 Hi, you guys! I'm afraid I'm doing something I've never done before in my sewing room, which honestly, I haven't tried something new in sewing in so long, but I have decided that 2024 is gonna be my year to make a bra and maybe more than just bras. I don't know. I heard about the International Bra B Conference and really felt like if there was ever a time for me to explore making lingerie and undergarments, it was gonna be along with this conference. They, in addition to the main conference, are doing something called the beginner experience, and that's for those of us who have literally never sewn a bra or anything ever before. That's me. I've never even done underwear. I've never done swimwear. I've never done any of that kind of stuff. So all of it was very overwhelming. All the parts and pieces and the different terminology, it kind of felt like I was learning to sew kind of all over again. So I decided to take part in the beginner experience and I'm gonna take you guys along with me as I make the bralette that is part of the beginner experience, the Ruby's bras Sahara bralette. And I also got one of their kits. The kits were sold through bra builders. And so I got some lace and like a whole bunch of other things. I don't really know what a lot of it is. I mean, obviously I can tell that this is like elastic and I can tell that there's power net and I can tell that there's like, you know, I know the parts. I just don't know how they all come together. So without further ado, I'm gonna start on the Sahara bra from Ruby's bra, Ruby's bras. And as part of the pattern, I got the, they call it a manual, which I think is so cute, not instruction booklet, but a manual. And we should call it a wool manual anyways. Okay, so as part of this, they have size chart, which I need to go to first. Finding your size, you're gonna do your full bust and then your rib cage. Okay, I can do this. 40, I need to write this down. Okay, so 40 full bust, 36 rib cage. So to determine your cup size, the difference in those is four inches. And so that's gonna put me at a C cup. So your rib cage is the number and the cup size is the letter. So I'm at 36 C, boom. Okay, then they go on about materials. Like I said, I got a kit from bra builders that includes this pretty lace, two types of mesh, one is power net and the other one is not stretchy at all. And then it also had this kind of elastic. It had foldover elastic. It has Pico elastic, which I learned is the little scalloped one. And then these look like two different straps. And then there's this strip of other net. Don't know what that is. There's this piece of satin, no idea why I need that. And then there's the bars and rings for the straps and then the closure for the back. So materials, material, okay. So I have all my materials for the Vuc lace Sahara. So that's gonna be making. And then something else I thought was super interesting. And I don't know if this is exclusive to this pattern or not, but they give the stitch length and stitch width of every single stitch for every single step. So if you have to do a straight stitch, here's the stitch length, here's the stitch width. If you have to do a zigzag, here's the length, here's the width. If you are attaching Pico elastic and they recommend a three-step zigzag, which that's something on me, so I'm wishing I've never even used before. Stitch length, stitch width, all outlined. So you know exactly what to set your machine at to achieve the type of stitch that you're looking for. So there's a whole page on that, love that. And then cutting layout. Okay, so I do think that you have to double check the direction of stretch of each lining and outer fabric to make sure that things are going the right way. So this is tool. This is tool and it literally says, selvedge edge, length-wide screen, and then cross-wide screen. So I'm familiar with that from sewing clothes. That shouldn't be that big of a deal, but I'm gonna guess that's the cut edge. That's confusing. I got it. Okay, so we are gonna be, this is the selvedge edge, the long one. And so all of the arrows on the pattern are gonna be parallel to this. So I've got that ready to cut out. The lace itself, this is something that I don't know, maybe I'm the only one in the world that cares about this, but you're gonna cut the inner cup, right? Like this, well, however it goes like this, along the lace, like the scalloped edge, right? It tells you right there, scalloped edge. And so you can place that however you want to get like the prettiest, like where I want this big flower, do I want it kind of in the middle? Do I want it at the top or bottom? So you're able to kind of adjust that where the lace ends on your own, which again, that might be the only, I might be the only one that cares about that, I'm not sure. This is for the strap. So there is this kind of strap that attaches to the elastic strap. Okay, let me get all these pattern pieces cut out. Okay. Cut one scallop lace, cut one lining. Okay, and this one is the power net. Okay, done with that. Am I done cutting? Oh, thank God. Okay, okay, done cutting. So I'm moving on to the next thing, which is talking about the hook and bar closure thing. It says, before cutting your back bands, whoops, make sure to adjust your pattern piece according to the height of your hook and eye. It should be, is this the center back? Yeah, so this is the center back. So that means that this should fit here. Thank God it does. Okay, so they plan that for me, thank goodness. All right, now are we sewing? Oh my God, we're sewing, we're sewing, we're sewing. Okay, so here we go. Okay, step one's already, already throwing me for a loop. So we've got piece two of tool, piece three of tool, piece three of lace, right side up though, piece three of lace, piece two of lace, right side down. Oh boy, I got it, okay. But this is it, okay, I did it. And we sew along this, kind of like a princess seam. And then this one goes this way, and then the backside comes out. Okay, that's it, I did it, I figured it out, oh my God. Okay, I'm definitely doing it and it's definitely feeling like I don't know, I don't know how to sew is what it's reminding me of. I don't know how to sew, but I do know how to sew. So I'm actually getting to the sewing part. So