Hey! Just a short update from me today :) During this summer I’ve been working on an update for the Hanna bralette sewing pattern and it’s finally ready! This pattern originally came in XS-XL sizing as many other bralettes but there were no separate cup/band sizes. Basically that was what I could deliver at the time with the knowledge and skills I had and you guys have shown a lot of love for this pattern (it was my first one and it’s still the most popular one of all of my patterns...just look at all those photos under the #hannabralette hashtag on Instagram).
I always knew I wanted to transform this pattern into a proper bra sizing and I finally managed to do it. Now you have cup sizes from A-D and band sizes US 28-42 and EU 60-95 which means that there are way more sizes than before.
I want to be clear about this update: it’s a NEW size range not an EXPANDED size range. I know that this pattern still won’t fit many people and especially larger bust sizes and I will work on an extended sizing in the future. To have even more sizes the pattern will need to be modified in different ways and it’s a process that will take time. I understand the importance of this work, offering an extended size range is something I’d love to do, but it’s just me doing this work, part time. All of these changes and upgrades will take time and lots of effort, but I promise that my idea is to do it, I just don’t know when it will happen yet. I really thank you for your understanding.
So the biggest new feature of the pattern is the updated size range and you now have a pattern file that has four different size groups divided by the cup size.
I have also added a new chapter about fitting to the instructions. As I’ve been teaching lingerie sewing classes with this pattern since I launched it more than three years ago, I’ve been able to see different fit adjustments that we’ve done in class and I’ve tried to explain them in the instructions booklet so you can do it at home on your own too!
I can’t insist this enough: please make a muslin before cutting into your pretty lace!! I’ve added various photos of possible pattern alterations you might have to do to get the best fit. For the muslin you can use just some knit fabric to join the pieces and you’ll only need to baste in place the straps and the closure (that you’ll unpick later and you’ll use them for your final version). This step will not take a long time but it will save you so much time and effort (and possibly money you spend on supplies), really, please make a muslin!!! If you can’t figure out how to improve your muslin you can always write me (to my email or on Etsy), I will try to help you as much as I can from distance.
For the rest, the instructions are the same and the design of the pattern is the same too. That’s why if you have already purchased the pattern from my shop I’ll send you the new version with no extra cost. The thing is that Etsy does not update the pattern automatically and even though I will list the new pattern now, you can’t download the update directly from Etsy. This means that you have to write to me either on Etsy or directly to my email (costurastudio @ gmail.com) and tell me your order number, I will then send you the updated pattern. As you can imagine this manual process will take some time, I will try to answer you all as soon as I can, but please be aware that it can take some days for me to send you the pattern.
The next things in my pattern update list: I have first the Stella and Vera panties which will have an extended size range that I’ll be working on (and from there the other panties patterns) and I’d like to improve some things on the Mara bralette. And then I’ll redo the Hanna bikini too. I can’t promise any dates for these updates as I really try to work as fast as I can...but there’s a lot of things that need to be done and I have to share my work time between many different tasks. But again, I will be making these changes in order to offer you better patterns.
I hope you’ll find this update useful and I can’t wait to see your future Hanna bralettes. You can find kits that have everything you need to make a bralette like this in the bralette kits section of my shop.
Any questions? Just let me know :)