• This would actually be a pretty easy alteration, even for a beginner sewist, since the only seams you are sewing are the vertical, non-stretchy ones. You'd then just cut the straps at the small seam on the back of the connector, thread them through the strap attachment on the band, then back through the connector and re-sew them. (I'm now tempted to sew the back of my turquoise Thrill Me onto the Cleo Marcie.)

  However, if you plan to do this often, it's probably cheaper to buy lingerie supplies from a website like Sew Sassy or Bramakers Supply, and just draft your own band to replace the band on bras that are uncomfortable.

• Yeah, I'm saving all my 3 hook bands. Once I reach my actual size, those 2 hook stupid things are becoming 3 hooks. Since it's a vertical seam, it won't stretch much, so a straight stitch should be fine. I'm also going to try taking in the side seams once the back stretches out.

  Only "major" change is I'm going to replace any straps I dislike with something I prefer. Which is fairly simple in my world, plus any straps that don't shorten enough, I can make them shorten more.

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6 comments

• But whyyyyy it looks so good on you <3

• Vee Because wires really do torture me and I still cannot find a way to bend my wires so that they won't attack my sternum. For example I bent the 34J - Panache » Andorra Full Cup (5675) gore outwards 7cm or something and it would still tack. I don't even know how that's even possible :O

  It might be I still haven't found where I need to bend my wires but every time it ends bad it's seriously unhealthy since it does take my breath/makes me cough (globus sensus).

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Jun 17, 2013

So I finally got the nerve to take the scissors to my bra. It was mostly out of desperation. You see, I have one well fitting bra, a 28E - Freya » Just Flew In Padded Longline Bra (1393) , and have been wearing it almost daily for the last week while I wait for my ... next shipment to arrive from overseas. Out of fear of ruining my one true bra love by wearing it too much, I went to Nordstroms to see what they had in 30 bands.I ended up with 30DD - Betsey Johnson Intimates » Eyelet Lace Demi Cup (723325). It didn't fit perfectly, but I hoped it would get me by and give my Freya a break.

It did not. It was comfortable for the three minutes it on in the dressing room, but I couldn't wear it for more than 20 minutes without wanting to rip it off. The issues were: the band was too loose, the center gore was a bit too wide, and the straps were too wide set and cutting into my armpits.

I did not have the foresight to take photos of the process, but here is what I did:
Removed all of the bows.
Added a dart to the center gore - reinforced by stitching over twice.
Removed the fasteners on the back, and cut off about 1/3" from each side.
Reattached the fasteners.
Removed the stitching from the outside of the cups, from where the outside strap attached to about two inches down. This left me three layers: outside lace, inside padding, and elastic.
Moved the outside strap next to the inside strap, and stitched in place.
Cut down the lining to reshape the edge of the cup - zigzaged on edge to help prevent fraying.
Cut down the lace, folded over the newly formed edge, and tacked down.
Attached elastic along the edge of the cup up to the straps.
Reattached bows all in the center to try to cover up dart.

The results: a much better fitting and more comfortable bra! The band is the right tightness on the first set of hooks now, and the straps are cutting into my armpits. It's improved the shape it gives me bust a little, but it still can't match the awesome profile created by my Freya. I think the difference is that Freya's cups are much stiffer, so they hold shape better. The Betsey Johnson cups seem to be stretchier, with more give. Reshaping the cups as I did created a little bit of a gap where the cups meet the center gore. I may place a couple of stitches here to tack it down if it starts to bug me, but for now, I'm happy.
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Bra Alterations - Imgur

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Fun with bras - I can have ALL the colours

On the heels of my success moving straps, I decided to try another alteration project I've been considering for quite some time. Yesterday, I dyed a
28GG - Freya » Jolie Balcony (4102) from boring white to dramatic green.

Since I have a love-hate relationship with lingerie sets (they're adorable, but my sensitive skin flares up if I ... put anything other than softest cotton near my nethers) I also tossed in a pair of cotton boyshorts, hoping for a pseudo-set. I was going for a hippiecore mossy grassy/green, but the bra came out a darker hunter green. The panties came out closer to the colour I was originally intended, so they don't quite match. Oh well. I'm still pretty pleased with both. The bra and panties together now give a sort of tough-girl sexy army fatigue vibe, which I sort of dig (though it might have worked with a less lacy looking bra, such as the Rio). Not enough of that in the lingerie world.

