If you follow me on social media or YouTube, you’ll be well aware that I am in the process of getting a breast reduction surgery.

Smaller breasts is something I’ve wanted since I first needed a bra. I was one of those kids who just woke up one day with boobs. I was a pretty reserved, shy kid, so finding a bra that fit, when the B’s, C’s and D’s from my local department store back in the mid-90’s barely covered what needed covering and the bands were all so big I’d fall out the bottom felt really embarrassing. I got unwanted attention, and being at that time only around 12 years old, I didn’t even understand what people (ie. boys and men) were talking about. It wasn’t until really reflecting upon this over the past few years that I realize how much it effected me.

I remember the first time I stumbled upon a 32DD bra at LaSenza (Canada’s version of Victoria’s Secret). It was a bra that nearly, almost, kind of fit. Sure I still got a bit of a quad boob, as I’d pop out the top, and I’d have to frequently pull my boobs up so they didn’t slip out under the still too-loose band, but it was a far cry from the bras I was used to wearing!

In my teens and twenties, I was in a much smaller body. But even then, proportionally, I had a larger chest.

Now, in my 30’s (almost 40!), I’m in a much healthier space mentally and physically, however my breasts (and my body) have gotten even bigger. And after having my second child, they kind of just went out of control. I breastfed for 2 years, which was 2 years longer than I anticipated! And somehow, they just never shrunk back down to their previous size. So, the 30FF bras that used to fit pretty perfectly have now been set aside and replaced with 30H. I actually just had to undo my bra to check. I think I thought I was a G… but here I am in an H cup Curvy Kate bra.

Physically, the feeling of my breasts give me a sense of discomfort, physically and emotionally. The weight… the sweat… the underboob rashes… the feeling of just all this “stuff” around my chest… It is so uncomfortable. My shoulders and mid back hurt all the time. I actually thought for the longest time that having a constant back ache was just part of being alive, but apparently it’s not! Running is hard… but running while carrying the equivalent of a bag of flour strapped to your chest is even harder. I want to jump rope with my kids, but it just is so uncomfortable to do so. That all sucks, but the other thing that sucks emotionally is how hard it is to find clothes that fit/flatter/are comfortable for larger breasts. I obviously can make my own bras and my own clothes, but honestly… I just want to be able to buy something cute from Aerie, or wear a crop top from Old Navy that my boobs don’t entirely consume.

I’ve never had any type of surgery before besides dental surgery, so I’m not entirely sure how my body and mind will react. I have had the experience of seeing my parents both go through very serious surgeries, so I feel like I have a decent idea of how tired and out of it you are for the first little bit. After spending way too much time on the r/Reduction subreddit, I’ve decided that there is absolutely no way to predict how much help I’ll need and how my body will recover. I just need to listen to my body and accept all the help I can get.

So, that’s all the background. It’s something I wanted for the longest time, but my cup size increase after my second child really spurred me on. One of the hardest initial things to do was talk to my family doctor. Not because she isn’t patient, and understanding, and all around a wonderful human being, but because I was worried I’d be bothering her with a “trivial” issue. Let me be clear, my back pain and discomfort is not trivial, I just have this mindset that there’s always someone else worse off so I don’t want to bother people with my problems… I was relieved to hear her say that she totally agreed that I shouldn’t have to live in pain. One of the complicated parts with where I live in Ontario, is that it is fairly rural. We do have a great local hospital, but the one plastic surgeon in the area was not taking patients. So, I had to look a little farther than my home town. After doing a bit of research, I found a surgeon fairly close by who was doing consultations.

This was about two years ago, so the timeline is a little fuzzy! When I finally got in to see the surgeon, she was really receptive and kind. When she found out I sew and make sewing patterns, she was excited because she could relate a lot of what she does to what I do as a pattern maker. Her excitement about it really was motivating and also put my mind at ease. I could tell she was really passionate about her job. Parts of the consultation were uncomfortable. I had to have photos and measurements taken to be submitted to our provincial healthcare plan. I’ve been so self conscious about my size that I basically am never braless.

