loved Designer Stitch, and it had been far too long (years!) since I’d made one of their patterns. Honestly? There’s so much to love. From their fairly inclusive size range to their built-in cup options, Designer Stitch really caters a wide range of sewists.

Today, I want to talk about the Kate Vintage Tea Dress, or – in my case – the Kate Vintage Tea Crop Top. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve owned this pattern since 2018, but only recently got around to sewing it up.

Fun fact: I was scared of taping my patterns until recently, so many of my PDF patterns would collect virtual dust as they sat in my email inbox.

The Kate is designed to be a vintage-inspired dress with a box pleated or flared skirt, but the pattern also includes instructions to make the bodice into a boxy or fitted crop top. Also included are skirt-only instructions.

If you’re itching for a versatile pattern, this is it.

Line drawings of the Kate Vintage Tea Dress pattern, including a 3/4 circle dress with knee or tea lengths, a box gathered dress with knee or tea lengths, a crop top, and circle and box gathered skirts with

When I was looking for a low-yardage pattern to use my Ruth Bader Ginsburg glasses cotton from Joann Fabrics, I immediately thought of this pattern that I’d been hoarding for so long.

This pattern features B-DD cup options at every size, waists 23.5-43.5″.

Since it had been a while since I had made a designer stitch pattern, I made this based on my measurements.

The size chart put me between a size 2 and 3 based on my upper bust measure. Now, most designers will tell you that, when your measurement is between sizes, to choose the smaller size. But, in my experience, I tend to have a better experience if I choose the bigger size when my upper bust is involved. So I chose a size 3.

I also chose a DD cup, the suggested size for my 4.5″ difference between my upper and full bust.

A person leans against a tree while wearing a pink crop top, and denim shorts.

For the crop top, the pattern instructions give the option of making a boxy crop top by omitting the waist darts, or a more fitted crop by including the waist darts, I chose to include them. That said, my waist falls into Designer Stitch’s size 4, so I needed to grade in order to keep the darts. Instead of grading at the side seam, I chose to make the darts a bit smaller.

Gosh, I love how this top feels! It makes me feel cheeky and ready for summer!

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the fit, though it’s not perfect. As the pictures show, the top is a bit snug in the bust and upper bust, and I have some extra fabric in the back. For next time, I plan to make a size 4D or 4DD to give that extra room I need. I may also need to take a swayback adjustment, though that is not an adjustment I usually need in my garments.

The pattern instructions very clearly lead the sewist through the steps. In fact, while Designer Stitch rates the Kate a 3/5 on difficulty (and that may be accurate for the full dress), I’d say this crop top is perfect for a beginner. Not as a first project, perhaps, but for a third or fourth.