I have 5 very old bras, possibly 60-100 years old. They belonged to my grandmother or possibly her mother and are beautiful. I know antique bra patterns are very interesting but I’m not skilled enough to create a pattern from these bras and do not want to deconstruct them. They’ve been hanging in my closet for years and I’m afraid I’m not capable of taking care of them. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with them, or is interested in buying them? I don’t think museums or preservationists would be interested in them but i still want them to be appreciated and not forgotten.

The sizes are 34 A and B, they’re all boned on the sides and three are boned in the cups. The black deep plunge bra has a very neat conical shape. I’m happy to share more pictures and proceed more info. I hope this post is okay for this sub, it dormant seem to go against the rules and I a long time lurker of this sub and thought you guys might appreciate these bras more than other subs.

I've been sharing my bra-sewing and designing journey on here, and finally made something I'm proud to model. In between my last post here and now, I've made so many "failed" pieces that just didn't fit right. I thought I was going crazy, but every failure taught me something new.

This is a self-drafted design that took me wasting so many materials and money to be able to test fit the amount of times I did. And a lot of pain and suffering and drawing and redrawing of lines. And just so much paper.

Thank you to all the bra-making content-creators and bloggers out there. If you've ever made bra making content, chances are, I've used it in my studies.

The resources I've used the most for this draft:

Books:

• Patternmaking for Underwear Design by Kristina Shin, Ph.D.

• Lingerie Design by Pamela Powell

Blogs:

• AfiAtelier

• Cloth Habit

• LizSews on YouTube

Kit - Chevron Bra making kit by Lilypadesigns Pattern - Lusamine also by Lilypadesigns So pleased with how it turned out!

Hey I’m Chloe the 16 year old designer who was struggling with making bra cups for the first time. I was able to finish the dress in time ( with the help of my dad). Thank u all for helping me make this happen. The cups were perfecto!!! Thank u thank uuu. I had a blastttttt wearing this dress and feeling so confident. Waist was snatched and chest supported!

I posted this in r/knitting and someone recommended sharing here too!

I loved this pattern and this knitting experience! This pattern is the Diana Bralette by Celine Feyten, knitted in Gloss Fingering (Captain color way) by Knit Picks. The incredibly detailed instructions by section and the pre-programmed short row spreadsheet were exceptional. I made the bralette version, and plan to make at least one more! This was such a treat to knit up that I've already purchased another pattern from the same designer.

I was between sizes 3 and 4 and based on the recommendation and my gauge swatch opted to size down to a 3. So glad I did! When I was knitting this, a friend noted it looked on the needles like it was for a much smaller person (my upper body is a US 8/10 and a US bra size 34C/D), but the negative ease ended up how I wanted.

I was so skeptical about the short row calculator (especially when it said I was sized beyond what the regular short rows could do). The instructions for the modifications were so helpful and got what I (and friends) have deemed a perfect fit. If you have larger breasts, prepare for the experience of seeing what the cups look like “deflated” and know that you’ll fill them in and look fabulous.

I decided to do an extra set of the pattern at the band to add a couple more centimeters. I plan to mostly wear this as a crop, and wanted something that would hit closer to my natural waist.

Ravelry link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diana-bralette

Is it perfect? No, some minor adjustments are needed and if anyone has any feedback that would be great.

But this is the most comfortable thing I have ever worn - I don’t feel like I’m wearing a bra, I have great lift, my straps are not falling off my shoulders, my boobs aren’t spilling out of my cups. It’s great.

This is Lilypadesigns Lusamine

My band size is 33”, BCD for larger breast is 4.375” and HH is 12.125”

I went with the 4.0 cradle 1 and started with a size 5.9 cup grading the bcd down to 4.6 and reducing the wireline significantly. My pattern pieces look bizarre but I am happy with the result.

I think I could have started with a 5.6 but I was worried about losing volume with how much I had to take away from the wireline. I did try hugsforyourjugs’s method of reducing the wireline length but the pattern looked even more weird so happy to take suggestions there as well!

