Sewing Bras - More Watsons! An experiment in stretch and support

I'm on a Watson kick!  After making my first retro inspired wireless bra and discovering how COMFY it is, I quickly made a few more (including one as a gift!).  In this iteration, no alterations were made to the pattern, just different fabrics and powernet.  All three were make in size 32F (I'm usually a 32E/F in UK sizes).

FABRIC BREAKDOWN

Striped Watson - Slighter heavier Medium weight Knit with FIRM powernet through out.  Fabric has the recommended 75% stretch. Brief pattern from Bare Essentials.

Red Watson - Medium weight Knit with doubled fashion fabric - NO powernet.  Fabric has the recommended 75% stretch. Brief pattern from Bare Essentials w/ modifications.

Blue Watson - Medium weight Ribbed knit with LIGHT powernet throughout. Fabric has the recommended 75% stretch. Bikini pattern from Watson Kit.

Power nets - Light has about 100% stretch, Medium about 50% and Firm about 30%

FIT

While both the Red and the Blue Watson were comfy around the band, the cups from Blue Watson fit better.  It provided more coverage and moved with the body better.  The Red Watson was a close second with the cups ever so slightly too small.  Time will tell how the Red Watson holds up as without the powernet, will likely loose its elasticity quickly.  

The Striped Watson was simply too small in the cups.  This is likely due to the FIRM powernet not having enough stretch.

  After actually WEARING the Striped Watson for a day, I revise my statement. FIRM powernet does have some stretch and conforms to the body after a short while. I no longer feel like I have side boob and the Striped Watson provides the most support in the band AND the cups.  The girls looked perkiest with the FIRM powernet

but also oddly squished - this is likely due to the cups being too small as the pattern was designed for fabrics with significantly more stretch

 and is the powernet I would recommend for those with larger cups.  I can easily wear this out on short trips without worrying about headlights. In all three cases, I added plastic boning to the side seams to help keep the band from rolling up but also helps with support (especially with larger cups) and overall silhouette.  Once on, I found the side boning to be un-noticable and was able to sleep with no problems.

For ladies who are on the larger cup side, I would highly recommend the FIRM powernet for the bridge/band and either MEDIUM power net for the cups or FIRM but GO UP A SIZE.  I would wager that the best configuration for those who are more well endowed, would be FIRM bridge/band and Medium cups.  This will be the combo I try next.

Here's the reason why:

Those are fine threads of lycra/elastic coming apart at the seams of the LIGHT Powernet from my first Watson (LIGHT powernet in cups, MEDIUM powernet in band with Knit Terry fabric)  I've worn it twice, washed once.  Its possible the LIGHT powernet simply cannot support the weight of larger cups.  No matter, its super comfy and I will likely continue to wear it until it falls apart.  Given I will likely only wear my Watson's at home AND the fraying is on the inside, no one can tell.

Woo!  And now I have a few matching sets for lounging around in this 100+ degree weather!