True story here people, I've been sharing WAY too many half naked photos. I just want you to know, I do it for you my dear reader, because these photos terrify me. Onward and upward!

So here I am talking about the Stitch Upon A Time Brazi, again. You might remember when I went on a huge rant about patterns with built in FBA's that have you make a longer back to match the longer front. Blah. But anyway, if you want to read more about that, you can read it here. We're not going to go there today.

Instead, I'm going to take you through the size I made, any adjustments and my suggestions going forward.

So honestly, I'm only sewing up my Brazi because of Lindsay at Doodle Number 5. She's running a sew along at Piccadilly Fabrics BST all about the bralette. If you don't know, the bralette thing is actually really popular. I wouldn't have any clue, except that they told me on Capsule Wardrobe Sew Along. LOL. But anyway, I figured I'd give it a try. Worst case, I end up with some comfy lounge bras for around the house and decide that showing any part of my bra is still off limits for me.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I've got my Made For Mermaids Mama Claire (remember it from here?) I took a full body shot so you could compare breast shape between my "good bra" left and my brazi right. Back shot shows the crossed straps of my Brazi. I'm not too impressed with the look, but I'll see if something else changes my mind.

So, let's talk about the Brazi. For the purposes of this pattern, my measurements are 35" overbust, 39" full bust, 31" underbust. SUAT drafts for a c-cup bust. So 35 plus 3= 38, which puts me solidly in the size medium even with my 39" bust. I removed 1" from the D+ cup line to set me right about in between the c and d+ cup line. I also removed 1" from the back pattern piece as my back is WAY smaller than my front and I knew my fabric was extra stretchy. I also went with a 25" underbust band. I found the size recommended in the pattern a little too big. I used a 3" wide band, instead of the band called for in the pattern. I added 1" elastic INSIDE the 3" band I used. I also removed 1" from the bra strap length.

Let's stop and talk about that band for a second. If you look closely at my photos (ugh), you'll notice 2 large bumps right under my bra band. You'll also notice that it looks like my bra band disappears. That's because it does. Those bumps are my rib bones jutting out, which rolls the band right into the space between my ribs and my bust. My rib bones are a full 3" wider than my underbust. That is why I didn't make the band recommended in the pattern. it would just get rolled right under my bust. To help provide a little extra support, I added 1" elastic into the band. This adds just enough support to keep everything from sliding around.

My fabric used for this project was the pink rayon spandex floral from Simply By Ti AND an upcycle from a VERY old winter formal dress. Please note, the rayon spandex is WAY too soft for this project, so the elastic was absolutely necessary in the band. The stretch velvet actually has great recovery so I was sure that it would provide the support needed. If you're busty, like me, I don't recommend using 2 layers of cotton lycra. Either add in a layer of some sort of compression fabric OR use something with a little more support like duoplex. I have made a Brazi with the french terry from Simply By Ti and it was comfy and stretchy, but provided a little more compression than I wanted.

Whether I ultimately decide to rock the bralette look, I'm definitely happy to have the Brazi as a comfy lounge bra.