Please tell me what types of fabrics to use when using Make Bra patterns.
For the bra cup cover you can use almost whatever kind of fabric you want. Stretch or non-stretch. In Make Bra method we always construct the cup over the foam lining, which makes it possible to use many different types of fabrics as a cup cover.
Three things must still be taken into consideration:
- – the thicker the fabric, the harder it is to sew neatly (especially on the wire casing area)
- – the more rigid fabric is, the worse it fits
- – the fabric stretching “endlessly” doesn’t turn out beautifully as a cup cover
If you use woven fabric for the bra cup cover you can take advantage of the grain of the fabric by cutting pieces on bias.
Bias grain is the thread line that is at a forty five degree angle to the lengthwise and crosswise grain of the fabric.
Bra cup cover fabrics briefly:
– all bra cup cover parts out of the elastic fabrics (T-shirt tricot, charmeuse, lace, Lycra…)
– all bra cup cover parts out of the woven fabrics (cotton, cotton/polyester, lace…)
– a mixture of the elastic fabrics and the woven fabrics
For the bra band it is preferable to use elastic fabric, e.g. Lycra, because it fits nice and feels comfortable. However, you can mix stretch and non-stretch fabrics also at bra band.
If you want to play around with different types of fabrics, do it for instance on the bridge area or on the whole front area. The most important thing is that elasticity of the band doesn’t totally disappear… unless you are making an evening dress with the corset top.
I like your pattern for bigger cups, but I hate foam. Is it possible to sew a bra without foam or will it not fit?
It is possible to sew a bra without the foam lining, but in that case the cup fabric must be either non-elastic or only slightly elastic. If you use a “normal” bra cup material then the cup pattern is too large. Please note that you can’t reach as beautiful shape and wearing comfort as with foam.
