Merckwaerdigh Wings number 2, moving straps and rounder cups

So, let's give the Wings another try!

 By now I'm kind of fed up making (mostly) pretty bras only to figure out after they're finished that they don't fit properly!😒 It's time to start making test bras. No foam, no fancy lace or fabrics, just junk and parts from the bra graveyard!

Since the previous Wings was too small and also needed a few adjustments, I'm obviously starting with that. Again with sister sizing, I am making the biggest cup size of the pattern. For me that's a 75F.

I started by addressing the pointiness of the cups. Some prefer a more 'natural' look and wouldn't mind the look of the cups as they are but I like my cups round or at least more rounded.
For the cup adjustments I used the foam cup pattern pieces I've made since they have no seam allowances added where I have to make the changes. I taped the 2 bottom cup pieces and top together at the seam lines and removed 1mm from the bottom and 3mm from the top curve.
Starting small was the idea here, I don't want to make my cup totally flat but a bit more rounded.

Here's what I removed from the bottom edge of the top cup

The next adjustment I made was to move the front strap position inwards. I taped the side and top cups together at the seam line and redrew the strap line inwards. I improvised a bit with the curves trying to make them as smooth and close to the original as possible.

Moving the straps towards the center (the red line is the new cups seam lines)

I also removed 6mm from the top of the bridge making it a little bit shorter and adjusted the top cup to fit the new bridge height. I did that by removing 6mm as well from the whole length of the top cup.
The cradle width and back band width were also adjusted a bit by removing 1cm from the top edge.

Now for the back strap position, even though I find the look beautiful, I don't really need a more open back bra so I decided to just move the wings to a more standard position. I measured on myself what I would find a comfortable position for my back straps, placed a point on my paper at the same height as the original wings and redrew the back wings almost at center back. I moved the wings 5cm from the original position towards center back. To do that, I first connected the back band and back wing and then sliced bellow the point were the wing started parallel to the DoGS line and then moved the top piece by my preferred amount and redrew the lines.

Again the red line is the new back wing placement

I ended up with a different look for the back but that didn't bother me since I bought the pattern because I really liked the look of the front.

(Ok, the closure wasn't a great choice and the stitching job there ain't great...)

I grabbed some random fabric with no stretch and some leftover lace and started cutting my test bra! I didn't bother much with the construction, used single layer fabric for the cups and temporarily attached the straps and back closure. I can later remove them and reuse them for another bra. I won't even bothering showing it to you, there's not much to see 😜!

And it's great!😃 The straps aren't unbearable anymore and the shape is much more to my liking! It's definitely looking totally different than the Mayas I made before but I'm liking it! Of coarse this is only a test bra with unsuitable cup fabric but, for what it is, it's great!

Since I'm happy with the adjustments I've made ( I know right?!😊), it's time to make a proper bra with the pattern!

I scored not that long ago a few lace fabrics from Budgetstoffen in Hardewijk and also 3 pieces of galloon lace and decided to use some of them for this bra. This lace with little flowers...💜 So cute! I matched it up with the narrow galloon lace I got from there as well. I used 5mm foam and lined the whole cradle with bra tulle. I also lined the back band with some sort of powernet.
I love the way it turned out!😊
I also decided to make a pair of matching undies!

The fit: the cradle and bridge fit great! The cups fit good as well but on the next one, I'd add a little bit more coverage to the top (I did remove 6mm all the way because I lowered the bridge, I gotta do something different there next time!). There's no wiggling around and little to no movement when I lift my arms! That's because the band is a little bit loose but that's not a big problem.

For my next Wings, I would move the straps even further towards the center since the straps have the tendency of sliding off my shoulders at times and address the cup height issue. I would also make the band a bit smaller.

Great pattern that fits my shape so well!💜 I can't wait to try more patterns from Merckwaerdigh!

But first I gotta make the Maya work for me!😬😅

Merckwaerdigh Wings, trying a different pattern

After a few failed attempts trying to make a well fitting bra with the Maya, I decided to give another pattern a try. Maybe the Maya is just not meant for me or maybe I just can't figure out at the moment how to make it fit me.

More research was needed!
I came across this blog post from Venusian Glow (Warning: naked boobies!). And then it all started making sense to me! I've been thinking that I can't possibly be more than a D cup with my small breasts, I'm just doing something wrong with my construction or something, the D should fit! This post proved to me that you don't have to have large breasts to be a bigger cup size. Tissue distribution also plays a big role on determining the cup size. It doesn't matter what letter or size fits as long as it fits!

Another factor that plays a big role for a good fitting bra is the breast roots. This post from Bratabase describes all kinds of different breast roots and issues you might have with ill-fitting bras. And this post is me: Shallow breasts with wide roots.

Around this point I came across Novita's post from Verypurpleperson in the Bra making forum where she shared this comparison chart/picture:

What an eye opener this was! Not every bra is the same, why would every bra pattern be the same? As you can see above, the frame from the Maya is quite narrow in comparison with the Malborough and the Wings van Merckwaerdigh (she mentioned in the comments that she had used the Wings pattern for this comparison).

This got me looking at the Merckwaerdigh patterns and I found the Winds very pretty. The price was also very tempting! So I bought it!