hopefully all of this like unsuredness will go away. Oh, it's just really finicky. But yeah, I'm definitely doing it and it's feeling weird but we're getting there. New materials and just a lot of newness, oh God. But we're doing it. You guys, I'm doing it. That looks like a bra, right? Okay, so she's not perfect, I don't think. It'll be easier to see when I get it on I guess, but you can see down here there's like some puckering or like it's like, I don't know, like too loose right here. So I might pick this out and see if I can adjust that because I think I know where I went wrong, but look at this. This was so interesting to me. This is what they use to kind of hide or conceal the raw edges, pretty. Yeah, they said twill tape or you can use a stabilizer. So I opted for the prettier version, the stabilizer version. I'm just following the sew along and the instruction manual exactly, but that's what that's gonna be. And then this will be this and it's gonna get some of this trim sewn under it like so. So that'll be that. I don't know if it's better to get white or if we're doing the black because also the power mesh is gonna be overlaid on top of this, right? And so we have this number and that's gonna be the back. So that's what the back is gonna look like. Construction wise, I think I'm doing it. So I feel very, very comfortable at the sewing machine, just not so much with the pinning and like understanding the instructions, but the sew along is helping a lot. The instruction booklet is helping a lot. So yeah, I mean, I'm definitely doing it, right? Okay, this is pretty vulnerable because I'm pretty much naked, but it's the moment of truth we're trying on. Oh gosh, okay, I did get the clips right. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Apparently I forgot how to hook a bra. It's been a minute. I've only worn like, you know, those bralets that are like pull over your head, like teenagers wear, like preteens wear. I've only worn those for the last few years if I'm wearing a bra at all. Now I'll say the strap, the frame feels really good and snug. Whoa, okay, hold on, hold on, okay, okay. I'm scared. I think that, oh, that's way too tight. Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold on. Oh, I have it about as loose as it'll go. Dang. Maybe I'm just not used to it. Hold on. That one's about as loose as it goes too. Okay, we can make them like an inch longer. Okay, let's see if that helps. The band feels, the frame, whatever it's called, the band feels so good. Oh yeah, that's better. Oh, okay, okay, okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. Oh my gosh, okay. It's see-through, so I don't wanna show you guys or YouTube anything else, but, okay, wow, I am obsessed. Does it look good in the back? I can't see, it feels, it feels really, really good. Like this lower band is not going anywhere. I'm used to them like rolling up. That's not gonna happen here. Oh my God. Okay, I'm really happy. I'm really happy. This is exciting. It really, truly you guys was not that bad. I don't know if I could have done it without the videos from the Brabby, honestly. That gave me like a lot of confidence, like, okay, that doesn't seem that hard. And then getting through it, those videos were super helpful. So I'm not sure that I could have done it without the Brabby, but now that I have all that knowledge and can make, I mean, one of these in every single scrap of fabric that I possibly have from my knits. Yeah, I feel like the possibilities are endless. I don't know why I would ever buy another one. It feels really, really good. I'm gonna wear it for a whole day and get the feel for it. The straps might be a little bit, I don't know, I can't tell, they're not supposed to be carrying that much weight. But anyways, yeah, I feel super confident and super like, okay, I can actually do this. I'm gonna make one in every color. You know what else I'm gonna do that I thought about? Making this upper part and then instead of doing the frame, put a skirt on it, you know, or do the frame and then do like an empire waist skirt where the elastic is instead. Right, why couldn't I do that? There's no reason I couldn't do that. And then I can even like in the back, keep the hook and eye and then do like a scoop back cutout type of thing or not, or just attach the skirt here and put a zipper up the center back instead of the hook and eye. Listen, this is gonna unlock so many cute ideas for me in my garment sewing too. Obviously I'm gonna be making lots of undergarments matching underwear, the whole nine, but also like rethinking the patterns that I have and how I can mash up patterns differently and how I can make kind of like that corset look that everybody's wanting to wear but make it for me without even needing like a corset pattern, just use this one. Listen, you guys, honestly, I was just as afraid as anybody else. So if I can do it with the help of the bra be, you can too. Sign up now, it starts on Saturday, the 30th. There are already videos up there for you guys to watch. There's lots of questions that have already gotten answers to them. So you can go ahead and get started right now and be prepared for the first like kickoff session Saturday and then it alternates Saturdays and Wednesdays with live streams, check-ins, and then every weekend for the next eight weeks you'll be learning one new aspect of bra making. So it's a really slow process. They're not speeding you through. You'll have the whole week to take in materials. You'll have the whole week to take in fitting. You'll have the whole week to take in, actually two weeks to do the sew along, I think. So it's a really slow process and check-ins midweek as you go on as well. So you will not be left hanging. You will be able to get all your answers, questions answered and be able to make a bra you love genuinely. Check the description box for a link to sign up for the bra be. It's a great experience and worth every penny of what they're offering it for. Truthfully, I truly mean that. So yeah, go join, I'll be there, but just to participate maybe I have some questions that will come up as I'm redoing the second one too. So I'll be there, I'll see you there. Okay, I'm gonna go look in the mirror now and just check myself out. All right, bye.