Thread: Connecting bra cups

It seems like my weakest link in constructing costume bras is putting the cups together. It is really hard! I either make them too high or too low. Or they're too crooked. Or too close or too far apart...

Okay, so help me use best practices when it comes to linking bra cups!

I have one of those cardboard cutting mats from Joann's. They're only about $5. I pin my center piece to the cups and then lay them on one of the straight lines to make sure they aren't crooked. Any straight line will do, but I use my cardboard mat all the time.

Have you tried copying a commercial bra (either lingerie or costume) you like by tracing a pattern directly off it and adding a seam allowance? How about looking at the instructional materials available for sewing bras in general? There are a couple of commercial lingerie patterns out there that might give you some hints as to what you're doing wrong. There's also a fairly active community of bra-making enthusiasts online. If you Google "bra making," you should be able to locate all kinds of tutorials and web sites of resources.

Are you having trouble positioning them or constructing them or both?

I use grosgrain to reconstruct the join when I convert bras to constume bras. I attach it to the outside with whipstitches and extra stitching around the cup boning.

I have no problem constructing them...just connecting them.

Before I cut the bra apart, I make a tracing of the front cups (including measurements), of how and where the manufacturer intended them to be connected.

Do you have an identical bra to compare it too?

I think bras are the trickiest part of our costuming to fit correctly. It is not unusual for even advanced seamstresses to struggle with them.

There is a hilarious thread on the DIY Belly Dance Costuming thread over on Tribe, about all the things that can go wrong when constructing a costume. Some say "it's not a project until you have ripped out at least one seam with a seam-ripper," or "It's not a project until you have bled on it," LOL. I think you have to just keep trying until you get it right, I am going through that right now with a bedlah I am constructing. Trying to be patient with re-doing things until they are right.

Having a dressmaker's model probably helps a lot. You can make the duct tape double if you can't afford to buy a real one, google it.

Originally Posted by dunyah

Having a dressmaker's model probably helps a lot. You can make the duct tape double if you can't afford to buy a real one, google it.

I have one and I used that for a little, mostly to figure out what angle I needed. Trouble is that it is a little hard to use and the pins don't stick in it the way I need them to. I imagine it will mostly be useful for hemming skirts.