Marvellous Mint Milliskin Marlborough & Watson Bikini

I purchased a couple of Watson Bra kits from Greys Fabrics a month or so back.  I bought one in white and one in pink and only got around to getting into one of them earlier this week.  I started with the white kit, but white is boring.  I've also got quite a collection of Watsons going on so I decided I needed to try another Marlborough.

Anyway, I started by cutting out the pieces of my Marlborough, a 38B this time.  Last time I made a 38A and the fit wasn't right so I tried a different size this time, however more on the fit later.

After I'd cut all my pieces I threw them in a dye bath with some Teal Rit Dye.  Head. Over. Heels. with the colour.  It ended up the prefect shade of mint.  The elastics came out a bit more blue, as did the powernet but it all ties in well, especially with the rigid lace!  The only issue is some small parts of the fabric didn't appear to absorb the dye as well as the rest of it.  There are some small imperfections but I had read about this happening so I knew it was a possibility.  Thankfully I'm not too worried about them.

Everything included with the kit appears high quality, I mean I won't really know until they have a bit of wear, but all signs are looking good to start with.  The lace for the upper cup is the same as I used in my first Marlborough.  I'm a bit in love with it.  Thankfully the dyed milliskin ended up a great match!

As I said before, I cut a 38B this time, the cups on my previous Marlborough just weren't right.  Saying that I'm not sure the cups on this one are that much better.  I don't seem to fill them but I also appear to be spilling out the top. I used the same underwires, but they fit well and appear to be the exact same as my well fitting RTW bras. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy but I have a feeling that the shape of my breast might not be suited to the shape of the Marlborough.  I'm not ready to give up any time soon, but I'm thinking about trying a new pattern next time.

I'm also going to be honest and say I had a bit of a struggle ensuring that there were no puckers when I attached the underwire casing, I sewed and unpicked and sewed and unpicked and it is still far from perfect.  I'm trying to believe that finished is better than perfect, at least in this case! Again I added a little blue rose, best $5 I've spent in a long time!

The back is powernet (also dyed, you can notice the difference in the colour and the way the fabric has reacted).  I used the three hook closure from the kit.  I do find it a little strange that the pattern requires a three hook closure when my cup size is so small.  It's not an issue, just an observation.

I lined the cup and bridge and all the seams are enclosed. The lining (one way stretch) was also dyed and it came out a similar colour to the elastics and casing.  It's funny how the different fabrics react differently and result in different colours.

I also covered the side seams with some underwire casing. You will also notice that the casing is a different colour, I didn't dye enough so I had to make do.  Thankfully no one will notice it. Especially as it can't be seen from the outside.

I made a matching Watson Bikini.  As I've said before, this is my new favourite underwear pattern so it was an easy choice.  The elastics are of course from the Greys Fabric kit.  The milliskin makes them lovely to wear and the little rose just adds a bit of a feature to it.

Anyway overall I'm still thrilled with this set and can't wait to get some use out of it.  I plan on working to perfect the fit, while trying another pattern in the mean time.  I'm leaning towards a Bolyston Bra, but who knows, I'm likely to change my mind.

What have you been sewing this week?

Emma