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Bra surgery
Today I closed my listing for my 34A - Forever21 Lingerie » T-shirt Bra (2000025089) because I dismantled the bra a couple of weekends ago. I am going to see if I can use my noob sewing skills to transform it into something that fits. I think it will be easier than making a new bra from scratch and still very informative. I am not sure the results will be good but at least it keeps my fingers away from spending more money on bras for a few weeks!
Notes so far: dismantling a cheap bra is pretty easy and straightforward. First I took in the band. I took the back closures off (used a seam ripper to take the stitches out), chopped off a lot of band, and sewed them back on by hand, mimicking how they had originally been sewn on and reinforced. Having a metal thimble is essential if you are going to sew through all those layers without a machine. The band surgery alone I would say was 100% successful. I would feel comfortable doing this to an expensive bra that I planned on keeping.
My next and more difficult project is the cups. I detached one of the straps and cut the foam lining out of the cups, leaving the outer fabric for now. I'm not totally decided on what I'm going to do about them. I have some cute fabric and I made a paper pattern for a 3-part cup based on one of my best-fitting bras. I have a few other ideas too. Stay tuned!
Filed under Bra alterations
3 comments
Hey Jj, I'm guessing that we don't add custom-built bras on the site? I can see how it wouldn't help other users if the bras are not available for sale.
I've made a few Franken-bras in my time. Currently I'm turning an old worn out VS bra into something that will work with some clear straps for under some tank top blouses that just don't work with a racerback. Would be neat to have a section for these kinds of things in case someone wants something similar.
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