EYMM’s Everyday Essentials Valentines Day

I am so excited to be able to be a part of this blog tour. I have been sleeping in a lightweight cross over bra since my first pregnancy, and it was so comfortable I couldn’t image sleeping without one. My big guy is 11, to say I was due for a new bra is an understatement. The bra component of this pattern is the exact style that I have been wearing, so when I got the chance to make something fun, that I’d use all the time and share it with you wonderful people, it was exciting. The ideas were flowing ideas faster than I could write them down, in the end I decided that I couldn’t bring myself to put pictures of myself in naught but a bra on the internet. So I decided in the direction of a slip, or a nighty.

I was so excited to make myself something that would make me feel special, not for my husband but for me. It’s been a very long time since I have felt good in my own skin…. I may never have really been comfortable, I loved me during my pregnancies, but with all the pressure these days to look a certain way, to be a certain size and if you don’t fit those parameters then you are not only not good enough but you shouldn’t be putting yourself out there for others to see. I have fought with this post since I got the nighty made, because once made I actually had to put it on and take pictures. I practiced posing for hours to make sure that I only got the best angles and that I didn’t let any pudgy show, and then I realized, wait I am only perpetuating the problem. One of my very bestest friends got mad at me last night because I was making myself sick thinking about posting the pictures, she said “Do you really not see how far you’ve come?” my answer was “Sure I do, but I have so much farther to go”. Why? I have lost 78 pounds why am I stressing about getting to 80? I have muscles in places I didn’t know existed but I am not happy because they don’t show, why am I not just happy with the fact that there is muscle where once there was fat. As someone who loves to sew for herself I have to measure each time I print out a pattern, I have seen how much those numbers have changed in 18 months. Still I am wary. All the fuss that people are making about Lady Gaga having a less than perfect 6 pack, I mean really? I would kill for a midsection that looked like that. It won’t ever happen, I have to work hard to, someday, get great shoulders and a strong pretty back.

Less about what’s wrong with the world and back to this pattern. It’s an amazing pattern. Simple, straightforward and fast. I started with a sleep bra just to make sure I had chosen the right size, because God love it, it has different cup options. The options don’t stop there, oh no. It has options to be a bra, a tank or a full slip, plus if you don’t want the one piece slip there is an option for making the bra or tank and a separate slip, with several length options.

In the end I knew I wanted red, I wanted lace and I wanted soft. So I opted for a red poly spandex blend that was stretchy but the softest thing I have ever felt. The lace was the prettiest one I could find at Fabricville. I have never worked with lace before so there was a bit of a learning curve with it, but all in all I am happy with how it turned out. After the initial sleep bra I realized that I wanted more support, but not just support, I wanted more shape, of course that meant giving up some of the comfort but let’s face it Lingerie isn’t supposed to be comfy like old flannel pj’s. I repurposed an old VS bra and put it in between the lining layer and the outer layer of the bodice. I learned that when you do something like that you need to up-size the bodice to accommodate the extra fabric, I know for next time. For this time, well I guess I just have to be happy with a little bit more boost that I had bargained for.

I was only going to do pictures that showed little snip its of skin at a time but let’s face it, we all need to feel pretty in our skin, and about our skin. So as much as I am not overly comfortable posting these pictures, I am going ahead and doing it, so that in 5, 15 or 30 years my princess isn’t questioning whether or not she is good enough. So that you ladies reading this aren’t left feeling like you shouldn’t like to show off the skin you’ve got. You should, those memes about how to have a bikini body…. “have body, wear bikini”… we really should all just wear what we want and not worry about what others are going to say or think. We should be kinder to ourselves, and to each other, stop with all the criticism, instead of saying ” Did you see Sally? She’s looking like she enjoyed a little too much of her Christmas baking” say  ” Did you see Sally? That red top really looks great on her”. We need to stop putting ourselves and each other down, and instead learn how to build ourselves, and each other up. We deserve it.  So here it is, winter white legs and all. Ignore the bruises, half of them are because I am getting Varicose vein treatment, and the rest are because I’m a powerlifter, and you don’t deadlift crazy weights without ending up with some crazy bruises.

Scroll to the end for links to the other amazing blog stops along the tour and for a coupon code for this pattern! 🙂

Make sure to visit all the stops on the Valentine Essentials Blog Tour! (Keep in mind that the links below won’t work until their scheduled date.)

Feb. 3 – Sewing by Ti

Feb. 4 – Joelle at EYMM

Feb. 5 – Embrace Everyday

Feb. 6 – Sprouting JubeJube and Capture, Craft, and Cook

Feb. 7 – Call Ajaire and Blessed x Five

Feb. 8 – Rebel & Malice and Sew Haute Blog

Feb. 9 – Kelly’s Sewing Creations and Sew Far North

Feb. 10 – Roundup at EYMM

During the tour, the Everyday Essentials pattern is on sale for half off! Use code VDAYTOUR on the EYMM site to save 50% on the Women’s Everyday Essentials pattern until February 12 at 11:59pm PST.