Well Hello there! No, I’m quite a ‘Mrs’ yet. (What’s the feminist equivalent of a ‘Mrs’ to call the husband?) But the Bridezilla sewing is finally done. The final mile was excruciatingly slow even though it was simplest part of the Choli Blouse making. I must have left my Sewing Mojo with the relatives when I visited in July. Yes, I took my sewing on ‘holiday’ with me & promptly ignored all the relations who I meant to visit. The embroidery was finished at the eleventh hour just before we flew back to the UK. But making up the blouse took forever! Serves me right I guess for being rude to my hosts.

As for Blogging Mojo, that was lost long ago in the flurries of ideas & activities – too many & too fast to capture in words. So I will just outline the major incidents. Let’s start with Bra-Gate.

1. I picked the outfit which was a copy. But while the skirt & shawl look exactly like the original, the blouse material doesn’t. I wanted a blouse more like the original. So I decided to make it from scratch.
   
   

   Original Gajiwala 7384 design

   

   What I bought – details
2. After searching all of London for supplies to little avail, & considering the amount of embroidery required, I had little faith I could manage this Plan A blouse in time. So I decided I need a Plan B.
3. Plan B was to make up the pre-embroidered blouse fabric from one of the other two outfits. But there was a snag.
   
   

   Nakkashi 5036 Blouse design

   

   Blouse material
4. This pre-embroidered blouse design has an very open back. I just could not find a bra that would stay hidden while still give me the gravity-defying lift I had hope to achieve. Let’s look at the typical open back bra options shall we?
   1. Built-in cups
      
      The standard choli solution. But with typical wearing ease built in, I don’t see how this will add any bust enhancement support. At best it just preserves modesty…Unless the top is made skin-tight from stretchy material. But mine is normal woven silk with no stretch.
   2. Stick-on bras
      
      Again, doesn’t seem like it’ll give enough bust enhancement support. Plus I’d be worried about it coming unstuck. One too many things to worry about on one’s big day!
   3. Low-back bra extenders
      
      This is the long add-on elastic that pulls down the back closure by extending your band so that it wraps around your front below the bust. Unfortunately these all seem to extend too far down (to the waist in the front at least) to work with cropped Choli Blouses.
   4. Totally backless bra (& Threads version)
      
      

      Backless bust support solution featured in “Build a Better Bust” from Threads Apr/May 2006

      These seems perfect – if they stay on. I’d be worried that the straps would slip off easily & the cups won’t stay put. But I thought it has potential if tweaked:

      

      My open back Choli bra idea

      • Add below bust elastic band to help keep bra cups close to the body.
        Unlike hip young Asians, I’m never going to wear totally backless or stringy back-closure cholis. I just need a band & straps that accommodate a low & open back cropped top.
      • Add boned side panels to help keep bra straps from slipping off the shoulder.
        Not entirely sure this would actually work. But I think it looks more stable than having the elastic shoulder straps going around the arm joint & rejoining the cups at the side bottoms.
5. I lost my mind & set about implementing my wholly untested custom open-back bra idea. Keep in mind that I have not even learn to make a bog-standard bra & I have only a few weeks left (to make Plan A blouse + Plan B blouse + this untested bra solution). I went as far as ordering bra material from Canadian Bra-maker Supply (and paid dearly for it – thank you UK customs & postal system).
   
6. Luckily (!!!) Brexit threat devalued the pound sterling & delayed further investments such as Beverly Johnson’s hand-holding bra-making classes on Craftsy. This gave me just enough time to come to my senses & abandon Plan B along with my mad scientist open-back bra idea…for now anyway. As bra-making supply has already been bought no doubt I will return to my mad idea one day…Maybe when the pound sterling recover its value & I could afford to pay for the Craftsy classes? Any chance of that you think? 😉