Where the two arcs intersect is the new underarm bottom corner of the cup.

Join the intersection to the ends of line 7 and line 5 as in the diagram.

Now for the top hem of the cup re-shaping.

Set your compasses to the length of line 2 on the cup and strike off two arches from the ends of line 2 and line 7.

From where the two arcs intersect, draw a line to the end of line 2 and line 7.

Also, draw a line down from where the two arcs intersect to the “point of bust”, as in the diagram.

This new line 1A will become the top over bust seam for the four panel spiral stitched cups.

Now we need to draw in a curve for the top hem of the cup, running from the underarm side of the cup, touching the two top hem straight lines, then down to the centre front.

Use a flexicurve or French curve to get a smooth curve.

All that is left now is to add seam allowance.

Copy the new outline of the overwired cup to a new sheet of paper,  and add 15mm for the overwire casing and 5mm for the under band cup hem plus dart seam.

For the spiral stitched foam padded and “V-ETTE Whirlpool” bra cups we need to divide the darted cup into four panels and reshape the cups for a 50’s “bullet” profile.

Start from the point of where we drew the top hem curve and line 1A.

Split the cup along line 1A and close up the cup dart so that the curves of the dart are just touching at the top.

Draw in two new curved seam lines along lines 1A/4/5, just inside the intersection point at “point of bust”, to remove the darted cup point.

Now split the cup along lines 6 and 3 to give you top and bottom halves.

Place the two top panels together, with the new seam curves just touching, draw a curved line along lines 6-3 and just inside the intersection point to remove the rest of the cup point.

Do the same with the bottom half panels.

Copy cup panel shapes to a new sheet of paper and add seam allowance.

Again add 15mm for the overwire casing and 5mm for the under band cup hem plus over bust seams.

For the inner foam cup patterns remove the 5mm over bust seam allowance as we will butt the foam edges up to each other and zig zag stitch across the seam lines.

Drafting the Back Straps & Wings 

To follow Jack Glick’s design of crossover side fastening back straps we'll use bra strap elastic, two strap sliders for adjustment and two Bikini hooks for the fastenings.

Make each strap equal to your back measurement (from side breast root, around the back to the other side breast root) plus 2cm. I would use a fairly wide strap elastic, say 16mm to 20mm wide.

For a conventional centre back hook and eye fastening the wing shape is quite easy to draft (see diagram).

Then add 5mm seam allowance to the top and bottom hems and 10mm seam allowance to the cup end.

There is no seam allowance where the hooks and eyes attach because the hook & eye tapes wrap around the end of the wings.

For a continuous back for the “V-ETTE Whirlpool” bra, which fastens at the front between the cups, simply draft a wing as for the centre back hook and eye fastening bra and then mirror the wing for a full back.

For larger cup sizes you may need to increase the length of the wing-to-cup seam to go further up the side of the cup.

Apply the same seam allowance as for the centre back fastening wings.

The sewing of the bra cups is straightforward. For the Jack Glick design single darted cup, just sew up the dart, press open the seam and stitch flat with seam tape.

For the Whirlpool bra, the top panels of the cups are two layers of Denier lining.

Sew together the cup panels, press open the seams, and stitch down flat with seam tape.

If you would like to apply a fancy trim to the hems of the cups, now is the time to do it. Tack stitch the trim to the cup hem, right side to right side.

It will fold out correctly after the wire casing has been sewn on and turned under. Trims with some stretch or gathers work best.

Next we will turn under and sew non-stretch tape onto the bottom hems of each cup. 

In my examples I am using a 8mm wide fabric tape.

Now we need to make up the back straps/wings ready to sew to the cups.

For Jack Glick’s design of cross over side fastening back straps, make two straps from bra strap elastic equal to your back measurement plus 2cm, using a strap slider/adjuster and a “Bikini” hook.

For wing type backs, cut out the wing/s and zigzag sew plush hem elastic to the top hem and bottom hem of the wings.

Remember to slightly stretch plush elastic as you zigzag sew then turn under and three step zig-zag.

Also sew on the hook and eye tapes for the back fastening option.

For Jack Glick’s back straps design we need to make two “hook loops” to sew to the sides of the cups under the wire casing.

In my example I am using a 16mm wide lightweight “Petersham” type tape, 4cm long folded over to give 1cm under the casing and 1cm for the hook loop.

For the centre front fastening Whirlpool design we need to attach a strap hook and hook loop to the centre front of the cups.

When fastened, the gap between the cups should be about 2.5cm.

VERY IMPORTANT For Jack Glick’s design, the back fastening wing design and for cup sizes above size 6 you will need to have a fabric tape “bridge” between the cups, as we will use two separate overwires instead of a single continuous wire.

The bridge between the cups should be 3.8cm long, 10mm under one wire casing, 18mm between the cups and 10mm under the other wire casing.

As with the Plunge on-cup underwire bra, we need to tack stitch all of the parts of the bra onto the cups, right side to right side, before sewing on plush wire casing.

When we have stitched one edge of the wire casing, it will be turned under and the back straps/wings/centre ribbon tie/hook loops will all turn into place (if all goes to plan!)

Turn the wire casing under and sew the other edge.

If the layers are too thick to sew through when sewing the padded cups, trim 5mm of foam/cup fabric away from under the wire casing. This will give you one layer of foam/cup fabric to sew.

Close off the plush wire casing with stitching about 5mm above the bottom hem of the cups at the underarm sides of the cups only.

Leave the centre front end of the wire casing open to insert the wire/s.

Now for the hot metal bending.

First we need to know the length of wire to go round the cups. For Jack Glick’s back straps design, the centre front fastening Whirlpool and cup sizes above size 6 we will make two separate overwires.

With a flexible ruler, measure around the wire casing 5mm above bottom hem and add 2cm for end fold over, 1cm at each end of the wire.

For the two separate overwires, cut two lengths of piano wire then “hot” bend over the 1cm of the ends of each wire.

To save time going over things again, please refer to the previous article on underwired bras for important information on how to “hot” bend the ends of the wire.

When the wire is cold, gently curve the wires by hand.

For Jack Glick’s one part overwire, measure out and cut the piano wire to length, mark the mid point of the wire and bend the wire in half (180 degrees).

The width of the bend should be 1.5cm.

Measure around the bend by 6cm and use pliers to bend the two halves of the wire back on themselves (180 degrees).

The width of the centre bends should not exceed 2.5cm.

When you have cleaned the wires you can insert them into the casings and sew the casings closed.

Before inserting the one part overwire into the cup casings, cut a short length of wire casing and thread it onto the wire to cover the centre front bend for a better finish than Jack’s original bare wire in the centre.