Welcome to my monthly 'Free Pattern Friday' feature, where I road test a free sewing pattern or tutorial: sometimes a children's one, sometimes an adult's one. I try to publish these posts every first Friday of the month, timed to provide inspiration for those who plan to get their sew on over the weekend. I firmly believe that, if you pick your projects carefully, sewing doesn't have to be a crazy-expensive way to clothe yourself and your family. Thanks to all the amazing pattern designers who have offered up their hard work for us to enjoy for free.
Those who follow me on Instagram will know that I'm on a real undies making kick these days. I'm fully obsessed! So after the Noelle undies pattern that I road tested and reviewed a couple of months ago, I was nosing around for more free undies patterns to try. I've been wanting to try making bras and bralettes and found this free pattern by Ohhh Lulu, which looked like a good option for building up my skills and getting my head round some of the processes. I love the look of a lot of the Ohhh Lulu patterns, so I appreciated the opportunity to try one out for free before I parted with money (spoiler: I've since parted with a fair chunk of money on this website!). Thanks to this designer, and all the other designers, who share some of their hard work with the sewing community for free.
Pattern Type:
The Hyacinth Bralette is a light-weight, low-support bralette with a scooped neckline. It's a pull-on style, so no fastening to faff with. It will give you the opportunity to try using and applying undies elastics, stretch lace (if you have some, I didn't) and constructing straps.
A step-by-step YouTube video is available to help if you want additional assistance.
Sizing info:
For the rainbow version pictured in this post, I simply went by my measurements, which put me in the 1X Small sizing. It felt ok but like I could do with some more coverage, so I followed the tutorial to make the front piece fuller. I've laid the original pattern piece over my altered pattern piece in the image below:
This pattern is billed as a scrap-buster, which you know I'm all about. However, it really isn't going to bust much in the way of scraps haha! It's recommended that you use jersey fabrics, such as jersey, interlock and spandex knits. If you're looking for any kind of vague support, I think you really need to make sure your fabric has some elastane/lycra/spandex content that offers good recovery and some support. It's also important to remember that different fabrics will differ in stretchiness, so that will also effect sizing.
The rainbow version is made with some cotton/lycra jersey leftover from a couple of projects I made for my big kid. The blue version is made using stretch crushed velvet that I harvested from a thrifted dress. I also lined the velvet version with a small amount of power mesh to give it a bit more body.
I love how you could really get invented with your fabric choice/combos, trims and embellishments.
Findings:
This was SUCH a fun project. Once I'd started cutting out the pieces, there was no way I was going to bed until I had made it and could see how it turned out. The pattern and instructions were great, the latter with large colour photos showing the steps clearly. Personally, I prefer written/illustrated instructions over videos, but I really appreciate that the designer took the time to create that to support this free pattern.
I feel that getting the length of the under bust elastic is key to the success of this bralette. There's no catch fastening to help you loosen or tighten the bralette. If you cut the under bust elastic too tight, it'll feel super uncomfortable. Too loose and it'll offer zero support at all. In the end, I think I found the length that feels perfect for me (bearing in mind that different elastics might offer different amounts of stretch and support also).
The one thing I would change, and in fact did for my second version, is how the under bust elastic is applied. The elastic is applied in two stages, and you're asked to sew up the second side seam in between those two stages. But that prevents the elastic from lying very flat. Instead, for my second attempt, I applied the elastic fully with just the one side seam stitched up, THEN stitched the second side seam, which resulted in a much cleaner finish.
I also must admit that for the rainbow version I cheated a bit and used bra straps that I harvested from an old RTW bra. For the blue velvet version, I made straps as per the instructions and it's actually really easy and satisfying.
Regarding the fit, I must agree with the description in that this is a low-support bralette. It feels ok, but for my preferences it doesn't offer enough support to be worn all day. If you wanted something comfy to wear whilst hanging around in the house though, this might be the pattern for you. I wanted to try the blue velvet version to see if using a different fabric and adding a power mesh made much difference, but it hasn't made quite enough for all-day wear. I'm going to give the rainbow version to my big kid who will probably fit it very soon, the rate at which they're growing.
Would I make this again?
I had A LOT of fun with this pattern, and I learnt quite a bit also. It's given me the confidence to move on to slightly more involved bra/bralette patterns, and I've since made the
Ohhh Lulu Jasmin bra pattern with success, and have the
Bambi bra pattern waiting in the wings.
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