MUENSTER, Sask. – The women come in all shapes, sizes and ages to learn how to sew a bra from instructor Beverly Johnson.
The Hamilton, Ont., seamstress has been teaching at the annual Stitches conference in Muenster, Sask., for nine years.
Johnson started making bras about 15 years ago when she and others complained about the lack of comfort in their underwear. She has a business in Hamilton selling bra making supplies and has taught at sewing conferences across Canada.
“I wanted to do something that involved women and that was unique, that no one could take away from me.”
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Johnson had a booth at a Toronto needleworks show providing information and sewing supplies. While these shows used slides and lectures to talk about sewing, she found women wanted hands-on learning. Johnson introduced a bra making class there.
“We had hundreds of women sign up for a class of 20. So I wore myself out teaching class after class.”
She now teaches only at Muenster and her store. Since 1995, she has taught 5,000 people how to make bras using her system. She takes 12 women for each of her beginner and advanced classes.
“Of all the places in Canada that I’ve gone, Saskatchewan is the epicentre of the sewing explosion. I think that’s Wendy’s (Toye) influence,” she said.
Toye has organized the nine Stitches conferences from her sewing store, Haus of Stitches, in Humboldt, Sask.
The conference has grown to 11 days and draws 250 attendees, mainly women, from Canada and a few from the United States.
The conference explores several fabric crafts from pattern making to scarf making, quilting, knitting and rug hooking.
Johnson, who is the author ofThe Bra-makers Manual,said bra making is “a perfect blend of precision sewing and creativity.”
Johnson measures each woman to draw a customized pattern. The right fabric and sewing create a bra with a fit so comfortable the person hardly knows it’s on.
Johnson said making a custom bra involves adjustments for each woman. Large-breasted women need support and a fabric that’s not too stretchy. Twenty pounds of breast can affect posture and self-esteem, she said.
Padding can help enhance the shape of small-chested women.
For women who have breasts that are shaped differently or have lost a breast to cancer, the forms and weights even out the look.
Women who have mastectomies may fear wearing a prosthesis. They often have a hunched posture with one shoulder drooping down. For them, Johnson designs a bra with a pocket that is filled with a silicon form and plastic pellets with the right weight and movement of a normal breast.
Women who lose or gain weight or who have had breast reductions or implants often return to her class to get a new custom fitting.
“My slogan is, ‘we do the fitting, you do the sewing.’ ”
Most of the students in her class are women but the occasional man attends who is sewing for his wife or has a fashion store. Since she learned how to make a bra, Johnson has not bought any bras to wear, only some to check the techniques the manufacturers are using.
Johnson said a custom-made bra would cost about $200. For that same amount, women can take her class and learn a skill for life.
For more information, contact Johnson at www.bramakerssupply.com.
