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def: Stitch ; A mode of arranging the threads in sewing, knitting, or crocheting

81-bra-making-lesson-1

A brassiere, commonly referred to as a bra, is an article of clothes that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. The bra is considered a foundation garment, as well as an undergarment, because of its role in shaping the wearer's figure. The bra was originally developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to replace the corset. The bras are the most popular form of undergarment for the upper body, especially the lacebras and strapbra.

The brastraps ( brastrapholder ) and bracup should provide most of the support, rather than the shoulder straps, which are responsible for a number of health problems .

When viewed from the side, the brastraps that runs around the body should be horizontal, should not ride up the back, and should be firm but comfortable.
The bra underwires at the front should lie flat against the rib cage (not the breast), along the infra-mammary fold, and should not dig in to the chest or the breasts, rub or poke out at the front.
The breasts should be enclosed by the bracup and there should be a smooth line where the fabric at the top of the bracup ends.
There should not be a ridge or any bulging over the top or sides of the bracup, even with a low-cut style such as the balconette bra. The most common bracupsize are a 32cbrasize and bra40a.

You love to sew and sewing your own bras or you have issues with ready-to-wear bras.

Sewing your own lingerie is very addictive, I have warned you.

How to start with making your own custom bra ?

I followed a bra making class and first I had to make my own patterns.
In the bra making class, I learned to alter my pattern to fit my body

I have a few basic lingerie patterns, they are exactly shaped for me.
Now I can choose from thousands of fabrics and elastics and have my unique lingerie.

First copy the pattern pieces out and don't use the original to alter your pattern.
You have a master pattern and the pattern pieces are copied out
and the copies only are altered. Please don't alter the originals, at some point
you will need them in the original form and if you haven't used copies you'll be stuck.

Bra making supplies;
Bra Back Closures, Braextenders, Bra Rings, Brastraps, Bra Hooks, Spaghetti Strap, Rings & Slides, Nursing Bra Clasps, Plush Elastic, Brastrapholder, Bracup, Underwires, Channeling, Fabric Tricot, Sheer - Tricot, Sheer Nylon, Sheer Polyester , lingerie Fabrics, Stretch Satin, lingerie Lycra® and Spandex.

International Bra Size Calculator       International Bra Size Conversion        Bra Size Information

  I want to make a 2-piece bracup   with underwires.

It is possible to create a perfect custom bra. You have to be willing to sew a few trials along the way, to perfect the fit. After having got good bra patterns for your figure you will be able to sew luxurious bra with perfect fit in a couple of hours.

Tip; Don't use expensive fabrics for the first 3 bra's !
After you have learned the sewing techniques it may be worth while investing in more expensive fabrics and laces.

As fabric you can use normal lingerie tricot or jersey. I suggest you use 2-way or 4-way stretch fabric.
Part of the bracup can be sewn of stretchy lace or lace fabric.
You can apply decorations, such as a bow, flower or lace appliqués.

If you are not using power net for the T piece, you need to stabilize it if the fabric is very stretchy.
To get a firm band, the midriff part should always be sewn of double fabric.
Do stabilize the center piece so that there is NO stretch whatsoever.

Furthermore you need lingerie edge elastic. Consider an alternative to use elastic of contrasting color, that might be the only decoration needed for your bra.

If you use lace or lace fabric for some parts of the bra, it usually is advisable to strengthen its edge with transparent elastic or very thin lingerie elastic.

Buy fabrics of a good quality, otherwise your bracups will sag.
And once you have used bra sewn to your own measurements, you never again want to wear anything else. This is especially true with women who have a prominent bust and who need extra support for it but find it difficult to get well fitting ready made bra ( RTW ).

You can copy your favorite bra.
Make a pattern from that favorite bra by "reverse engineering."
While there are methods for making a pattern from an intact bra, dismantling the bra provides a more accurate reproduction. Remember to write the reverse of what you're doing when taking apart the bra (i.e., when detaching the brastraps, write instructions for how to attach the brastraps). Google for dismantling the bra.

The sewing is not very difficult, but it can be frustrating at times. You do have to sew nearly the entire bra before you know whether it fits (or not).

there are basically 3 types of stitches,

   Have a new stretch needle, a full bobbin of good quality thread

Trace out pattern pieces to whatever you like to use.
Mark stretch and grain line directions and notches. There are only 5 basic pieces to my pattern.

Make sure you have the stretch going the right way

Label everything! How many pieces to cut and what the part is (Upper bracup, Bra Band, etc.).

Just add the seam allowances ( 1 cm ) and you are ready to go!

If my instructions are;
take 80% of this length and so and so on

Than divide this ( for instance elastic ) equally over the length,
because there is less elastic ( 80 % ) than length

My bottom bracups must have extra support.
If you want to line the bracups, cut out lining fabric, make sure the stretch goes in the opposite direction, then lay the pieces together, wrong sides together and stitch on the edge, then treat as one piece.

You will use 1 cm seams throughout. Straight stitch together. I use length 2.0 on my machine

Stretch bracups when sewing the upper and the lower bracup together

As you can see, I put the boning in the casing, cut of the boning at the right size

Make sure the bones are out of the way when stitching over the casing
otherwise you'll break your needle

Use straight stitch to sew the underwire channeling (casing) ) precisely in the middle, on your seam

go to part 2