Hello ladies! Have you ever had problems with the bra bridge? Not wide enough? Too narrow?
I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of posts on how to alter the bridge on bra patterns. But here’s another question for you: did any of those methods tell you how much to alter or was it based on your body measurements? While sewing my test bras I’ve run into this bridge problem. So I put my brains to work and developed a method for fixing this dilemma. One that makes use of the body measurements.
So here it is – a tutorial on how to alter the bra pattern to adjust the bridge to your own measurements. But keep in mind: this method applies to my bra pattern only! Do not try this on other bra patterns since they may not have the same notches. This method should work for all shapes of breasts, except those that had surgery (mastectomy). Also, I would really like to know how did this method work for you (when my pattern is released, of course) because this method is still under development. Please comment even if you have objections.
So, let’s get started. My bra pattern has 2 cradle pieces: B2 and H2. Alteration can be done on any of them.
FOLD LINE
I took one for this tutorial.
What you’ll be needing is this school tool.
We need to have a 90 degrees angle. If you do not have this kind of tool, take a A4 paper.
Ok, further on is to take a measurement wearing no bra and no clothing Here is the disgraceful part. You’ve probable heard about Center Bust measurement – the distance between nipples. But for the bridge measurement you have to bent forward.
With the breasts hanging down, measure the distance between the nipples.
We will call this measurement SCB – Smart Center Bust.
Moving to the working table. First step on altering the bridge.
Second step.
Now calculate the half from your SCB. The value will be used in the next step.
Widening the bridge
Widen the bridge if your half SCB is bigger than the horizontal segment on the standard pattern.
Narrowing the bridge
And this is for narrowing the bridge if your half SCB is smaller than the horizontal segment on the standard pattern.
And this is it. I advice you, before cutting bra pieces to measure your body and check the cradle. This is a simple step and won’t take you much time but can eliminate some later problems.
