Bryce is here and SO fun! Bryce is a sexy, fun knit pattern full of options. The front features a deep v-center panel. You can make it a little spicy by using mesh or lace for the center panel, or use a regular fabric for a more conservative, color-blocked look. The front neckline of Bryce is finished with a knit binding. The back neckline features a similar deep-v. Both the back neckline, and the armscyes are finished with a lining. You can choose between short or long bands for the underbust, and if you don’t want a crop length, you can add a skirt option! The skirt options on Bryce include peplum, mini, or dress lengths, all drafted as a 1/2 circle. Want a little more coverage? You can add fixed or removable cups, too! Bryce is so fun dressed up, but we love it for workouts, swim, and more too!   There are so many fabric options to use for the center panel. Our testers used lace, mesh, athletic fabrics, sheer knits, burnout fabrics, and so much more! You can also use the same fabric you’re using for the rest of the bodice for a different look.

Lace-Up Hack

I’m so happy to be back here with another fun hack!

Love mesh peekaboo version of Bryce but want to take it one step further? I got you covered! How about removing the center panel and lacing it up instead?

  This is an easy mod/hack that will give this already fantastic pattern even more options.

What you’ll need:

• Bryce pattern – you’ll cut all the pattern pieces with the exception of the Center Bodice and Neck Binding.
• interfacing
• eyelets/grommets
• elastic/cord/ribbon

For this hack, only one small adjustment is needed to the Front Side Bodice piece (main and lining). You’ll need to remove the little “dent” on the pattern where the Center Bodice attaches to the Side ones.

  Cut a 1 1/2″ – 2″ strip of interfacing and attach it to the center edges of your main fabric.

  Now sew the main and lining together as per pattern; the only difference is that you won’t have the Center Bodice sandwiched between them.

Skip the neck binding step, and continue to sew the bodice as per instructions.

Before sewing the waistband, you’ll need to decide how wide you want the start of the neckline to be. On my first trial I kept the same distance it would have had if the center panel had been sewn in. That left me with a very wide neckline and a bit out of my comfort zone:

NOTE: Before cutting your pattern pieces, you could also add a bit of width to your panels as well, if that fits your preference better.

  So next I sewed the bodices touching at the center and it was perfect!

  Now it’s time to decide on eyelet placement. This will be completely dependent on personal taste. I opted to have 8 on each side, 3/4 inches apart.

Mark the placement using your favorite method (I used tailor’s chalk) and apply the eyelets using your weapon of choice 😉 I’m too clumsy for a hammer and still dreaming of a snap press, so pliers it is. lol I used elastic to lace mine up, but here the sky is the limit. Cord, lace, ribbon, a cool chain… so many options!

  As a bonus hack, I made a high-low peplum. The skirt is about 2″ shorter than the original peplum on the front and 3″ longer on the back.

That’s it! A simple way to get yet another look with your Bryce pattern.

  If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. xxx, Livia

 

Bryce + Scarlett/Florence Mash

Bryce is definitely one hot lil’ number, but ya know what would make it even SPICIER?? A fitted skirt. Luckily, Made for Mermaids has no shortage of mashable options!

 

 Most of the patterns with fitted skirt option have a similarly fitted bodice like Bryce, so mashing is relatively simple. For my mash with Scarlett (because Scarlett has all the epic high slits!), I just chose the skirt that matched my normal bottoms size and it fit pretty well without any tweaking. Florence will also mash perfectly!

  Keep in mind:

• If the pattern you’re mashing with does not have a waistband similar to Bryce, your skirt will likely be bigger than the waistband and you’ll need to stretch the waistband to fit
• You COULD eliminate the waistband; however, it does help provide some bodice support for Bryce, so this is not recommended. If you choose to eliminate the waistband, you’ll want to add that height to your skirt (adding it to the bodice might make the bodice too long, but depending on your torso height, it could work.)
• Instead of stretching the waistband to fit the waist opening of the skirt, you could also grade down just the top part of your skirt and then grade it to your normal size. If you’ve already cut your pieces, you can just lay the waistband at the top of your skirt and gradually grade that back out for high and full hip.

That’s pretty much it! Super simple hack/mash and you’ve got a fabulous “new” pattern!

Swim Hack

Now that many of us are in the midst of summer, you can just never have enough swim suits!

Bryce makes a perfect swim top! Simply add swim elastic to the armscye and waistband, pull out your favorite swim fabrics, and pair with your favorite swim bottoms; we love Roxy and Amalfi with the Bryce top!

Whether you’re sewing up a special occasion outfit, a new workout top, or a color blocked dress, we hope you love your new Bryce! We can’t wait to see what you sew up. Don’t forget to share in our Facebook group and over on Instagram.