A Learning Experience
I know I mentioned in an earlier adventure that I was getting a custom-sized bra pattern made. Anyway, my pattern arrived, and yesterday, I had the opportunity to do a day class to put together a bra! I went to Booby Traps, which is a business which both sells bra supplies and also does classes.
Under normal circumstances, they don't have ... patterns in my size, but they do have patterns up to a G cup, and Lynn who ran the class said that they're keen to get more experiences with the patterns over DD, but they don't seem to get many ladies come in that size range. They don't officially have anything which goes below a 10 (32) band, but would help you alter the band length in the pattern if required.
I've done more than my fair share of alterations, but it was really interesting putting a bra together from scratch. A lot of the stuff with construction makes more sense when you can see how everything fits together! I will admit that I'm still really a bit of a sewing novice, so my finished product is a bit wonky, but I'm sure that more experience will help with making things look more professional and tidy.
There were a lot of different kinds of materials there, the only real downside I found, which probably wouldn't be a problem for women with small-medium busts is that the underwires they sell aren't especially sturdy. I'm going to use a pair of wires from an old bra, but it does mean that I still have the problem which I thought I'd have initially- trying to source suitable underwires for my bras. I really don't want to have to buy a bra to get the wires out to make another bra.
As far as cost goes, the bra I made cost about $35 in materials (this is in addition to the course fee), but that's more expensive than most of their bra kits (which seem to range from about $20-$30 depending on size and materials). If you make a smaller bra, it would almost definitely cost less. It took basically a full day to put the bra together- it took about 7 hours, though it may take less time if you were using one of the patterns in the store, because the teacher was more familiar with it. I'm also sure as I get more experienced, I'll get faster at sewing. I've got another kit, and I'm certainly planning to have another go at making a bra.
The bra itself, isn't actually too bad. I've always wanted to try having hooks up the full height of the bra back, so I've done this & it feels a lot more supportive. It seems to be a little small in the cup & a little too wide, but I actually feel like I could wear it, if it wasn't under something super tight which will show off the shape. The only other problem is that the slightly narrower, sturdier wires I found are noticeably shorter than the wire casing. I may have to put a few extra stitches in to get them to stay put.
I've entered the bra onto the site! I sort of had an educated guess when picking a size because to be honest, I have no real idea what size I am in bras these days. http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dlcrq/.
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Booby Traps | Bra Kits | Corsets | Hosiery | Sewing lesso...
http://www.boobytraps.com.au/
Filed under Bra alterations
Anyways, is there any interest in me actually photo documenting my trial and error alterations for this? Is this a common problem for people?
I would buy Supplex to cover the breast tissue that's not contained from the beginning. My only issue is that the bra only has two hooks in the back in my size range... I'm seriously considering buying one in my size, and one way above my size just to get the three hooks. That way I could rip off the band from the bigger bra, alter it shorter, and slap it onto the smaller one. What do you think?
Wow! That is a great story. I'd like to see the bra when you get pictures up.
Same here! I really am über-curious to see your results! :)
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