I had hoped the little rosettes would take colour and turn green/brown (they were previously white and pink). Unfortunately, they barely took any colour and turned into dirty white and dirty pink, which clashed horribly with the green, so I cut them off. The bra looks surprisingly bare without them. I'm not sure whether I want to embrace the minimalist aesthetic, or find some fun buttons or other adornments to replace them with. On the other hand, I was surprised that the strap hardware and hooks DID take colour and are now a pretty emerald green.
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Green! - Imgur

http://imgur.com/a/7DRGT

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Shared on Jun 16, 2013 Flag this

Leedlebra

450 reputation

37 bras

14 comments

• LOVE that colour!! I'd add white buttons to it to match the seams, if it were mine :)

• That looks awesome!

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5 comments

• I hear you completely -- I have exactly the same disease ;)

  If you're interested in drafting your own patterns I suggest you start with reading the free bra-making articles on Foundations Revealed: http://www.foundationsrevealed.com/articles/bra-making/how-to-make-a-bra. There's two of them, but they're the best you'll ever find on the topic of drafting. There's a whole lot more INCREDIBLE bra-making stuff that you won't find anywhere else that, unfortunately, is accessible through paid subscription only. If you're bitten by the bug it's definitely worth it though to take, say, a month subscription and grab what you can ;)

  Another excellent -- and free! -- drafting resource is Pattern School, here: http://www.patternschool.com/?page_id=239 (be sure to also check the other items under the 'Bra' tab -- lots of info there too!).

  If you're willing to splurge there's Beverly Johnson's Bra-Making Manual, arguably 'the best' resource for bra making. I'd say it's okay and indeed probably the most complete book on the subject, but after reading virtually everything out there on the Web I wasn't totally impressed. If you must, get the digital version instead of the paper one, as it's quite a bit cheaper. NB: for notes on drafting your own pattern FROM SCRATCH you'll need Volume 2! There's virtually nothing on the topic of drafting in Volume 1.

• This stuff all looks really interesting! I feel like it would be so much less hassle to make a pattern which works for me instead of altering ready-to-wear stuff, but I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where on earth to get underwires from. All the bra supply shops which I've looked at seem to have wires which are the wrong dimensions. I really want a sort of 'U' shape, which is relatively long for it's width. It also needs to be really sturdy! None of this Freya limp celery sticks wires business.

  I emailed the shop which sells supplies in Australia, and I've been given the name of someone who makes custom bras, so I've emailed her and I'm waiting to see what she comes back with. I've never done complex sewing, but I have done some sewing, and I have a pretty good idea of what my personal needs are when it comes to bras.

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EM Strap alterations - Option 2

Like Ereshiy, I spent the evening cutting into an EM bra to move the straps inwards last night. Mine was a foam cup (CHP Brzoskwinka) so I was a little bit hesitant to try to alter the cups themselves.

Instead, I just moved the straps themselves a little bit further into the cup, and then added a small secondary ... strap attached from the corner of the cups (where the straps used to be) up diagonally to attach to the straps themselves.

The end result is much more supportive (no more collapsing cups or gaping) and for once I managed to execute my alterations neatly enough that it looks like the bra came that way.

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CHP Strap WTF - Imgur

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Shared on Jun 15, 2013 Flag this

Leedlebra

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• That's just great! You and Ereshiy and Branarchist and everyone else I can't think of right now that does the alteration thing ... all of you are my heroes.

  Now I have to get reacquainted with my sewing machine. Or at least with some thimbles. :D

• On their FB, Ewa are asking about how many people have this problem, if you have them added please comment and tell them so we can try and get this sorted :)

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Altering Outside the Box

So, I've gone to town on my 65L - Ewa Michalak » Sm Beżyk . Every time I do stuff like this, I keep thinking that I should actually take photos of the process that I go through, but I kind of loosely base what I do on various tutorials and kind of figure out the rest as ... I go along. Also, I'm totally like a little kid at Christmas and get too excited to want to stop and document the process.

