Jane's Foundations

Full disclosure... I am not sporty. I don't *need* a sports bra but when I got the opportunity to test a front fastening sports bra I jumped at the chance. Some days I just don't want to wear a normal bra but I can't go braless. Also...front fastening 😁, some days my arthritis prevents me from hooking at the back.

I started by measuring according to the instructions and came up with a 34I this is not my ready to wear size but having tested other things by Porcelynne I chose to make through without any fittings. And....

It fits "right out of the envelope". (It's a pdf pattern available to print or project.)

Hampered by 6-7 week old kittens I made some deviations from the pattern but I'm thrilled with how this came out and I will be making more when I've got the right materials. Kits are available from Porcelynne in Florida https://porcelynne.com/sports-bra-kits and B-wear in Sweden https://www.bwear.se/kit/emily-sport-bh-kit.html

https://www.bwear.se/kit/jennifer-sport-bh-kit.html but for testing within the time scales I went with materials I had to hand.

Best laid plans were scuppered by kittens! Who knew that between the start and end of testing they would develop from little things wobbly on their legs to leg climbing, ghost chasing, fabric hunting, elastic hiding bundles of energy? It's a good job they're cute.

I signed up for Jackie sports bra final testing. https://porcelynne.com/patterns/sports-bra-patterns/jackie-sports-bra-pattern

The new pattern will be on sale Monday 22nd until 26th. On the 26th our black friday 25%off sale to all pdf patterns. For cyber monday they will have a free tankini add-on with all sports bra purchases. And finally for Giving Tuesday, 10% off all sales will go to party farms animal rescue. https://instagram.com/partyfarms?utm_medium=copy_link

I planned on a blog to document my journey I've decided to split it into two. This one, a review with links, and a follow up with what I did that's different from the pattern/instructions together with why and how I adapted the pattern to suit my materials. Link to follow.

Jackie Sports Bra

I can't stress how important it is to follow the designer's instructions when choosing you pattern. Every designer has their own unique way of measuring, grading and naming their pattern sizes. In the interests of continuity Porcelynne patterns are sized with 2"added to your underbust measurement to determine your band size. A 34"pattern fits a 32" underbust. There is a chart to determine your bra size. Measure carefully over a well fitting bra.

This bra fit beautifully with no alterations to the cutting or making up instructions. I wore it comfirllortably all day and felt perfectly supported. My only criticism is I had little separation but it's a sports bra, it's unwired and it relies on the stretch of the fabric for lift and support. I have no complaints about the lift. And for relatively large cup size in a sports bra that's definitely a good thing.

The pattern has very clear, step by step instructions that are supplemented with videos on how to put the bra together. It was my intentiin to watch them but... Kittens.. and they are time stealers.

The straps have a unigue method for adjustment, the pattern recommends using cut and sew bra foam for their construction . This needs larger rings than I had available. I also had to adapt the front attachment, it's not quite right, I will modify what I've done.

The staps are considerably wider than ordinary bras and the foam padding will make them even more comfortable if doing exercise.

The pattern needs some experience, the hook and eye support and zip closure are not beginner level, however the bra can be made without closures as a pull over the head bra making it much less fiddly. The final result is worth the effort.

The Porcelynne sports bra patterns can be mixed and matched ie you can use the Christina or Laurel backs if you prefer and there is the Emily tankini add on if you want more of a top less of a bra.

To be continued...

I had a great time doing the Bare Essentials January 2021 Bra Draft Along. Two weeks ago I had never done a Facebook LIVE broadcast. In the week before the draft along I did so many tests, testing to see what was visible in my phone compared with on Facebook. I TOTALLY forgot I even owned a webcam until Jennifer suggested buying a webcam last nigh, so now I need to do some testing using my webcam for future sessions to see if I can eliminate some of the technical problems we encountered.

Lighting was an issue for me, and being in virtual lockdown in the heart of rural France, 31 miles/50 km from shops where I could browse lighting options was going to take too much of my preparation time.

Behind the scenes we had to not only test audio, lighting and streaming, we had to check camera position, organise our set up with tripods or other equipment.

Blowing the best floodlighting option we had when connecting to the mains was bad enough, blowing the second because we brought it in from outside, where it was sub zero (-2℃/28.4℉) into the warm (22℃/71.6℉), even though we thought we'd left it long enough to warm up before turning it on, the special bulb blew and the only spare was the wrong size, was a disaster.

We changed every lightbulb in the house to get the best lighting for my presentations, used standard lamps, additional bedside lamps, LED lamps and torches to try to fill shadows.

And then there was the subject matter. I know I no longer follow the book exactly so I had to refresh my knowledge of the book.

