New Tutorial!

Tomorrow I will start posting a tutorial for Elan 530.  This pattern is very similar to Elan 511, in that it is a partial band bra;  different in that it has full coverage cups and optional partial self fabric straps.

Patterns Back In Stock and a New Style!

I just received a small order of Elan patterns, so they are back in stock in the Etsy store, both #511 with a partial band and #645 with a full band.

I've also ordered and now have in stock style #530, which has a partial band and optional self fabric straps. The size range is from 32B through 40DD.

A Few More Kits

Here are two more new kits in the shop, Perfect Red and Rose Pink:

The red is absolutely gorgeous and I was very, very tempted to keep it for myself. I can always dye myself a kit any time, so it's better just to share!

The pink kit is a little different from my usual kits in that it has a non-stretch lace. I've always put stretch lace in the kits, but I thought I'd try this one as someone might actually prefer a non-stretch lace.

Both of these would make beautiful items combined with the Just Black kit that is available.

BTW, that special tie dyed kit sold! If you liked that one and would like more of that style - I'm actually thinking of hand painting a few kits just for fun - let me know!

I'll be taking inventory and ordering new supplies tomorrow. I've already got some new lace on the way, and I'll show you that when I get it. If you have a request for custom kits with wider elastics or in a color that has previously sold, just let me know! Email me: summersetbanks "at" gmail "dot" com!

New Kits in the Shop!

I just listed some new kits in the Etsy shop, and will list a couple more at the end of the week. There is a Soft Yellow, a Pale Iris (a favorite purple from last summer), Just Black, a Deep Bronze, which turned out really nice, although I thought I was going to get a Milk Chocolate:


I've also listed a double kit in a Peachy Pink and Black:


Lastly, I've listed an Amethyst kit, which is a bit unusual. Normally, I *don't* want mottled or streaky fabrics. I sell those kits at a discount and am happy that some one will use them for practice or cut around the not so great areas. This time, I've got a kit with purposeful color variations - very much like the hand dyed quilt fabrics that are mottled in the same way (Check out fabric dye artist VickiW's hand dyed cottons in her Etsy shop!). If you want a really unique kit and really like those sorts of fabrics for quilts and other crafts, this kit is for you - you can have artisan style fabrics inside and out! Check out the coloration, *everything* has this coloration to it:


Look for some shade of pink and some shade of red later this week. I never know what I'll call them until they're out of the dye and dry!

Bargain Kit Available - Light Cantaloupe or Orange Sherbet

Kit Has Been Sold!!!

I've got a kit that is not quite perfect available. The liquid satin is a bit mottled, it isn't too bad, and I didn't notice it when folding it. When I went to photograph it under different lights, the flaw became apparent. The color is a nice soft light cantaloupe or orange sherbet color.


If you'd like this kit, it is $10.00, plus $5.00 for Priority mail shipping. Please email at summersetbanks "at" gmail "dot" com, and I'll send you an invoice via Paypal.

Kit Has Been Sold!!!

New on Etsy!

I've got some new kits on Etsy - in some really lovely colors and a great double kit in Bright Pink and Black. All of these kits have the new 7" wide lace, too! Here are a few of the new kits:

Coffee Ice Cream:

Hot Coral Red:

Deep Amethyst:

New Lace!

I was able to purchase some new lace last week and it arrived this week. This one happens to be very wide, at about 7" wide, and can be used in a variety of ways if you're creative.

I just received more supplies today in the mail, so new kits should be ready and on Etsy by the middle of next week!

A Few More Kits

All of the newest kits (Sunshine Yellow, Light Tangerine and Apple Green) are gone. Here are the next three, already on Etsy.

Deep Sea Breeze - an old favorite:

Amethyst - this is a gorgeous shade of purple! It is more beautiful in real life, and for me to say that is huge. If you know me, you know I am not a "purple person".

Valentine Pink - a nice deep pink, perfect for Valentine's Day!