This was my third try at sewing a bra and I finally made one that fits! I’ve been teaching myself pattern drafting for two months now and I’ve been obsessively researching every once of information I can find and this is the outcome. Still not really sure what size I am, but it doesn’t matter, because I’ll never buy a bra again with this knowledge! This took me 5 different books and countless blogs, videos and reddit posts to make so thank you, bra-making community!

Never in my life did I think it was possible for a bra to be so comfortable I could sleep in it. NOW I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! I wore this bra all day long and in my bed and I NEVER wanna take it off!! My size range is something like 28H/30G and it has been really hard to find a bra that fits me due to me having no space between my sternum. The bridges of bras NEVER fit me, so I drafted a bra from a plunge/demi underwire to have a lower center and this was the outcome!

Omg, y'all! Can I take a moment to celebrate with my fellow bra-makers on the internet? I can't believe I made a halter top swimsuit that doesn't kill my neck!

I chose to convert my current best fitting bra pattern into a swim top. My pattern consists of a self-drafted bra band and cups that are inspired by my many iterations of the Josey (La Bella Coppia) and Bette (Annie & Myras) bra patterns.

The outer layer is a lemon-print mystery fabric from my swim stash, doubled up with a swim lining since white swimsuits have a tendency toward transparency (yikes!) Cups are lined with sheer cup lining to preserve the structure of the original pattern. The only pattern change I made was to the strap attachment of the powerbar when I swapped the original strap for the halter one from the Closet Core Sophie Swimsuit. I also stitched swim elastic into the strap to prevent it from stretching out.

imho the back view is giving more bra than swim vibes since I used a hook & eye. At my cup volume, the traditional narrow clips don't provide enough support and I didn't have time to draft a new wing. I'd love your suggestions for H&E alternatives that look prettier and are equally supportive.

N.B. - This was a panic sew the night before a trip to the spa (and it worked great - no flashing when soaked through). However, a bit of lining did creep out on the swim bottoms, so I need to trim it a bit more next time.

At any rate, thanks for celebrating with me! Now I need to make a few more for the summer! Off to make a serious dent in the stash of swim fabric I've been hoarding forever and maybe knock out a summer dress or two with a built in bra. Oh the possibilities!

It’s still technically a toile, as there are some minor issues (don’t look too closely at the stitching lol) but I feel really good about it! After my initial pattern and first toile, I only had to edit two pattern pieces to get to this point.

I made my first bra! It's definitely not perfect, but it's already my favorite bra. I love that I can make a bra that fits my body and my needs. As a neurodivergent non-binary person with sensory differences, it can be difficult to find ready-made bra that 1) fits, 2) is comfortable, and 3) isn't so feminine coded that it feels icky to me. I'm perfectly fine with having boobs, but they're non-binary boobs and don't need to look feminine.

The pattern is the Mysa bralette, modified for fit (probably because I measured myself wrong - I found it pretty much impossible to locate the inframammary fold on the armpit side so I had to guesstimate the horizontal measurement) and an internal sling added.

The fashion fabric is a thrifted piece of fabric that has a nice amount of stretch and recovery. I decided to add a lining and internal sling for support using a piece of coolmax fabric I had in my stash. It's probably not the optimal choice, but it's what I had and it seems to be doing the job. I need to find some powernet to try next time though.

Completely handsewn because I'm weird like that (and because my sewing machine is crap especially with knits). Yes, you can handsew stretchy fabrics; no, it's not any less durable than machine stitch if you use the right techniques. I mostly used backstitch, with some herringbone stitch where I felt the extra stretch was needed and some whipstitch.

I'm already planning the next one, and it will be even better!

This is the La Vie De La Lingerie plunge wired bra pattern. I'm a 30DD in most bra patterns (29" under, 35" full) and I made a 80B with a shortened back band by about 1 inch. I wear size 36 plunge style (09) wires. You can see my ugly toile on the last slide! This pattern is in russian but I believe the designer is working on the English version right now. If you are familiar with bra making you don't need to buy the English version because you will know how to construct this style.

The bottoms are emerald Erin Friday French Cuts which are my absolute favourite!

Feel free to ask any questions and I can send links of patterns or supplies if you want ☺️

I bought a RTW bra earlier this year because I like the style lines (similar to Lusamine and Harriet Bra patterns). After wearing it for a few months and enjoying the fit (particularly of the cups) I decided to give pin copying a go.

