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Alteration fun
Like anyone ever I have accumulated my fair share of non-fitting bras and today I took it upon myself to try and shrink down a couple bras that fit great in the band but are too big by 1-2 cup sizes. I'm a quite experienced seamstress - I do a lot of self-drafting, especially dresses, since we all know the joys of getting something to fit both waist and bust - but I hate alterations. I'd rather make something new from scratch than alter something that doesn't quite work. But I'm also a cheapskate. And unreturnable bras ...
Sorry, no photos now, maybe later. But I thought I'd share what worked and what didn't.
first victim: 30H - Cleo » Chloe (6601), which I got yesterday.
This should have fit but ran a cup size big. I loved the shape I got from it, but got craaaazy wrinkling all over. So I wanted something that maintained the shape but just sort of shrunk the whole thing. I did this alteration: http://allsfairinloveandlingerie.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/how-to-make-your-bra-cups-smaller/
Pros: it worked exactly as it should have! The cups got smaller. The alteration isn't at all visible under a shirt. The only change I made was I tucked the extra fabric under the wire instead of over it, so it's on the inside. It feels totally comfortable.
Cons: It makes tons of wrinkling at the bottom of the cup, by nature of sewing down just a portion of the fabric. It's not noticeable under clothes but it might be a pain if that bothers you. Also it ended up making the bra very full coverage because I nipped it in at the top (I'm very FOB). To combat this I ended up folding the lace section in half and sewing it under. I actually don't think this is a con at all -- I love the folded-over look and almost wish more bras came that way.
Conclusion: Total success! I salvaged what I thought would be a total flop of a bra. I wore it all day and was totally comfortable. Yay!
second victim: 30HH - Freya » Lyla Balcony (4302)
this was more challenging. This both runs large in the cup in this model (30HH and 32HH have the same size cup!) and I bought a size too big, so it's At LEAST two cup sizes up for me, maybe even 3. I got an extremely pointy look in it. And the shape in general is slightly less pleasing on me ethan the Cleo Chloe, so that was two strikes against it.
I decided on a different alteration just to shake things up. http://imgur.com/a/6IlDI Unlike the Chloe, it wasn't a bra I cared all that much for in the first place, and I figured why not.
I'd done this alteration before on a different bra with a machine and it hadn't gone well so I decided to hand-sew it, as I had the Chloe. I put it on, pinned away, then took it off and sewed the seams down.
Pros: well, it shrank it. It's about the right size now. And I like how much smaller the upper lace section is.
Cons: MANY.
1) the seam gets very thick in this alteration and shows like crazy under shirts. It's not as bad as the last time I tried this, because I was more precise, but it's not good either.
2) The shape is weird on me. Because it was much too big, it altered the shape enormously - it's not pointy any more at all, but it's very shallow (this is an alteration I've seen recommended for making a bra shallower, so there you go). It's very minimizing. I don't like it.
Conclusion: I will probably take it out and try the previous alteration.
TL;DR:
If you have a bra you're happy with but that's a little bit missized, a little alteration goes a long way and you can really make something work with minimal effort. But a bra that's less satisfying in the first place is going to be a lot harder.
I might check back in if the first method works with the second bra
Filed under Bra alterations
I think you did great work!
I´ve tried those alterations as well. I´m a person, who tries just about anything to get a nice-looking bra fit... It was a success for example for my too-big-pointy CK Lottie :)
Yeah, I find myself having to do the same, though I've gotten better at sending things back if they don't fit, instead of just keeping them in hopes of making them work. But of course your don't always have the option of making a return.
I so want to make that upper seam alteration (the second one I mention above) work because it looks so great in theory, but it just changes the shape too much for me, not to mention shows under a tshirt in the worst way. I've taken it out and am hoping the Chloe alteration will work...
Oh bras. I've done enough sewing to know how difficult it is to make something perfectly fitted, so if course it makes sense that something straight off the rack and so close fitting will often need alterations. But I still resent the need. :)