Let’s get to work again on how to sew a bra. First we need to analyze the pattern I will be using.
This is my bra pattern. Basic pieces are:
1. The cradle;
2. The back wing;
3. Upper cup piece;
4. Cup side piece;
5. Cup center piece;
However, this pattern can be sewn in any number of styles. Lets talk about cups:
- simple cups made of stretch lace/knit/lycra etc; what I also like to do in this case is line the cups with some natural fabric like knit cotton or non-stretch cotton; this way the beautiful synthetic lace stays on top, but the fabric that touches the skin is natural an feels great;
- cups made with cut & sew foam; in this case there are three layers for a cup: top – beautiful fabric like lace/jersey, middle – the foam, lining – again some natural fabric, usually cotton;
- molded cups; they require at least the top layer to cover the cup.
Now lets see band options:
- band with 2 eye hook;
- band with 3 eye hook;
The band style is – full-band. Partial band is not covered in this tutorial.
Based on these styles, one would have to adapt the pattern to the style she chooses. For foam cups you would have to remove seam allowance on some sides of the cup pieces. For hook style,
you would have to modify the band. Some people like their patterns with seam allowance, but some don’t and prefer to add their seam allowance amount.
So, understanding all these, I decided to offer in one pattern more (special) pieces: for top layer cup pieces with 0.8 cm seam allowance, cup pieces for foam and 2 types of bands. Also, the seam allowance can be cut off, since I left the lines for the raw pattern. If you are not satisfied with 0.8 cm for a seam, you can draw your own directly on the pattern paper after you’ve printed it.
Lets look at all these pieces and sort them out:
In every pattern file you will find the following pattern pieces:
- C1 – Cup upper piece for top layer
- C2 – Cup side piece for top layer
- C3 – Cup center piece for top layer
- F1 – Cup top piece for foam
- F2 – Cup side piece for foam
- F3 – Cup center piece for foam
- B1 – Back wing for a 3 eye-hook band
- B2 – Cradle for a 3 eye-hook band
- H1 – Back wing for a 2 eye-hook band
- H2 – Cradle for a 2 eye-hook band
Lining pieces for the cup can be cut from the C-set for cups or from the F-set. It depends on the method you want to attache the lining. Next step in this tutorial will show one of the methods.
Some last notes:
On every piece there is a blue DOGS line. Do you know about DOGS? Please read here more. This line will help you place the piece on the fabric.
There are some pieces that have notches. Notches are control points or the points that must match when two pieces are joined together. Be careful to note every notch and when the time comes, to mark and use them on the fabric pieces.
Next time we will talk about planning the bra design and choosing the supplies.
This article is part of a series of articles about How to sew a bra.
Previous step: Step 2
Patterns and sizes
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Planning bra design and gathering needed materials