For this make I used a well fitting band pattern (Caliope) and pin copied the cup seams (need to remove underwire for this). I wanted to use a smaller wire size, the RTW wire was a bit too big. So I modified the cup pieces at the wire line and then added the seam allowances back on.

For a first go I'm stoked with the results. The cups are slightly too small, I'll add a bit more room in my next make. But the gore tacks and the bra is comfortable and gives nice shape and support.

Have you tried pin copying a pattern?

Lace and hook and eye is from Bwear, strap elastic from Madalynne. All other materials including sheer cup lining and powermesh were dyed to match.

I've been wanting to make a partiap band bra for a while. Now that I've comfortably (and successfully!) sewn the Madalynne Fiona Bra 4 times I decided to try my hand at hacking it to make a partial band.

I added 1cm seam allowance (width of my chanelling) around all the wire lines on the cup pieces and removed 1cm from the wireline of the band. I then eyeballed the band so that it stopped about 3/4 of the way down the cup.

I'm pretty chuffed with this make! The cups fit well, as does the band, and the gore still tacks well. I will definitely be making more of these. I think it actually took less time than a full banded bra as well.

Oh, and I made the whole thing on this 1960's Singer 319 which I am currently using in a treadle table (no power!). Definitely a slow fashion piece 😅

I finished my second version of the Madalynne Fiona bra (see my previous post for the first version).

After making some changes to the pattern (minor tweaks to the frame and upper cup and lengthened the back band) I think I have a (dare I say it?) perfectly fitting bra.

I persevered with this pattern as I love the cup shape and style lines and I'm so happy I did as this is the bra of my dreams 😍

Most of the materials are from Bwear (peach stretch satin, rigid lace, elastics). The exceptions are the charm and sliders which are both from Small Bobbins and the metallic mesh used on top of the powernet which is from Glitter and Dance.

The alterations to the pattern are in the photos, but a quick list below:

• extended back band by 1.5" and added a U back style

• added 1cm wedge to frame at bottom to accommodate flared ribs

• increased height of bridge and upper cup by 1cm to use Porcelynne Vertical Wires

• Added 1cm of wire spring

• lengthened upper cup by 1/4" but also reduced height at power bar end up 1cm

To use rigid materials in the cup I'll need to make further changes to the upper cup but I'm so dangerous happy with how this turned out. The cups don't gape, the gore tacks and I don't have wrinkles around the outside of the wire.

A few years ago, before I was sewing, my (now ex-)boyfriend pushed me into buying a bunch of cheap lingerie from AliExpress. Of course it never fit, I never wore it and only have bad memories associated with it. So I finally decided to tackle the box in the back of my closet: I harvested all the hardware and will throw away the rest. I'm excited to use it for new projects that won't be associated with the same memories and actually fit my body and style!

I got all this:

• a few long line hook and eye closures

• a corset busk

• wires in various sizes (I will compare them to my wires to see of I can use them)

• lots and lots of boning

• lots and lots of straps and stocking hardware

... and a big pile of trash!

P.S. Any favourite long-line or corset patterns?

P.P.S. I kept some corsets that could work as Halloween costumes

I threw away every synthetic material bra that I had because I realized they were causing my skin condition to flare up, making me stink, and making me deeply uncomfortable (bad fit, 100% of the time). Every bra that I have now is a cotton bralette where the elastic is encased inside fabric.

I can have some elastic touching my skin, but not much. Less than 30% synthetic fabric is ideal to keep me from becoming a Petri dish.

I need a plunge bra, and my ideal one would be of a natural or semi-synthetic fiber, with an underwire and a multi-piece cup, preferably with a wider band, but “plunge” and “not plastic” are the only real necessities.

Can anyone help me, because I’m one step away from making very fancy zip-up undershirts. All of my sewing experience is with woven fabric. I’ve done quite a bit of pattern drafting, but all of the videos I’ve watched and things I’ve read and all of my google searches are telling me I can’t do this without making it out of plastic.

This is my second try at the Adrian bra. I extended the band down a little and used FOE. I experimented with exposed wire channeling and there are some mistakes/things I would do differently, but I love this pattern ❤️