Last week I debuted a new column on the blog, Your Submissions, featuring a colourful bra set by a contour design student. This week I was contacted by Manoela, the lovely blogger behind Under the Unders, who recently did a short course at De Monfort University (the same university where last week’s contributor is studying) and made her first ever bra!
How did you find making your first bra?
Everybody told me that bras were one of the hardest pieces to make, but I carried on anyway. I found it really hard, even harder than I expected (not on the pattern part but on the sewing part, because of the stretchy fabrics and elastic bands), but the results, even if they were not perfect, pleased me very much.
What made you decide to sign up to the DMU course, and would you recommend it to others?
A couple of years ago, when deciding to give up being a model (as a tall and skinny girl, I thought that it would be the answer but it wasn’t), I started to read about and study fashion, but lingerie was always one of my passions. Besides writing about it, I decided to invest in lingerie making/designing as a career, searching for nice courses that would help me along with my fashion design college in Brazil.
DMU has one of the best contour courses, and I decided it would be a good thing to come over for the summer to start learning a little. I loved the course and would recommend to anyone interested in being part of the lingerie industry.
What would you like to try making next?
I plan to make a few soft bras and develop some patterns for briefs this year, as well as drawing, to train my skills.
Any tips/advice you’ve learnt that you can share with other newbie lingere makers?
First, don’t be afraid to make mistakes – they are the key to learning the right way. Try to figure out how your lingerie pieces are made, searching for seams, boning, wires, measurements… And last, but not least, don’t get mad at elastics! They are tricky but necessary, so keep a good relationship with these stretchy little devils!
Remember, if you’ve had a go at making lingerie (even if it’s not to a professional standard!) you can send it in to info@estylingerie.com and it may be featured on the blog.
What do you think of Manoela’s bra?