Within about 8 weeks or so, I found out I was approved for the surgery! Woohoo! However, this was still during Covid. There were huge backlogs in surgery dates… so my elective surgery was obviously not a huge priority.

I finally followed up again about two months ago. Their office had to submit the paperwork for insurance approval again, but it was quickly approved and I was given the option of 3 dates. I decided to go with the soonest date so that I am recovered by the time my kids are out of school and daycare for the summer. It’s a little daunting as I thought originally I’d have my mom here to help me, but unfortunately SHE had to have a very serious surgery a couple of months ago and is still not back to her normal self yet. But, I’ve enlisted the help of other family members and friends. My kids are (almost) 4 and 8. My oldest is very self sufficient. I’m a little worried about how Sparkle, my youngest, will do. She is very clingy to me, so that might be tough for a bit. But whenever I do it, it’ll be hard! So, I’m just going to do it…

The nerves about it all didn’t really set in until last weekend. I’m not so concerned about the surgery itself as the recovery and making sure my kids get to all of their places and that my husband maintains some level of sanity while also managing many of my day-to-day tasks. I’m not terribly worried about pain, but perhaps this is naive of me.

Ive started doing all of my pre surgery prep, like ordering a few surgical bras, preparing a few things to read and do while I’m relegated to the couch, meal planning, and giving the house a good clean.

Buying a surgical bra was kind of surreal. First, I was able to buy 3 bras for about $50 on amazon. I haven’t been able to buy one bra in my size for that price in ages! When I got them, and tried them on I was so excited about the prospect of being able to fit into something like that comfortably. I can get them on as I am, but I’m all kinds of popping out of them.

If you’re curious about the bras I bought, you can find them on Amazon. I felt a little overwhelmed by the task of buying a surgical bra, so I thought I’d share what I bought. I’ll be sure to add an updated after my surgery to let you all know how they faired. These are affiliate links, so if you happen to purchase one of these bras, I may receive a small commission from amazon.

I’ve been sharing my experiences over on YouTube, but if you’re not an avid youtube viewer, I’ll update here as time permits!

Thank you so much to everyone who has messaged, emailed, and commented on my posts with their experiences and well wishes. It is so reassuring to hear everyone’s stories!

Affiliate Disclosure: I am an Etsy and Aliexpress affiliate. Applicable purchases made through the links I provide may earn me a small commission at no cost to you. This helps keep my blog and youtube channel running! I appreciate your support.

It’s basically been 100 years since I’ve updated my Where to Buy Lingerie Making Supplies video and blog posts, and a lot has changed since then… mostly, the loss of Fabric.com. I’m still mad about that. Amazon totally ruined a great thing!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent a lot of time at the beginning of the pandemic doing lots of online shopping. During that time I discovered some new shops that have become go-to sources for me.

I’ve outlined it all in a video on YouTube, but I’ll provide a full list here with links. If I’ve missed your favourite online store (or in person shop!), let me know in the comments. I always love discovering new stores.

My Go-To Fabric Stores

USA

Canada

International

ETSY! – I love shopping for fabric on Etsy. There are several shops I have purchased from repeatedly in Japan, South Korea and Easter Europe. The wonderful thing about Etsy is you can narrow down your search by location. I show you how in my YouTube Video.

My Go-To Shops for Elastic and Notions

In no particular geographic order

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive a small commission from purchases made through links provided in this post. This is at no cost to you and helps me keep my blog and YouTube Channel running! Thank you so much for your support.

I am OBSESSED with polymer clay!

When I was a kid, my cousin and his wife owned a miniatures store. They had all of these tiny little clay foods and treats and accessories… I was absolutely in love with all of it. One year for Christmas, they gave me a miniature pumpkin pie. It’s still one of my prized possessions, and lives safely tucked away with my eraser collection. So, I kind of grew up around clay. We used to play with FIMO as a kid and now that I have my own kids, we play with Sculpey and also air dry clay, as it’s a little easier for small hands to work with.

