An illustration of the alterations on the patterns used to create this set.
Pattern: AFI Exquisite Bra
Fabrics: Black latex, black sheer lining, black power net, power mesh.
Findings: 18mm black strap elastic, 18mm black rings and Sliders, 4×2 black hooks and eyes, 20mm black fold over elastic, 14mm black picot elastic, 20mm band elastic, 10mm black underwire channeling, 48B underwire.
Bra alterations
Remove the elastic allowance from the band, frame and bridge pieces. I did this by cutting a straight line from the lowest point of the inner line. I did not follow the contouring of the lines because I am stitching the 20mm band elastic on top of the band fabric only and a straight line is the easiest way to do that.
I printed out 2 inner cup pieces, one is altered and the other remains the same. With a French curve, I cut 1.5 cm (0.5′) away from the seam line of the inner cup piece curving towards the center of the bridge.
The altered inner cup piece was used to cut out the latex fabric and the other inner cup piece that remained the same was used to cut out the sheer cup lining that goes underneath the latex altered piece as shown above.
I closed the raw edges of the altered cup pieces with 20mm fold over elastic before sewing the cup pieces according to the pattern instructions and attaching them to the frame. The 3 step zig-zag stitch kept all the seams clean and flat. The last step is to attach the findings and the bra is complete. I used 20 mm fold over elastic for the 2 extra straps on each cup, I put on the bra and measured the exact length I needed before sewing them on.
Panty Alterations
With a French curve, I drew a line about 2 inches away from the leg hole, cutting from the side seam to the waist line (eye balling it the whole time). Next I added a quarter of an inch seam allowance to the cut out pieces, the center front piece was cut on the fold.
The front side piece was cut from power mesh, the back, gusset and front center piece were cut from latex on the fold with the Dogs running horizontally. After sewing the side seams, I continued the cut out to the back piece of the panties to continue the theme from the from piece. For the leg pieces, I measured directly on my legs with the elastic to get an exact size. I wanted to make them detachable but I couldn’t find a way to do so without making it bulky.
Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions. Visit the Instagram page for more pictures and the project log video is up on YouTube.