Hanna Bralette Review: a beginner project
When I started my bra making journey, I jumped right into underwire patterns. I prefer wearing underwire bras, so I didn’t see a point in making the recommended bralette patterns first. After 3 years of bra sewing, I wanted a quick project for those odd days I did want to wear a bralette, which is where the Hanna bralette comes in!
I have learned that not all bralette patterns are the same when it comes to support and a few key items make them superior:
- A clasp: as the elastics stretch out, you can use the tighter rows of eyes to keep the bra fitting tightly for longer
- Separate cup pieces: this allows for fine tuning the fit and more seams means more support
- Underwire casing: just having the underwire casing, even without the underwire, will offer some lift.
The Hanna bralette has 2 out of the 3 criteria, plus a super cute design, so I decided to try it out.
Pattern Positives
This is the first bra pattern I’ve sewn that I would absolutely recommend for beginners! What do I like so much about it? Well for starters, the pattern includes directions on how to make a test bralette AND how to do alterations if needed. This is crucial for a beginner because it’s hard to figure out how to fix a fit issue without some guidance, which this pattern provides!
Throughout the entire pattern, the directions are clearly written and the designer provides pictures that make even the most confusing steps obvious. There's something about reading sewing directions that can be so confusing, so great pictures are always welcome.
Lastly, the pattern design works: the pattern pieces all line up to each other and everything assembles easily. This should be something I can say about every pattern, but usually I have to alter pieces because they don’t line up or I change the sewing directions to create a better finished product. I didn’t have to do either of those things with this pattern and I am impressed with the amount of detail provided.
For example, she explains that you don’t have to finish a raw edge of a particular piece with anything other than an overcast stitch, but if you wanted to, you could use elastic (which is what I did). Another example is tucking in the strap elastic to the band elastic before sewing, something I always do to hide the seam, but a step patterns often leave out. The pattern also uses encased seams along the cup and side seam, things I also usually do when sewing bras, but sometimes overlooked by pattern creators.
Pattern Negatives
The fit guidance was off. Every bra pattern I’ve seen has some sort of fit guide in the beginning, which I view as a starting point for fit. I always measure myself right before starting a project to see what the suggested size is and this pattern had me as a 34A. This did not seem like an accurate representation of my actual size, so instead I made a 34B, which was perfect. Now, I understand getting the correct size for a bra based on a couple of measurements is very difficult, so I really am only mentioning this for beginners. I have many bra patterns that I know fit me, so I can always compare a new pattern with what I know fits, but a beginner doesn’t have that luxury or intuition.
No expanded sizes. The biggest limitation of the pattern is the sizing, which only goes up to a 42D. She said in a blog post she was hoping to expand the size range, but that was a few years ago, so I wouldn’t hold my breath!
Overall rating: 4.9/5