A while back, I started seeing these clay earrings popping up on Pinterest. I decided I’d try my hand at those and quickly became re-obsessed with clay. I’ve even added a few earrings to my Etsy shop because I can’t stop making them. But then I had a great idea! I should make them into pattern weights!

So, I sent my husband to the hardware store in search of washers and he found just the right thing. I ended up using 2x 1 3/8″ washers glued together as my base, and then polymer clay on top. I recorded the process of making the floral motif weight, but ended up making 4 different styles, with the bee being my favourite.

One of the things I’ve been wanting to experiment with is painting on polymer clay. So for my crescent moon weight, I used some acrylic paint and a fine brush to paint on some simple stars before baking. I really love how that turned out and I’ll definitely be experimenting with painting on clay some more.

You can find the full instructions on how I put these together on my YouTube Channel. They are pretty simple to make and with a little practice I’m sure you can come up with some really amazing designs. I went with a nature-cottagecore theme… which is basically my life’s aesthetic.

Here’s what you need to make your own Pattern Weights:

• 1 3/8″ (3.5cm) metal washers (available at most hardware stores)
• Polymer Clay (FIMO, Sculpey) in assorted colours. You can get a great assortment of colours on Etsy, but I usually pick mine up at my local Michaels store.
• Basic clay tools (acrylic rolling pin, toothpicks). Here is a nice set from Amazon.
• Strong Glue (I used E6000 available on Amazon, and most hardware and craft stores)

Once you have gathered your supplies, go ahead and watch my video for all the details on how to make them!

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Years before I started sewing lingerie, I walked into a local thrift shop and spotted a 1980s lingerie pattern from one of the Big 4 Pattern companies. It had already been cut and was missing a couple of pieces, but I was able to cobble together one of the teddies and a pair of underwear. It kind of sparked that lingerie-sewing love within me.

Since then, whenever I see an older lingerie sewing pattern, I pick it up. I had great luck a few months ago and found 3 at my local ValueVillage! I decided that for Valentine’s Day, I wanted to sew myself something special. I was wanting a new silk camisole (I love silk under knitted sweaters) and some matching bottoms to go with it. I wanted something comfortable, but still pretty and romantic feeling, even though at this season of my life, romance to me and my husband is watching an episode of the Last of Us and passing out on the couch… at least I can do that in something pretty!

I decided to document my process on my YouTube Channel in three parts. Part one goes through the patterns, tracing them off, and cutting my silk.

Parts two and three walk through the steps of sewing the top and bottoms. However, part of the way through this process I realized I was missing the instructions for one of the pieces, so there was a lot of trial and error involved.

I always find that the Big 4 (Vogue, Simplicity, Butterick, McCalls) always have a ridiculous amount of ease. So, unsurprisingly, both my pieces ended up much to big, even though I sized down. This is always such an annoyance to me. Nothing needs as much ease as what these patterns include! Anyway, I suppose that is part of the process! I’m spoiled by being able to just sew my own patterns!

In the end, I was 95% happy with the results. The cami was great and I’ve already worn it once. The bottoms aren’t my favourite fit, so I ended up making a pair of Jane Panties (shown on the mannequin below), which I LOVE and has inspired me to make more silk underwear.

If you are interested in trying out some vintage lingerie patterns, there are many available on Etsy as instant downloads (my friend Anna from Mrs Depew has lots of pre-1950’s patterns, or you can check out SewGirlPatterns for 1960s-1980s patterns), or you can get your hands on the original things. Many of these patterns are meant for woven fabrics, as knits weren’t as widely available even just 20-30 years ago (trust me, I remember this!). Here is a nice source for silks that I have purchased from before! Be warned though, once you wear silk lingerie, it’s hard to go back!