There was a bit of fabric attaching the straps to the cup of the bra, and I didn't end up needing that extra height at all, so I just removed it. I was a bit worried about sewing over lace, but it turned out that the lace is pretty sturdy and seems to stay in place pretty well. I still can't move the lift point in as far as I'd like, or it would end up completely messing up the fit of the bra. I almost feel like I need two sets of straps, with one set lifting almost from the very middle of the bra though I don't know how that would work under a shirt. I still need to take the back in, but I'm planning to wash and wear the bra on the tightest hook a few times before I do that because my Toffik stretched out so much in the first few weeks of wear! I sewed it by hand, as I'm still having sewing machine woes. The thread isn't a perfect match, but actually hasn't showed up at all in any of the pictures where I'm wearing the bra. Go figure.

What are my thoughts on the finished result? Well, the bra isn't cutting me off under the arms any more and the cups aren't collapsing. It actually feels very comfortable! I've pretty much pulled out about 1 cup worth of volume, all in the top section of the bra, so I have the projection that my breasts want to have, and none of the height/width issues usually associated with it. The visual apex of the bra isn't exactly where my apex actually is, but it looks fine under a shirt. I'm not sure what I'd call this shape. It's not clearly the 'blue', 'purple' or 'green' shapes as far as I can tell. It's certainly got a lot of coverage, but that doesn't especially bother me. I don't tend to wear low-cut/plungy tops anyway most of the time. It's certainly not a classic S fit by any stretch of the imagination.

I've put up some pictures of the bra on me in an album. I probably should have waited for my husband to help me take pictures, but I was too excited. Also, the original images for reference here. http://www.bratabase.com/browse/ewa-michalak/sm-bezyk/65L/

Is it bad that I actually feel like this is the best bra that I have, and that I'd almost be more tempted to do this again than order a bra in my 'correct' size?
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SM Bezyk Alterations - Imgur

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20 comments

• You should totally try the M cup next :D

• That looks really good.

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7 comments

• This sounds like my joy the day I first tried CK 32J and was so shocked about support even without the straps up. Bravissimo halfcup trial for you? Freya halfcup trial? :) Or alter this bra?

  What I would guess is that you found a bra that reaches around your root? :)

• Whee! Cup depth. I've become a total pro at pulling the top and side volume out of cups, though you can't do a lot about the apex unfortunately. Ask me if you want any advice on how to do it.

  I'm going to try on some stuff which is more likely to be the 'correct size', but if I'm not getting any solutions, buying 1-2 sizes up and pulling the volume works fine for me.

  Right now, I'm feeling like if I'm getting support and comfort with a shape I want, who cares about the size on the tag. Branarchist , I think you may be rubbing off on me.

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A branarchists way of saving a Cleo George

So 30J - Cleo » George (5131) is too small. Also it gapes in the front. But it gives a perfect shape so I figured I could take the easy way out. Instead of altering the straps I just lengthened the straps and used again this plastic bag thing higher up on my back.

The bra immediately became ... more firm and gave me a perfect pushed up shallow cleavage filling out on top of my 40 o/oo Kieska.

It's still slightly too small but it doesn't show under clothing and it's a perfect shape.

I will get a real thing fo making cross backs instead of using these but I use these things for my hair as well so it's kind of my thing to have them everywhere
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• .... your.... hair...?

  This boggles my mind, but I have crap-tons of hair that regular barrettes can't handle, so maybe there's the reason.

• drownedsalad Yup hair :D My hair isn't thick sadly :D Although I usually use the bigger ones for my hair :)

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12 comments

• Pinging alisa Branarchist Vee :)

• I love experiments like this <3

  I really believe all bras should have vertical boning behind the wires to at least somewhat prevent wire distortion. And the "bonier" our bodies are compared to our boobs (meaning the more shallow our boobs are) the more important I think it is because there's not enough weight in the front to counter the pressure by the band backwards.

  This is why I kind of don't believe in +0 method + swoop and scoop. We all get ourself into a situation the bras cannot really handle. Because they were not really made for that. It's nothing wrong with it, it's just it's way more complicated. Sort of.