And prepare things to enable you to see on screen what I was doing.

And to prepare variations.

And to test visibility of my pencil/pen lines...

And prepare cue cards to make sure I didn't forget things. That didn't work so well at first but I worked out better ways to set up my cue cards.

I had a lot of fun. I had my camera shy "glamorous assistant" help me out.

I shamelessly stole Kristen's pipe cleaner boob and made my own version using spiral wires and underwires.

When Kristen was showing steps 19 and 20 I had a lightbulb idea of how to show what we are doing in those steps... so at 23:00 I started adding tape to my display bust and drawing lines with my sharpie...

And then, two days before my final, planned presentation, Jennifer had a lightbulb idea of how the demi cup draft might be improved. So I had to test and see if it worked *before* presenting it.

One to one teaching is tiring, but I can get a feel for the pace. Questions can be answered in real time. During a LIVE feed, the LIVE is a good 10 seconds behind real time and it's not only distracting to see what you were doing 10 seconds ago, questions from 10 seconds ago are harder to answer on the fly.

Kristen and I overlapped some of the material presenting in our own, very different, styles. We presented some different material. We were a double act separated by time zones and geography, each of us feeding from the other.

Am I exhausted?

Yes.

I turned off my alarm and slept until after 10:00 this morning.

Would I do it again? Absolutely...

Already thinking about Slopers and February. 😁

You can access the sessions via https://porce lynne.com/?referrer=CNWR_485315800004 1

The videos will be available on www.Porcelynne.com some time within the week and Bare Essentials Books are on sale between now and midnight UTC Thursday 21 January 2021.

A huge thank you to everyone that made this a success.

Almost a year ago, I read a call in a Facebook group, for testing a new bra drafting method. I applied and was accepted for testing.

The method is revolutionary in that it uses maths from body measurements to calculate the band size, the cup size and the volume of the curves used in creating the cups.

What’s different from other drafting methods? Well, other methods use arbitrary amounts to determine curves and then you have to try, fit, adjust, redo and repeat until you get something you’re happy with...

With Bare Essentials, all those amounts are calculated.

Enter my bra making calculator. In testing, I had to make several drafts, recalculating all the variables every time. The book has all the calculations laid out step by step. I was testing two different sizes so immediately I had two lots of calculations to do. After the second lot of maths, I decided that I could do the maths in an Excel spreadsheet. Jennifer Lynne Fairbanks-Matthews, the author of the method said that when she released the book there would be an on line calculator on her website. I couldn’t wait that long. This was April, the book wasn’t going to be published before June/July, I was going to be making several test drafts...
My first Excel spreadsheet wasn’t pretty. It was functional that’s all.

After I’d done a handful of drafts, I was so impressed with the method I decided to create a spreadsheet, in my house style, to use for my business.

The book was released on 8 July. I created a Facebook group to support people using the method, initially because this method deviates so much from other methods, that discussing adjustments in other groups could lead to confusion.

I befriended a user of the method in Australia who was holding a bra drafting day for a group of ladies. I offered to give her a copy of my calculator, to make it easier for her ladies. Jennifer had the on line calculator available but printing options were limited. I decided to brand my calculator to match the book. And then I shuffled output fields around to match the order of use in the book. Dale, the Australian friend, suggested adding step reference numbers, and colours to make differentiating the volumes easier.

After some time of using my calculator, Jennifer suggested I could sell it. Well, that was where the work really started. A free giveaway is one thing, offering a handful of calculations in a printable form, without checking for accuracy, for formatting consistency…

I started cleaning it up, tidying up the formatting, making it so that all the references were right. And then, just as I was ready to launch, Jennifer had a new innovative idea for the cup curves. Instead of using the static recommendations in the book, she formulated a way of using dynamic calculations that would change the drafting for the better.

Two months later, finding space in the calculator, reformatting, changing the layout, adding the new information, removing surplus information. Buying a new version of Excel because of incompatibilities of my old product... Checking for consistency I finally have a saleable product.

I present Jane’s Magical Bra Calculator. The Excel spreadsheet is a workbook containing several sheets for use. There is a worksheet of instructions, a worksheet for imperial measurements and one for metric measurements. I have also included two methods for determining your wire diameter if you are not using Porcelynne wires, a handy page to record your measurements and design details that can be used for businesses to record the sale and shipping of a custom bra or draft and a page of handy links.

Included in the new calculator...

Imperial and Metric calculations.
Dynamic and static cup calculations for the Bare Essentials method.
Two ways to determine your wire size if you are not using Porcelynne wires.
A handy form to collect measurements for you or customers, note design details and record payments and shipping information.
A page full of links to useful information.

Buy it Now using PayPal, click the button below.
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