I'm thinking of doing a few two tone kits in the next couple of days. Don't forget, if you've seen a color you like and the kit has already sold, just email me: summersetbanks "at" gmail "dot" com. I'm more than happy to dye one up for you and sell it privately.

Tomorrow: A post regarding bra styles, as requested by a reader.

An Apple Today for Someone!

**Kit Has Been Purchased!**

I was dyeing those citrus sort of colors yesterday and decided to dye an Apple Green, too.

The only problem with this green is that the powernet did not come out as nicely as I'd like it to have. It has picked up some blue and a little orange dye faintly in spots. The good thing is that for the most part, these odd colors are only visible on one side of the powernet. Still it isn't quite good enough for the shop.

If you'd like this kit at the discounted price of $10.00 for the kit plus $5.00 for Priority shipping, please email me: summersetbanks "at" gmail "dot" com.

**Kit Has Been Purchased!**

By Request:

Sunshine Yellow and Light Tangerine!

I had a request for these two colors, so they were the first two I dyed up for this latest group of kits. I certainly can use a little color pick-me-up at this time of year, too! First, Sunshine Yellow:

Second, Light Tangerine:

I wasn't so sure I'd get a tangerine color, as it took a little mixing of dye powders. There is always a little mystery when dyeing fabrics as you can't always be 100% sure of the final color, especially when mixing your own colors. I'm actually pretty happy with the color and I hope one of you will be, too! These kits will be in the Etsy store tomorrow morning!

BTW, the new solid fabric, the liquid satin 1 way stretch spandex, is beautiful! It takes dyes beautifully and is more substantial than the tricot.

In the pot right now, a really pretty purple!

Good News!

Almost all the kits in the Etsy store have sold, except for the Blush Pink one. That means that I'll be dyeing up new kits next week and getting them into the shop! I'll be dyeing up a variety of colors including some of the ones I had last summer. If there's anything you'd like to see let me know in the comments.

I am upgrading the fabric in the kits, so all new kits will have the new fabric. I have been using 40 denier tricot, but have ordered up some liquid satin spandex to dye. I'll have the yardage in the next couple of days so I haven't seen it in yard form, but the samples I've seen are really nice. It is more substantial and thicker than the tricot. It is a one way stretch fabric, so it is suitable for all parts, depending on where you want stretch and where you don't. This is a more expensive fabric, but I think it will make nicer kits and nicer end products. I will not be increasing the price of the kits due to this, but cutting the fabric a little differently, as explained below.

I will also be cutting the yardage for at least the stretch satin differently. Rather than cutting narrow strips the width of the fabric, either 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2 yards, I will be cutting more of what is known in the quilting world as a fat quarter. The pieces will be approx. 18 x approx. 26", which is an easier size to arrange the pattern pieces on. This gives you plenty of space in both the stretch and non-stretch directions to cut out a bra. I'm not sure whether I want to go to this method for the powernet or not at this point.

Last, but not least, I am going to open up shipping worldwide. Currently I only ship to the US and Canada, but the US Postal Service has made it a bit easier to deal with the customs forms and shipping online, so that's what I will be doing. All items will reflect the shipping change.

Stay tuned for new kits next week!

A Few New Kits

After a couple of days of dyeing this week, I've listed a few more kits in the Etsy shop. This time I've dyed up: Blush Pink, Warm Nude, Light Violet and nice mix and match kit in Cranberry Red and Black. Read the listing carefully on that red/black kit as to what you will get! I did not dye the black, but I thought it would be nice to create a mix and match kit that would allow you create something in two colors.

Another Flame Red Kit and Some New Laces

The first Flame Red kit in the Etsy shop is already gone, so I dyed up one more. So far, this is still my favorite color!

I also got some new lace samples this week and just ordered up some of the two shown below. These are stretch laces, but stiffer than some of the recent laces I've used for the kits. It should be interesting to see how they'll take the dye.

My *Favorite* New Kit!

There are a few new kits in the Etsy shop: Caramel Latte, Victorian Mauve, and my absolute favorite, Flame Red! Go check it out - this red is really, really beautiful and I almost kept it for myself, but I can always dye up another one.

