Hey I’m thinking of throwing my hat in the ring in this project and making an attempt at one of you’re “making a binder with a sports bra and things you can find at the dollar store” binders. Has there been any updates to your designs/ Data since your last post?
Hey! @star-anise here. I’ve been tinkering with designs nonstop but I have very few really useful updates. It’s more like I have 99 new designs that don’t work enough to satisfy me. I also really don’t have what it takes to run a blog this complicated and busy, and am going to work in 2021 to simplify it/bring in help to run it (to do things like handle emails or to find and reblog examples of people trying these concepts out).
Small tip: If you’re using dollar store needles, take a good look at their eyes before you buy them. That’s the hole at the top of the needle the thread goes into. I’ve been to dollar stores where some needle packs on display are very normal, but in others, the needle eyes aren’t open all the way so they can’t be threaded, or haven’t been evenly cut out, so you can see jagged bits of metal left inside the eye, which makes them hard to thread and then could possibly shred your thread as you sew. So keep an eye out for that. If you’re using regular sharp needles, consider sewing with the eye end first so you’re poking between the threads of the fabric instead of potentially piercing the threads with a sharp tip; that’s not a worry when you sew with woven fabrics, but with the knit fabrics this project uses, it could affect how much wear and tear your binder can endure. Alternately, consider going to a sewing/fabric store and investing in ballpoint/knit/jersey needles instead (which is generally $5-10)
The biggest change I’d suggest to the process itself is about the elastic ends--the elastic tended to give out in the test binders, so instead of leaving the cut ends raw, I’d suggest turning them over once or twice and stitching them down like a strap end before attaching them to the garment. Like this:
Oh I guess the other thing is, your mileage may vary about whether you want a bone around the side/back of the binder:
Some wearers found the side/back bone important to their comfort because it evened out the pressure being put on their shoulderblades; others found it really annoying when it jabbed them when they were putting it on, or found it poked into their armpits. So be thoughtful about whether you want it or not, and where you place it.
