Our Lace Bra Kits take the guesswork out of bra building by putting together everything you'll need to make a beautiful bra using your own pattern. If you need a pattern, we have a great selection on our Patterns Page, both paper and downloadable.
This Summertime bra kit features our stretch mesh lace, Summertime. Having a stretch lace with an embroidered motif is something special, and we're delighted to be able to share this with you! Our Featured Artist Liz made up this Willowdale with our Summertime kit, and chose Fern as her accent color. She placed the lace on the upper cup as normal, but then she matched the pattern along the seam and overlaid the lace over the lower portion of the bra cup and gathered it along the bottom, a perfect option if you've got a gorgeous lace you want to showcase. You can also dart the lace along the bottom edge and achieve the same uninterrupted pattern without the gathers. I like the gathers with this feminine lace. Summertime coordinates with Ariel, Glacier, Fern, Rosy Glow and Limeade. We're providing a generous amount of lace so that you can make up your bra with beautiful strategic lace placements. I think it would be lovely along the power bar, with the lace edge facing toward the center of the cup. You can also make a darling pair of matching undies! Liz made the It's not Me, It's You undies from The Lingerie Formula.
This bra kit features your choice of Microduoplex, Super Simplex, Tricot, Sheer Cup Lining or Microlycra as the base fabric. One kit contains everything that you need to make a bra and has enough fabric for 2 with many sizes if you pick up an extra bra finishing kit. To get the second bra with larger sizes, upgrade to the half yard of cup fabric and add a bra finishing kit.
A Summertime Lace Kit contains:
|
Color |
Quantity |
Cup Fabric-
|
Antique Rose |
Fat Quarter |
Power Net- Regular, Firm or Stabilized Firm |
Antique Rose |
28" x 14" |
Stretch Lace |
Summertime - 15.5" wide |
1 1/2 yards |
Upper Band Elastic- 3/8" Picot |
Choice |
1 1/2 yards |
Lower Band Elastic- 1/2" or 5/8" Picot |
Choice |
1 1/4 yards |
Strap Elastic- 1/2" or 3/4" |
Choice |
1 1/2 yards with rings and sliders -or- 6" plus interfacing for self strap |
Hook and Eye- 2, 3 or 4 hook |
Matches band |
1 |
Plush Channeling |
Matches band |
1 yard |
Twill Tape (if requested) |
Matches band |
18" |
Underwires |
|
1 pair |
Add-on a Matching Panty Kit |
Smaller |
Larger |
Matching Fabric (Microlycra, Microlycra Air, Stretch Mesh) |
Fat 3/8 yard |
3/4 yard |
Foldover Elastic |
2 1/2 yards |
5 yards |
Summertime Stretch Mesh Lace |
choice |
choice |
Cotton Jersey |
9" x 9" |
9" x 9" |
Your panty will match your lace unless you specify otherwise. As always, feel free to choose your favorite elastics or narrow lace (please leave us a note if you don't see your choice!). You can also add a 9" square of absorbent fabric for your panty panel! You can find our collection of Waist Lace and Elastics here, and our collection of Leg Lace here.
Sewing Notes:
The strength of our microduoplex fabric, which makes it so wonderful for bras, also makes it hard to puncture with needles and pins. This is true with most duoplex fabrics. Use either fine silk pins or Wonder Clips to pin (I find Wonder Clips work best), and a Microtex 80/12 needle with a smooth thread like Superior Threads So Fine or Mettler Metrosene to make it easy to sew. In my testing, the So Fine thread and Microtex 80/12 won the challenge of the nicest stitch on microduoplex, and as long as my presser foot completely covered the seam allowance, I found it just as easy to sew as quilting cotton. I moved the needle to the right to set my seam allowance at 1/4" since my presser foot is a bit wide. I find it works well to saturate the lace with liquid starch and let it dry before laying out your pattern pieces and cutting your fabric. This stiffens the lace until you wash it and the lace has enough body to behave well in the sewing process.
We offer all these pins, clips, needles and thread here on our site.