*Skim Mochachino Kit is Sold**

Meanwhile, the dye I have for the Mochachinos for some reason gives a slightly mottled result. I tried dyeing up a kit that I'm calling Skim Mochachino, and it turned out a bit mottled, too. Here's the color, a shade lighter than Caramel Latte:

I'm not happy with this color at all, so I will not be dyeing up any more of. I've got other colors that dye up nicely and are prettier. So, once again, my loss is your gain! I am offering this kit for $10.00, plus $5.00 for Priority Shipping and I'll even throw in an extra 3/8 yard of nude colored, commerically dyed powernet! If you would like this kit, just email me: summersetbanks "at" gmail.com.

*Skim Mochachino Kit is Sold**

In Shop and Here, Too!

I've just listed the Antique Pink and Amethyst bra kits on Etsy. The Caramel Latte and Victorian Mauve sold before I could get them listed, so I will dye up those colors again in the next few days and get them on Etsy.

***Mochachino kit is sold!***

Meanwhile, I'm not 100% happy with the current kit of the Mochachino color, so I am going to offer that kit here at the reduced price of $10.00 for the kit, plus $5.00 shipping. The tricot came out a bit mottled - it is pretty much tone-on-tone, but is there if you look. The mottling appears as some darker streaks in the brown.

Please email me: summersetbanks@gmail.com if you are interested in the reduced priced Mochachino kit!

***Mochachino kit is sold!***

More New Colors!

Some of these colors are very interesting - some of them turned out much differently than I thought!

First, there is what I'm going to call Victorian Mauve. The dye color is labeled Reddish Brown, but it looks more mauve in real life than this early photo:

The color actually coordinates really well with many of the pieces from the Antique Pink (Lobster Bisque) set:

I'm going to call this one Amethyst. This one is interesting in that not all the pieces dyed the exact same color even though they were all in the dye pot at the same time. I'll have to think about what to do with this set - I might combine it with some black findings and power net for a combination/mix and match kit.

The next two colors seem to coordinate well, too. The first one below is Mochachino, and is darker than this picture.

The photo below shows the color a little better, and shows this color compared to a lighter shade, that I'm going to call Caramel Latte.

Caramel Latte really is a nice caramel brown, more golden than the photo and does coordinate well with the Mochachino color.

Seems like there were a lot of browns and muted tones in this new lot of colors. I'm now craving some bright blues and greens - maybe for spring!

These new kits will be available in the next few weeks. I might even do some combination kits or kits with bonus pieces to mix and match.

A Few New Colors

I've ordered some new dyes and here are a couple of the new colors for kits. I should be able to show a few more new colors in a few days. Depending on a few things, I plan to have new kits in stock ready for the new year.

The first new color was labeled Lobster Bisque. This doesn't look like lobster bisque to me at all, so I think I'll call this set Antique Pink. I was hoping for a pinky-peachy skin toned sort of color and I've ended up with an antique mauvey-pink. This is one of those kits where not everything dyed exactly the same shade, so this one has a two toned effect. I am going to try this color again and see how it looks in a paler shade.


This second new color I'm going to call Cranberry Red. It actually has a slight orange undertone, but is very pretty and very dark. I like this shade, so I'll probably dye at least one more set in this color.


Let me know what you think of these colors! I've still got a couple of deeper skin tone colors and a purple to try.

Back In Stock!

I got more Elan 645's this week, so the White Kits with Elan 645 are back in the Etsy shop. I've also created a listing so that you can just purchase the pattern without any additional supplies, and set the shipping for $2.50 for first class mail to the US.

I've got one more new dye to try out tomorrow, and I'll show you a few new colors over the next week.

Shop is Reopened!

I am back from vacation and the Etsy shop has been reopened! I'll be continuing the Basics posts later this week.

Vacation!

I will be on vacation for the next two weeks, and have decided to put the Etsy shop in vacation mode during that time. The shop will reopen Monday, Aug. 3. See you then!