  I think people have a hard time understanding that what we are doing here more and more seems that we're creating a new type of bras and bra fitting. We use the old bras and ideas as a base, but we make something completely new that wasn't there before. It's extremely interesting and I adore being a part of it <3

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5 comments

• The pics aren't as good, but there are 3 different suggestions at this link: http://www.venusianglow.com/2010/07/tutorial-tightening-bra-band-without.html ,
  but because I'm too lazy to sew, I just ordered (today, so I can't review them yet) the Rixie Clips from etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/RixieClip?ref=shop_sugg

• I thought about a Rixie clip, but they only come in 1.5" width, and both of the bras I need to shorten are narrower than that. :(

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5 comments

• I just altered down a way stretched out deco. It's a 28FF, was stretching to almost 31"! I barely cut ANYTHING off the band(about 1cm on each side)... but now it stretches to 27"! Apparently ~2cm makes a huge difference!

  I agree, the stitches were annoying to take out. I do have a seam ripper but the stitches down the side are intense!

• As to the hooks, in general I never use the full width of the zig-zag stitch there, and I rarely, if ever see a bra which has the full width there either. I think you can safely try it with the zipper foot on, or if you have that option, move the needle position to the side.

  And, well done! :)

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More Band Shortening Adventures!

I've been playing some more with my PL Toffik, which is pretty much my official experimental bra, as it's not a great fit, and probably will never be a fabulous fit, so I don't feel too bad messing around with it to improve the fit.

When I initially fixed up the strap placement, I shortened the bra band a little by ... reducing it's stretched length, and it seemed okay, for all of about 2 days. I sewed in some more stabilising/anti-stretch panels, and that felt okay for all of 2 days again. I'm not sure whether it's the fact that I'm a glutton for incredibly firm bands, or whether EM bands just stretch out a lot upon wear. If my band isn't at the point of being almost uncomfortably firm on inhale, the weight of my breasts tends to drive the underwires at the front into my torso. My breasts are heavy, and without really firm band support, all that weight is focused on a very small part of my body.

I didn't really want to start chopping off bits of band, because I really wanted the straps to sit further in at my back, so I settled on a home-grown Rixie Clip type alteration. I've sewn on a second set of salvaged bra closures next to the first lot, further reducing the stretched length. I can now wear it on the loosest set of hooks of the second set, and I'm hoping that this will be firm enough for me to wear like this for a while.

I had to hand sew it, as my sewing machine is out of commission (it seems to have some kind of intermittent fault, which is the most irritating thing in the world), so I've just used small back stitch to secure the fastening in place. I haven't popped the stitches yet (as opposed to when I tacked it on to test for fit and they went flying within 30 seconds of fastening the bra), so I hope that it will hold up! I've included a picture of my (ugly) hand stitching in a non-matching colour. I need to get some more threads and stop trying to use the last bit of tapestry/embroidery kits for small alterations.

As a completely unrelated side note, which isn't quite big enough for an adventure of it's own. I have a bra which I ordered for my sister in my hands at the moment, and like all good Bratabasers, I've taken the measurements of it, and I'm planning to mark it as not owned. My question is though, should I set the fit on this bra? It's a 60G, so it hasn't got the slightest chance of fitting me. Do other people set fit of bras which they don't use?
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imgur: the simple image sharer

http://imgur.com/lOBiE60

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Panache Ariza razerback alteration

This alteration is weird and since I am too lazy I haven't yet completed it.

I had help from seamstress friend doing this. I used straps from 34F - Freya » Pollyanna (5922) combined with Triumph Ladyform 36D straps. I kept the old straps. Not that they are doing any job anymore but I just liked the bondagy ... look of it. Maybe they also somehow prevents wire distortion I don't know.

The Freya straps was a little too long so they have been tucked down inside the cups because I still have to alter the razerback shorter. So far I use one of these to keep the bra together: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7935306172_34d9c039fb_z.jpg

Today my boobs suddenly started filling out in the gore from swoop and scoop and so this alteration has given me the most perfect migration devise so far. Now I cannot tuck the band in the cups anymore and I have to finish the alteration.

