Stash busting: I Cracked the Code!

I've been singing the praises of Brace Buddies garments since I discovered them.  But I've also been trying to copy them at the sewing machine.  I have the fabric, equipment and time, so why not?  Although, I do still recommend Brace Buddies with all my heart. I'm so grateful that this company exists and their service is absolutely wonderful.  But I do realize they can not ship everywhere at this time.  So if you are not able to access Brace Buddies and you or someone you love wears a scoliosis back brace, this post might be of interest.  

Let me start off by saying that in this project was created in admiration for the Brace Buddies body sock.  All the design credit goes to this Canadian company.  

I recently ordered and received two body socks and two more t-shirts.  The t-shirt is one of my favourites to wear.  It has a protective flap where the brace sits at the underarm.  The body sock is a new to me order.  I did try to copy it before but did not quite get it right.  In these pictures you can see both of them the t-shirt laying on top of the body sock.  

 

But let me tell you, in case you didn't pick it up from the picture above the strapless body sock is very long.  It's fifty-six inches long which is too long for my four eleven tall height.  I will have to shorten it.  But first, I wanted to make another one to test out the size.  You see, the previous one I made is a wee bit too short and parts of the plastic brace peak through the edges.  

This one turned out just right!  I cut the length at forty-nine inches and it has one inch hems at both ends.  The fabric was folded in half and cut eighteen and three quarters of an inch from the fold.  The seam was sewn with an half inch allowance.  

There was something else that I noticed with the original perfectly designed Brace Buddies version, it was cut on the cross grain.  This was something that I didn't do with the first try at copying this design.  The red version is cut on the cross grain and it is comfortable to wear.  

This is how it fits under and over the brace.  

And how it looks under a dress.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  All of the supplies and equipment were sitting in the stash.  The cotton knit fabric came from Mitchell Fabrics, a local Canadian fabric store from a bygone era.  It's actually the fabric I used for this dress and there is enough left-over to make another body sock.  The Gütermann threads used in the sewing machine, coverstitch and serger were all labelled as made in Germany.  The scissor used to cut the project were made in Tiawan and were picked up at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and coverstitched

Pattern:  The original Brace Buddies Body Sock

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, threads, thread clippers, Janome CoverPro 1000CP, tweezers, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, iron, ironing board, hand sewing needle, silk thread for hand stitching and tea.  

Elbows up and keep sewing!