Hello, I am Cyndi from bdancewear.com. In this video, I am going to show you how to In this video, I am going to show you how to make a cute little bralette. Depending on where your competitions are and, obviously, your bust size, it is perfect by itself. But, it is also really cute to go under a dress that might be a little sheer or see through. That way you still have coverage. I would definitely always recommend lining it. But this is a really cute little look even if you want to just make one for yourself just to wear under a little dress that is see through so that you still have coverage, this just might be the video for you.
Supplies:
1. A well fitting bra
2. Lace fabric (with scalloped edge)
3. Elastic
4. Strap material (premade straps are available)
5. Matching Thread
6. Tailor’s Chalk, Sewing Marker
or Small piece of soap
7. Straight Pins
8. Safety Pins
9. Small Pieces of Paper
10. Scissors
11. Sewing Machine
Directions:
1. Choosing Your Materials
So, for the lace bra, there are a few things that you are going to need. You will need the elastic that will go underneath the bust. Preferably, the elastic will match the lace material. You are also going to need whatever you are going to use for straps and in this case I am going to make the bralette with two straps. Whatever you use for the straps, you want it to be stretchy so that it will move with you. As you know, most bras have that stretch to them. Then, I have some lace material and I like the type that has a scalloped edge on the mesh.
So, to begin with, I am using a bra that I already which I am using as a base. This bra is new but you could use one that the wearer owns that is not new as long as it is clean and fits well.
2. Cutting the Elastic for the Bottom
The first thing you want to do is wrap the elastic around the girl’s chest just below the bust where the bottom of the bra would sit. Now there are a few ways that you can do this. First of all, consider how you want to close the back of the bra you are making. If you want to simply tie it closed, you will need to make sure that the elastic is long enough that you can tie it before you cut it. In this case, we are going to sew it shut because it is elastic and it will stretch. (You could use a stretchy fabric like Lycra at the bottom but that would entail more work as you would need to sew a length of fabric so that it is in the shape of a long tube without raw edges. Also, you would most likely want to use hooks and eyes or some other closure type of closure.)
As far as cutting the lace fabric, you will first need to cut four pieces of the lace fabric into squares that are big enough to cover the cups of the bra. I have already determined how big the fabric needs to be to cover from the bottom of the cup to the top of the area I want to cover. I am using a mannequin but you can just have the girl wear the bra that you are using for the base. Place the scalloped edge of the lace fabric along the top front edge of the bra with the scallops facing the center of the bra. Make sure that the outside of the fabric is facing you. Most lace fabrics have a cording that creates the lace design. I am now going to pin the first piece of the fabric at the top of the cup (at the strap) and then again at the bottom. Obviously, you need to make sure that you do not stick the girl with the pins. Next, I am going to fold that first piece of lace over so that it is facing away from the center of the cup. Then, pin a second piece of the lace fabric from the strap to the bottom of the bra. This time the scallops on the fabric will face the back of the bra. Make sure that the edges of both pieces of the fabric lay smoothly against the cup in both the front and back of the cup without any gaps or pooches. This will give you scalloped edges all along the front and back edges of the cup.
The next thing I am going to do is smooth both of the pieces of fabric towards each other until they meet at the center of the cup creating a vertical seam. Pin the two pieces of fabric down until they meet at that vertical seam in the center. Make sure that the fabric maintains the correct curve of the cup. It may help to pin the center of the fabric in place in order to keep the lace fabric smooth. Make sure that the two fabric pieces are smooth and come together without any weird gaps. Obviously, it is best to not use a padded bra unless absolutely necessary. If you do use a padded bra, you are going to need to put padding in the new lace bra. Again, make sure that the lace fabric curves all the way down the vertical seam so that it is nice and snug on both sides but still has the correct curve. I am going to adjust this one a little. Otherwise, we will have a weird gap there. You will notice that the fabric still has the shape. Once I have the correct curve to the seam, I am going to go ahead and take a pair of scissors and carefully trim away the excess fabric about ½ inch from the pins starting at the top and cutting down to the bottom of the cup so that I am not dealing with all kinds of extra fabric. This will provide a ½ inch seam allowance.
