Thread: Stabilizing top of bra cup

I recently purchased a costume that I think could benefit from wire at the top of the cups. My thought had been to make a casing for the wire from bias tape in the same color as the lining. But some questions: Should I use wire, plastic stays, underwire from an old bra? And should the casing go under the lining?

What do the rest of you use and how do you do it?

Souzan

Personally, I'd be using wire, sewing it into place & covering it with a bias binding casing. Then lining on top of that.

What Bea said. And to be extra safe, you can coat the tips of the wire in a blob of hot glue before sewing it into the bra. It could save you from injury, should the ends of the wire ever poke through the lining.

Ask me how I know this (Evil rogue underwires from second/third hand Egyptian bras with uncapped bailing wire and fragile linings...of doom)

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

And to be extra safe, you can coat the tips of the wire in a blob of hot glue before sewing it into the bra. It could save you from injury, should the ends of the wire ever poke through the lining.

Or curve the ends of the wire into a little flat loop, which is a trick I learned in a millinery workshop.

Initially I would utilize soft copper wire. Much easier to work with and pliable. Years ago I owned a costume that had what resembled clothes hanger wire, it was a total nightmare. Very uncomfortable and unforgiving. (Don't even want to mention the situation when the hard wire broke and jammed into my body.) I eventually removed that wire and replaced it with copper wire. I used a simple running stitch to secure the wire, looping the ends as mentioned above. The lining would easily cover the wire. For underwires I often double the copper wire, often beneficial when dealing with busty cups. I first stitch the copper wire together then sew the doubled strand to the bra.

Thanks for the ideas, ladies. I think copper wire might be the way to go since it is pliabl but should be strong enough to do what it needs to do. A couple of years ago I rebuilt the bra on an Egyptian dress with wired cups. On that bra it looked as if they had made a "wire mummy" wrapping the wire in some sort of thin padding material and then wrapping in a fabric tape. It made a very firm ledge like finish to the top of the cup. Definitely don't need to get that elaborate, just need a bit of shape.

Going to give the copper wire a try this weekend!

Souzan

If you're going to use copper, look for coated wire or spray bare wire with a sealant, especially if it is for a light-colored costume. Copper can oxidize and leach through the fabric when exposed to sweat. Most craft stores that sell jewelry-making supplies will stock color-coated wire (usually copper, but sometimes aluminum), and you can buy plastic-coated electrical wiring at the hardware store. I'm less confident that thread-wrapped floral wire won't rust if it gets wet, but it's easy enough to do an experiment before sewing it in.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

Or curve the ends of the wire into a little flat loop, which is a trick I learned in a millinery workshop.

Brilliant!