Well a branarchist mush have a little punk in her bras, doesn't she?
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Ariza 34J racerback alteration

Sets let you organize your photos on Flickr. Explore the 8 photos in this set.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96373516@N07/sets/72157633632429041

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Shared on May 24, 2013 Flag this

8 comments

• Reeeeeallly interesting to see that.

  It's almost the alteration I want to do on that Freya I have... that space between where the original strap and your add-on strap is? That space I want to fold over in my Freya, in effect creating a dart that removes a section of volume from the top lace, but doesn't really affect the rest of the cup. It will also change the strap placement on the cups, kind of, which will help my armpits.

  Hmm. Do you find you are getting support just from the add-on? (I was about to type strap-on!)

• And can I say... Holy boobage, Branarchist !

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• Altering ftw! I don't like my bikini options in my size (30HH) either, so I'm pretty much buying 32, 34, even 36 band bikinis to alter because it's easier to find cute ones on sale/ebay. All the ones I like in my size are expensive. ($50-$70 for a top)

  It's better than buying an XL triangle top, right?

• Yes, except that this one was friggin expensive

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4 comments

• I'm interested in this too. I absolutely love my Rhea, but I couldn't go up a band size and expect the band not to ride up, but it's really tight. For me, my cups are small enough for it to feel stable on me, it's just pretty tight.

• The Rhea band is the worst! Although my 30H Delphi gives me the worst aches in my back from the tightness. It also rides up, ugh. I love Masquerade, but their bands need to be stretchier and wider!

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Instruction to alter U-shaped bands

As I alter all my bands down to a 26, I thought it might be time to share my knowledge with those, who also desperately need their 28s to be smaller, or who just have bands that stretched out too big permanently.
Or, like most of my cases, buy bigger bands/crosssizes to get the cheap sale prices (as I ... have to alter my bras anyway). 28E is a size that is sold out very early, and therefor often doesn't even make it to the sale section. So I buy crosssizes that don't get bought very often, generally I buy 30DD's, 32D's, 34C's at Ebay or someplace other, and alter them down to a 26F.
This way, I get all the shiny bras always under 20€ a piece, it is just some work left. I prefer altering my bands in the evening in front of my TV, than paying the double amount and often being still in need to alter it anyway.
But I prefer altering u-shaped bands (where the straps end in the closer instead of straight at the band), as they are much easier to change, though they look more complicated at first.

So here is how I do it (sorry for the text, I originally did it in german, and now I translated it for you, but I guess it will at least always be better than german for you guys )
Oh, and don't forget to check first how much you need to take out! I hold the closer to the place where I would like to hook my bra in, and measure from the place to the actual middle hook (so that in case I take out too much or too less, there will be still some place to move).

I based this technique on an instruction from Busenfreundinnen.net, so thanks to the girls there!
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View image: instruction to alter a band

http://postimg.org/image/ku10cekyp/

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Shared on May 22, 2013 Flag this

10 comments

• That's a really nice way to alter leotard backs and gets around the thing which I've always come up against- the strap placement. I'm always trying different methods of shortening the band of my bras so I think this one will be next on the list!

  Out of curiosity, what's the most you've taken off a band using this method? I'd love to get back into Cleo bras again, but I'd be looking at taking probably 7-10" stretched length off to get the right cup volume.

• thanks :)
  The biggest would be the 34C then. As that is 4 crossizes bigger, I took off about 15cm/6" unstretched

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My first bra alteration!

I'm proud to say that with my very limited, and sketchy hand-sewing skills, I successfully altered my Alegro Innocent Lily in a 40FF. There was a lot of extra, stretchy fabric at the top of the cups that I just could not fill. I was able to take a bit of that extra fabric in, and now the cups fit perfectly. No gaping whatsoever. I'm really happy about this, even though it's just something small like altering a bra.

Photo Album - Imgur

http://imgur.com/a/ugGNs

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Shared on May 21, 2013 Flag this

• How did you bring it in? I might have to do a similar alteration with a bra or two due to my shape...

• Honestly, while wearing the bra I just folded in under the fabric and brought it towards the strap. I pinned it, and stitched it. As you can see in the picture, this caused the seam to be more angular, than a curve.

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