At this point, I will mark the lace fabric for purposes of sewing the pieces together and to identify them. It can get very confusing when you end up with four pieces that look very much alike if they are not identified in some way. I am going to mark it with a Sharpie so that you can see right where the pins go on all sides. However, you will not want to use a Sharpie. You need to use a tailor’s chalk or a small bar of soap so that it will not be permanent. You will also want to put some type of label on the pieces of fabric so that you can tell which is the right side of the cup and which is the left side of the cup and, of course, whether it is the left cup or the right. Then you will do the reverse for the other cup. On these pieces I will mark them as left inside and left outside so I could put left or an “L” and an “O” so I know that is for the left side of the body but the outside layer. Instead of marking the fabric with tailor’s chalk or soap, you might want to write it on a small piece of paper and a safety pin the paper to the fabric pieces. That will make it easy to see and you do not have to worry about markings being permanent on the bralette. So, that is that.
Now, I am going to show you how to duplicate this for the other cup. I can make that pattern. So, here is where I pinned the bra and where I marked it so that I will know exactly where to place those pins when I repin it and where to sew the seam. Remember, do not use a permanent marker like a Sharpie unless you have extra material and just want to use this one as a pattern. I always have extra fabric so it is not a problem. I then went ahead and cut away the excess fabric so that it gave me just the right amount to sew for the seam. We know we marked this one as the left cup which means we need to make a reverse for the right cup. So, first I am taking the one I just did apart so that I can use them as a pattern. I am placing the pieces I just cut upside down on the lace. Pay attention to where the scallops begin and end on the “pattern pieces” and on the fabric to make sure they match up.. I flipped it upside down so that you will end up with a right and a left cup. They will be a mirrored image of each other. Then, just go ahead and cut the first one out and then do the same thing with the other piece. You can save on some fabric here. The same goes with this one here. You will probably want to pin it before you cut them to make sure that the pieces do not slip. There we go. They will match up just like that so you have a right and a left.
So what you are going to do then is take these and pin the seam at the scalloped edges. I have probably given a little too much space on this one but we will go ahead and repin it. Once you have pinned the seam on the pieces at the scalloped edges, then pin the pieces together in the middle of the seam and fill in with pins in between the edges and the middle. Make sure that the fabric is smooth along that pinned seam before you sew. If not, adjust the pins so that it is smooth. Then, we can sew it and end up with a triangle for the cup. When you repin these pieces together, make sure that the outsides of the lace fabric pieces are facing each other and that you have retained the curve. Make sure that the markings line up so they can
3. Cutting the Straps
So now I am going to mark the straps for the length I need. If you are doing this for someone else or you have a mannequin, you can easily determine the length yourself. If you are making it for yourself, you will need someone else to help you. So just pin one end of the strap material where it will be attached to the front of the cups and drape it over the shoulder until it reaches the material that you are using to go around the chest be sure to allow about four inches to the length. Once I have the straps the length I need, I will just go ahead and show you real quickly how I am going to make this a double strap. So since I know the length I need for the straps, I will just double the elastic to create a loop. I am going to cut them and I am going to give it about four extra inches. The folded end will be sewn to the cup in front and the two loose ends will be sewn to the back of the bottom edge. You will want to test each one before you permanently sew it down like you would sew into place here. Sew the back and then try it on with the straps to make sure it fits well. That is how you make a pattern for the lace bra.
So, let’s go on to sewing.