As a starting point I made the same size as the Maya, 75E, maybe the wider wireline would solve all my problems. The instructions are different than what I've followed before, sometimes I had to read a few parts twice to get it but I found it clear enough at the end. I didn't follow all the suggestions and instructions. But that's a matter of preference I believe.
The sizes didn't exactly include my size but with some sister sizing, it all went well!

I again used somewhat inexpensive materials, striped dark gray-blue lycra allover, no lace this time! This was a test version and I didn't feel like putting too much effort into it! I used fold over elastic for the top of the cups, I thought I'd give it a try and see how I like it. It gives the finished bra a more every day look which I don't mind.

I changed nothing to the pattern since this was the first time making it. I'm not a fan of soft cups (or at this point I wasn't!😏) so I used 3mm foam for this one! The only thing did was to connect the bridge with the cradle and cut it as one piece. I did the same for the back, I connected the wings to the ehh... wings! No reason at putting in much effort on a test bra I thought, the less pieces the faster it's done!

This bra definitely has a different shape than the Maya. I really like the seam lines and how the back looks, imagining it with lace, it'd be beautiful! That said, I do find it too pointy for my liking. But apparently that is relatively easy to fix! (More about that on my next post!😉)

The wireline fits me much better, it sits almost perfectly on the sides. The straps I can't stand though... Mostly on the back, they actually hurt 😞. They're too far on the sides both on the front and the back. I do have to add here that my breasts sit quite high (problems, problems right?😜) so that might also be the reason why the strap position is so uncomfortable for me.Theoretically also not a major problem, that can also be altered, this is a test bra after all, although I had hoped it would be wearable. I guess that's usually the case trying a bra pattern for the first time and that's why it's suggested making a test bra first.

The bridge isn't laying flat on my chest and the cups are somewhat overflowing. If I press the bridge down flat, the quad-boob appears!
This is clearly at least a size too small for me.

 I'm overall pleased with this pattern. Although the size wasn't the right size, I now have a very good idea of how it looks and fits and what I have to alter on the next one to make it better fit me.

So next I'm going to be making the same pattern a cup size up!😬

The Maya bra number 4: Time for adjustments

I'm officially addicted to bra making...!

Since my last Maya fits for the most of it, it's time to start making some more adjustments to get (hopefully) towards the perfect fit!

I've been doing a lot of research (browsing the interwebs endlessly) trying to learn as much as possible about bra making, all the different parts of a bra and their purpose.
I found quite some information about underwires and how they should fit and be fitted in a bra. Around this point I found the ''Bra making forum", a Facebook group which, if you're into bra making you are already a member of!😉 Lovely ladies willing to help anyone with questions about bra making!

I found this blog post from Arte Crafts talking about wire spring (I had never heard of that before) so I figured, I'll grab my half decently fitting wires and lay them on my cradle pattern piece to see how those 2 went together.

Hmm...😕 That definitely doesn't look right...
Not having the slightest clue how to fix this, I asked the ladies on the Bra Making Forum for help.
Surprisingly I got help from Ana Filimon, the designer of the Maya! She said that, while keeping the notch intact and still connected, cut horizontally just bellow it and rotate the outer part of the cradle until it reaches exactly where the underwire is. So that's what I did but because my cradle was now somewhat distorted, I reprinted the original cradle and drew the new underwire line on it while keeping the rest as it should be.
She was also kind enough to show me:

Since this bra was going to be sort of a test bra, I decided to keep it relatively simple and inexpensive. Well, as much as possible anyway, some lycra and lace from the old stash and all the necessary notions of course.

I've kept the bridge lowered and made it a bit narrower than on the previous bra.
I doubled the lycra for the wings (yes, I've learned my lesson about stability in the band😜) and played around a bit with the lace.
For this one I chose a thinner foam since the thicker one is now my favorite!  This was still kind of a test version. Although I didn't want to ''waste'' the thicker foam, I still wanted the cups to be thicker than 1,6mm. I grabbed some leftover neoprene I had from some other project and doubled the foam with it.

For the rest, I repeated the steps of the other 2 bras.
Would this Maya finally fit me perfectly!?


Unfortunately not... 😭
I thought I had figured out my problem and it'd be better but no... I'm sure Ana's suggestion would have worked well for someone who actually has their size figured out but I guess that still not the case for me...
This alteration changed nothing to the fit, my bra is still sitting awkwardly around me and it's not the length of the band... The top of the bridge is also not totally flat...
As I'm trying to figure out what the problem is,  I'm readjusting the band, scoop and swoop etc and I'm realizing that for a couple of seconds it fits better till I move...

💡The cup size is too small!!
Pressing the bridge down flat on the chest creates overspill (a sign that the cup is too small, as I've read somewhere, can't remember where though...), placing the cups where they should be but they're not staying put, both things mean that the cup is too small!
How didn't I notice it earlier?? Oh yea, probably because I never wore a properly fitting bra...😖

At this point I have to keep repeating to myself that I didn't waste time and materials making these 4 bras but I've been learning and it takes time...😏

I think its time to give Maya a rest for a little bit and maybe try another pattern, maybe the Maya doesn't fit my shape? I'll come back to it for sure, no matter how many tries and adjustments I'm gonna have to make, I just love how this bra looks!

Oh yea, I also made a matching string! 😁

(P.S. I did buy the Wings pattern from Merckwaerdigh but I'll talk about it in my next post 😉)