Simplicity 8228 Halter Bra

Under every great outfit there should be the right undergarments. The journey towards this bra started with a dress, Vogue 9253. The Vogue dress was THE dress of the summer, it was all over IG. Every few years my husband has a work event that requires dressing up, and I decided the Vogue dress would be a fun item to wear. The problem? The super low cut (although completely changeable) and finding the right bra to go with it. Enter Simplicity 8228, a stretch lace halter bra pattern from Madalynne.

My idea was solid, but it turned out that the halter straps looked pretty dumb with my Vogue dress. The dress needs some finishing, so I haven't blogged it yet, but take my word for it, it's not going to work with this bra after all. Whomp whomp. I should have made the straps longer and more like a regular bra, rather than a halter. Live and learn! Additionally, it turns out I'm probably not wearing the Vogue dress to our event anyway. It came out a bit too summery. ANYWAY. Enough about the best laid plans.

The bra itself turned out great, it was not a bad sew (SA is 1/4" though, ugh) and gah it's SO pretty! The pattern called for 8" wide stretch lace, but I already have this 5" on hand (from Sew Sassy Fabrics) and made it work. I'm not sure why exactly 8" was chosen, except perhaps to cover the larger sizes. Speaking of sizing, please follow the directions in the pattern. The sizes weren't close to RTW or even other bra patterns I've sewn before, but I followed the directions and the fit is perfect (you'll have to take my word for it!). It's been close to a month since I weaned my last baby, so my body is still adjusting a little. Or maybe it's my head that's adjusting. In either case, it's nice to have such a beautiful garment to help boost your confidence.

The bra is lined with a stretch mesh that was in my stash, I can't at all recall where it's from but I think it was Jo-Ann's or Girl Charlee. I've never used it before but it ended up being just what I needed for this pattern. I already had clear elastic left over from the kit I bought from Tailor Made Shop (used for this bra), and the black picot elastic (used on the underarms) was from a local shop and also already in my stash. The brown channeling was upcycled from an old bra, which is why it doesn't match haha.

Did you catch that? Everything was already in my stash! The pattern was the only thing I bought, and of course it was on sale.

A few notes about the pattern: If you're wondering why the seams are exposed on the inside of the cups, it's because the lining is meant to be spray-basted to the lace and then sewn as one. I didn't have any spray adhesive so I skipped that part, but I still sewed the pieces as one. The seam allowance is then topstitched down. I think it would have been a neater finish to sew them separately and then place WST, but it would have been trickier to topstitch in that case, and would have required more steps.

Lastly, I don't think there was a step for finishing the bottom of the band. I mentioned the spray adhesive but that's not good enough for me to keep the lining and the lace together at the bottom. You could zig-zag clear elastic here but I was running low, so I just zig-zagged the two together and it worked fine.

I also did not use a hook and eye closure at the back #lazy and it slips over my head just fine.

Our weather has turned crisp and fall-like, but if we get another hot day out of the blue I'll be pairing the bra with my maroon backless top. And if not now, then next summer for sure!