4. Sewing the Pieces Together
So, I have pinned the bra cups so that I can sew them together. Remember, it is important that the outside of the fabric pieces are facing each other when they are pinned together. This is the first one that I worked on, the one I actually wrote on. So we are going to go from here. You are going to want to be careful at the edge of the lace. So, I am going to use a straight stitch for now just because it saves a lot of time but I suggest you use a stretch stitch or an overlock machine if you have them. So, I am going to get those corners together. I am going to sew forward a little back and what will happen sometimes is the lace wants to catch in the presser foot. So, because it is so delicate, I am just going to barely pull these threads to help feed the fabric through there. Once we get it through and it is not tangled up, we know we are good to follow this. Whatever seam allowance you allowed yourself when pinning the lace fabric pieces, follow that. I am sewing with white thread so you can easily see the stitches. You want to remember to never stretch the fabric because you will get a weird puckering and the fit will be off. Just keep the fabric taut when you get to the end. There we go. So, you pull it out. I am going to go back over that. There we go. Let’s cut all of those threads off. So, see how it is now like this – I would try it on at that point to make sure that curve fits you good. Something you can do – it is up to you if you want to reinforce it – what you can do is open up this seam right here all the way and to a slight top stitch on the right and left of the original seam. Now, I would definitely sew it in thread color that matches the fabric so the stitches do not show. I am just doing a short line of stitches so you could see what I mean. But, if you are reinforcing it, you want to sew next to the whole seam. Do it in the same color so it is awful little you will not notice it and then you would have another seam over here that will give it strength; so that that will not rip up. So, that is really a nice little detail that you do not have to do but it just keeps this seam nice and flat and not lumpy.
So, what you would do next is sew the other side but the for sake of time, I am not going to do that and I am going to show you – now we have – I want to do the double straps so I am going to fold this in half. I am going to go to this point. What I am going to do is I am going to zigzag that in a nice big zigzag on it to keep it nice and secure. You could separate the straps a little when you sew them t the cup or you can sew them right next to each other. Then, I would go a little further down and do the same thing. If it is the same thread, you do not notice it. You can separate it a little so that you can see that it is separated or you can keep these together. If for any reason your scallops are a little off, go back in and hand stitch it just so you have that perfect right there. Next, we would is we would take the bra front – this is the bottom elastic that I chose to use – So, what we would do is determine how wide I wanted this gap between the cups to be which we have already done.
Since this is elastic, I am just going to make this bra so it can be just slipped on. It is better if you use hooks and eyes or some kind of a clip, but this also works. So, I am going to put the right sides of the elastic together and sew the ends together. Remember to make sure that the right sides are together and the elastic is not twisted. Then to make it stronger, open up the seam and it and then what you can do is open the seam up and topstitch over the seam. If the thread is the same color, you cannot see it and it will give it a lot of security. We are going fast so it is a little messy. If I was actually doing it for me to I would have that nice and clean and flat. But, that makes it nice and secure so it is not going to break apart.
Now, the front of the bra – I am going to mark the center with a line. So, I folded the back exactly in half with the seam as one of the folds. This gives us the center front now so the question is how much space do we want between the cups in the bra. On the one sample that I showed you, we had about an inch on each side. So, what I would do is take it down. Let’s measure it on here so that you can see it. This is the center line. Then I would want to go ahead and make sure that I mark a little line an inch from the center on both sides of the fold. Then, I am going to pin the inside scalloped edge of the bra at that line that is an inch from the center of the elastic and start pinning the cup from the center of the elastic towards the back of the bra. When pinning the bra to the elastic, I want the stretch in the cup and the elastic to be about the same – actually the elastic should be stretched a little more so that it is just a little bit snugger than the lace cup. Make sure that you pin the cup to the elastic so it is nice and smooth. Next, do the same thing with the other cup. Make sure you start pinning the cup to the elastic at the mark that is about an inch from the center peel. Also, make sure that the scallops on both cups look the same when you pin them to the elastic. You do not want the scallop on one cup to start higher up on one side than the other. Once you have pinned both cups to the elastic, fold the elastic in half to make sure everything lines up.
The next thing I am going to do is start this zigzag or stretch stitch back and forth, get a nice stitch on the elastic. Then, pull that pin out. You want to make sure this lace does not stick out under bottom. You want to smack dab in the middle. Let’s go with a much longer stitch while we are sewing this so that it is easier to show you. I am going to use my thumb to kind of tug on it and kind of tighten it a little. I am going to stretch it as I go. In other words, you do not want it to be lumpy but you also do not want so tight that it will not stretch out. So, if something happens and the lace of fabric flips over, just stop and fix it. So, I will show you from the back side. There is the back side and if we are using the same fabric, you would not even see and then this whole thing will stretch when it goes on around the bust line.
If it is not stretchy, you will need some type of clip to close it in the back to get into it, but it is really that easy to make the bra and all you do then is sew on these straps in the back. You would pin it where you want the straps to be attached on the back, you now know how made lace bralette.
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