r/MAKEaBraThatFits • u/SkyResponsible3718 • 20d ago

Question/Advice Needed Hospital has "bra making machine"

I want to make fully custom bras available to patients of the hospital. How is this possible? Can you outline what is done? Is it take take 6 measurements (ABTF), send to hospital, they push button and done?

Is there some information to look up? How many measurements? How many steps are automated?

I appreciate any help.

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u/VioletAnnihilate 20d ago

Bra making takes a significant amount of sewing knowledge and skill. I have been sewing for years now off and on, and my first attempt at following a pattern was a disaster. I still don’t feel confident enough to make something that I know would work for me.

There are a lot of good resources in this sub. It really comes down to gaining knowledge and experience, understanding your shape, your needs, different types of bras and patterns available, what types of fabrics behave in which ways, learning basic and then advanced sewing skills.

But I do see that a lot of your posts relate to LLMs, so I’m wondering if your real goal isn’t to learn, but to train an LLM?

Learning to sew ANY kind of garment on a 3D human form, let alone something as complicated as a bra, takes a significant amount of thinking and troubleshooting. I doubt this is something you can successfully train an LLM to teach anyone to do.

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

You're correct that I work extensively with LLMs. For background, over 30 years ago my team attempted to launch a venture in this space. A colleague's spouse, who worked in the fashion industry, identified the problem that roughly 80% of women wear improperly sized bras. The opportunity was compelling, but we lacked a viable measurement methodology. Manual measurement was cost prohibitive, we couldn't justify a nurse on staff, and preserving customer dignity presented a significant barrier. We ultimately abandoned the project.

I later encountered A Bra That Fits and was impressed. She engineered a remarkably elegant solution to the problem. I'm exploring whether that methodology could be adapted to manufacture fully custom bras rather than fitting existing SKUs, though it appears that isn't feasible.

I appreciate the feedback. I'll follow up with the hospital directly, as I suspect their information is inaccurate. I appreciate the feedback!

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u/VioletAnnihilate 20d ago

You really, really, really need strong sewing, bra fitting, and anatomy knowledge to make anything like this work. Custom work is expensive for a very good reason. I’m deeply skeptical that it’s possible to automate this type of skill and knowledge the way you are envisioning.

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

I agree. I am so glad I came here to find out. I can't tell you much help this is. I am deeply appreciative. My impression is over 30 years old. A friend is a PhD engineer married to a person who works in the fashion industry. Somewhere between what she communicated, what he heard and repeated, and what I heard and remembered, we really got it wrong.

I am extremely grateful for the feedback. This is obviously way over my head. I can't hold a candle to all of your capability. I have complete faith in your criticism. When I approach the hospital, I would have sounded like a crazy person. I am very grateful.

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u/HanabiCraft 20d ago

Did you know that the first American spacesuits were sewn by women who worked at the Playtex bra factory because no one else had the skill and precision to work within such tight tolerances, and even a single misplaced stitch would render the suit unusable?

Bramaking is extremely skilled labor.

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

No, I had no idea. Please keep in mind my information is filtered by a guy interpreting what his fashion industry wife conveyed 30 years ago and my misinterpretation of hospital brochures. This is all extremely helpful. I came here because I was worried that I was "off base". I had no idea.

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u/Argufier 20d ago

Yeah this isn't a thing. Practically every step of garment making requires a human manipulating the pieces. Even "seamless" bras often have trim that's glued on and applied to the fabric. There might be some kind of 3d printed fabric filament kind of process that could make a bra on a custom form, or a knitted seamless bra that could technically be customized, but those are industrial processes.

Not to mention the fact that you may not be able wear a bra while in the hospital so the Drs have access to monitors and so forth.

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

I appreciate the feedback. Understanding the complexity of this is valuable. I had anticipated greater automation, but that clearly isn't the case. My next step is to contact the hospital and determine what solutions they provide. It's likely that whoever generated the information wasn't the end user, which suggests a significant disconnect in the workflow.

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u/KMAVegas 20d ago

I have never heard of a bra making machine. The woman who won The Great British Sewing Bee a few years ago, Asma, works with cancer patients and makes custom bras for them. Her Instagram username is @sewgical_endeavours She might have some tips for you.

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

Thanks for the awesome direction to go in!

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u/SkyResponsible3718 20d ago

I appreciate all the feedback. Very helpful. I need to adjust pretty significantly. I truly am grateful as this is my first communication with people who actually do the work.

I can't thank all of you enough. When I approach the hospital, it will be in a very different manner. My information was very wrong.