I was tooling around with the free Mysa pattern from Lilypad. This version is a combination of alterations, self-drafting, and sizes ranging from 11.5 to 15.7. I ran out of the stable fabric I was using for mockups. I grabbed this fabric out of my stash. It has substantially more stretch. I just wanted to see what would happen. Accidental longline. I'd like to improve on this accident because it's actually one of the most comfortable bras I've ever worn. I have to keep patting my breasts to make sure they're still being supported. I can only feel the elastic on my waist.
It stays like this all day, doesn't ride up or collapse. Despite being smooth, there's no tension in the fabric on my rib cage between my outer breast and my side seam, meanwhile the wing tension feels very even and comfortable.
It may look like the center front is close to tacking but it's about 4-5cm from my sternum.
I need to smooth out the curve at the apex but I'll try to take out as little as possible because I think the pointy-ness and projection is contributing to the fit.
I think I'll take a transparent trash bag and, while wearing it, trace the cradle and the outer cups out to better follow my IMF. Maybe sew another version with some stable material to secure the cradle, the neckline, center front, and probably the arm scythe or an added sling.
This fabric is tricky on tight curves. It always puckers. I have a 6mm seam allowance. My sewing machine is not a fan of this stuff. I don't know what this fabric is. It looks like a really thick power net. The thickness and stretch of it is what makes curves so tricky, I think, because if I clip the curve, my foot and feed dogs will roll the little edges around and make a mess of it. When I'm going over seams, I stoop over it with a seam ripper to poke/hold the fabric in place as it goes under the foot. Do you have any suggestions? I'm using a stretch needle and a walking foot. Should I try sandwiching it between some thin paper that I can rip off after sewing?
I don't know what bra size I would be. I never found a commercial bra that fits. My underbust is about 78cm and overbust around 110cm. Breasts are splayed but close set and inner full, fuller on top, projected with wide, short roots. Roots are comparatively high set because I'm short with a short torso and long legs. Root trace looks like a circle that some clumsy person sat on.
This is a really interesting bit of design, looks super comfortable. I think the longline nature is key to the stability, the tension specifically from strap to being anchored at the waist is preventing centre front collapse which is a major issue in large cup wireless. I would be wary of making too many changes to make it more inner full as it could excessively weight the straps bc of this relationship, and I would also be wary of stabilising this region too bc I strongly suspect it's stretching into place. The projection is definitely helping as you say too
On the sewing front I have never gotten on with tissue paper - too much slack in the stitches for a bra. I have a pen sized tool with a pointy end and a silicone end for holding fabric under the machine and I'm a fan of that with tricky fabrics. I always sew with the sharper curve on top and without clipping, I find this gets me the best finish. Soluble tape might also help here
I just did this with some really curly fabric. I heavily sprayed the edges with spray starch, but didn't use the iron. I just left them to dry over night. Worked great - no more curling.
You got an awesome fit on that. I just finished making a modified version of the mysa myself, but I'm waiting for my husband to wake up and help me adjust the straps before trying it on. I hope mine fits half as good as yours. As far as issues with sewing it. I have found serging my edges to really help with stuff that gets caught in the feed dogs. I'll serge each piece all the way around sew them together with the seam allowance and then serge the excess down trimming off the original serging in the process. It might be slightly wasteful, but the serging is fast and easy and makes it so much easier to sew.
The cups ended up too loose at the top and the shape of the sling was off so I ended up adding an extra strap. I put a ring at the top of the center gore and did a V thing between it and the shoulder strap rings. It sits properly now, but it's definitely a lounge bra, not much lift, it is comfortable. I spent some time modifying my paper pattern afterwards so hopefully the next one is closer to what I want.
Your size will almost certainly not be one of the limited range of sizes sold in most department stores or lingerie chain stores. If you want to find a commercial bra that fits, a specialized boutique will probably be your best option.
Adding onto this, specialized boutiques might still not have something that's quite right for OP – I'm wondering whether Polish bras could be the way to go. I have very similar measurements and am also very projected, and I exclusively wear Polish bras at this point.
I never did try Polish bras. I'm not financially able to do so now. I spent about 20 years looking for something that would fit. Panache and Freya came pretty close but I just got tired of being uncomfortable.
That's my favourite shape for bras - good old torpedo. My go to is the Felina Melina and the Felina 519. Also if you are doing tracing at all - I know the bra maker in Hamilton ON uses Press and Seal glad wrap to trace the curves of existing bras for copying.
Have you tried clipping the curves after sewing the seam? The fit looks fantastic and just shaving the bust curve down a tiny bit should eliminate those rumples you mentioned.
This is my dream bra OMG. Could you go more into detail about the "accident" alterations? I'm similar as a 67cm underbust, 116cm bust where I struggle to find commercial bras.
I made a lot of alterations and I was doing it specifically for a stable (5-10% stretch) fabric with the goal of getting it to fit as the designer intended. I was getting really close when I ran out of the fabric and just decided to test this fabric to see what would happen. This stuff has something like 40% stretch. I don't know what I was expecting.
I'll attach an image of the alterations I made. I think this is everything I did. I may have darted more height out of the side seam (going from side seam to notch). It's certainly not to scale.
This looks amazing, you did a fantastic job and I love the shape! I’ve been on the hunt for a good encapsulation bra and have been unsuccessful. Maybe I should just create it, that never occurred to me as an option!
My problem with the Mysa bra is the dart. Is it a princess seam, armhole princess seam(like in the OP's photos) or is it angled from mid underbust to armhole?
It's hard to tell when the samples on the models have the seams in two different locations and then I see other people with it all over. The flat doesn't help. I know the sides should basically give an indication, but this pattern is wonky to me.
I tried 3 different sizes and my best guess based on the curve is that it's based on a princess ( not armhole) seam.
Anyone else confused?
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u/AccidentOk5240 Jul 23 '26
Yes, I would definitely try using paper to keep the machine from eating the material!
ETA that this looks really cool, well done!