Variations on a soft bra theme.

If you missed part 1 of this series, we invite you to read it here: Soft Bras, Part 1.

The first variation that we can do on the basic soft bra is to add some more shaping to the cups by dividing the them into three panels, i.e. open up the original darted cup dart. If you remember from the fourth article, the simple two-part over bust seamed cup can suffer from “tool shed roof” syndrome. Although this look may be acceptable for a retro / vintage look bra, there may not be enough fullness shaping in the cup for the larger bust.

 

To draft a three-panel cup, simply get to the stage where you cut the cup draft in two along the 6 and 3 lines. Now instead of completely closing up the original dart at lines 4 and 5, close the dart a small amount by bringing together the curved dart lines at the top.

Now draw a smooth curved line to give the horizontal over bust seam line. Repeat the over bust seam line on the top panel of the cup.

Then separate the two bottom panels.

Add 5mm seam allowance plus sewing info and continue the bra draft as before.

To add a design detail to the three panel cups we can have a go at using Faggoting tape for the under bust seam (Faggoting is embroidery used to “bridge” a gap. Faggoting tape comes in different widths, embroidery patterns and can be ridged or stretch.)

Using Faggoting tape on intimate apparel can add an interesting detail, such as applied to the centre front seam of a control panel in shapewear to give the impression that the centre front of the garment is “laced up”.

To use Faggoting tape between the two bottom halves of the cups instead of a plain seam, first measure the width of the embroidery stitching in the centre of the tape.
Divide the measurement by 2 and remove the measurement from the two seam edges of the cup panels before adding seam allowance.

Next, measure the width of the plain tape edge and add this width to the cup panels' under bust seam lines as their seam allowance.

At the other sides of each panel, add the usual 5mm seam allowance.

Now for some very accurate sewing. Place the cup panel right side up on the sewing machine then place the tape right side face down along the seam allowance. Sew along the line where the tape's embroidery stitching joins its plain edge.

Repeat for the other panel.

Fold the panel's seam allowance, or the tape's plain edges, down onto the panels and stitch down.

Continue to sew the rest of the cups together as before.

You can also use Faggoting tape for the cup's over bust seam and the cup / cradle centre front seam.

Another variant

The next cup “shape” has a very retro look but is a good “shelf” shape for the smaller bust.

As with the underwired bras, for soft bra drafting we can move the cups' seam lines / control around the cup. Remember moving a dart around its origin point (Point of Bust for a bra cup) or dividing a single dart's control into two or more darts? We did this with the first soft bra cup, closing up lines 4/5 of the underbust dart to open up two new darts along lines 6/3. With this bra cup the overbust seam (darts) starts in one lower corner of the cup, goes over the bust point then down to the other lower corner of the cup.

Start by drafting the cup as before for the first soft bra cup, up to the point of adding the curved lines from line 4 to centre front and line 5 to side seam.
Draw a straight line from the corner of the “side seam / 96 degree line of line 5” to the point of bust.

Draw a straight line from the corner of the centre front “seam line / 87 degree line of line 4” to the point of bust.

Now cut the cup draft in half along the two new lines and “close up” the dart lines 4/5.

This gives us a very pointy bottom cup half, so we need to round off the point.

For the top panel of the cup we need to draw a smooth curve for the overbust seam to match the length of the bottom panel’s seam line.

To get the seam line length right you may need to cut the top panel in half along line 1 and overlap the two top cup parts at the point of bust end of line 1 to draw a curve that is equal to the bottom cup panel overbust seam length (sorry, a bit of “trial and error” required there). In my “size 4 cup” draft example I overlapped the halves by just under 1cm.

Add 5mm seam allowance to the two cup parts, plus sewing info.

Next, the cradle and wing draft

The pattern draft to go with the cups is almost identical to the first soft bra except we will leave out the side panels and sew the cup / cradle side seam to a full Powernet wing. This style of bra with a deep cup / cradle to wing side seam can benefit from having bones in the side seams. The bone helps to stop the cup to wing side seam area from wrinkling and distorting the sides of the cups, particularly in the larger size cups. Think about a sail on a sailing boat: without a mast to hold the sail up, the sail will just collapse and will not catch and hold the wind.

So when we come to sew the wings to the cups, we will not apply seam tape over the seams but instead sew on blush underwire/bone casing to take a straight plastic bone or our new friend; a short length of piano wire (18 swg) with the ends heat bent over.

Start by drawing a 3.5cm vertical line. This line will be the depth of the cradle under the fullest part of the cup.  
From the top of the 3.5 line draw a new line to the right at 105 degrees (192 – 87 = 105) and a line to the left at 96 degrees (192 – 96 = 96).

Copy the outlines of the cup's bottom hem, centre front line and side seam line to the cradle lines (use tracing paper if you are not using CAD).

Extend the cup side seam line and centre front line down to below the 3.5cm vertical line.
At the bottom end of the 3.5cm vertical line, draw a line to the right at 87 degrees to the 3.5 line. Again at the bottom end of the 3.5cm line, draw a line to the left at 96 degrees to the 3.5 line. Both lines should connect to the cup centre front line and side seam line.

Extend the 96 degrees line by about 4cm, then draw a new line down 8 degrees to the 96 degrees line from the 96 degrees line / side seam line point. This line will become a guideline for the side panel / wing bottom hem.

The next parts are very similar to the side panel / wing draft of the simple underwired darted bra, working out percentages of your back measurement.

Along the 8 degrees line from the cup to wing seam line put a mark for the end of the wing, at 34% of your back measurement.
Example; 50cm / 100 = 0.5 x 34 = 17cm
You may need to change this percentage / measurement to suit your Powernet fabric / personal wing tension preference. Remember the fishing weighing scales to test the “pull” / elastic tension of a bra's wings? But obviously you do not need to “balance” the “spring open” pull of any underwires.

Now we need to mark the position of the bra strap “platform” (position) on the wing. From the wing end alone the 8 degrees hem line put a mark 10% of your back measurement, draw a line up at 90 degrees to the hemline and make it about 6cm long. The end of the wing should suit your hook and eye tapes; I suggest that you use two or three hook/eyes for this bra. In my example I have made the end of the wing 2.5cm, which will give me a two hook/eye fastening when bra strap elastic is sewn on.

For the top hem of the side panel / wing, draw a smooth curve from the top of the cup side seam to the strap platform line. Note how the hem line should “flow” from the cup underarm hem (dotted outline). Then draw a curve from the strap platform point to the end of the wing. For the cradle / side panel / wing bottom hem, draw a smooth curve from the centre front line, along the cradle lines, through the cup side seam line and side panel to wing seam line, and on to the end of the wing.

Next we need to separate the draft into two parts, cradle and wing.

Add 5mm seam allowance to the parts, plus sewing info. We are now ready to cut out the fabrics and sew the bra together.

For more of a retro look, try making the top half of the cups from a Broderie anglaise cotton and the bottom halves from a plain weave cotton fabric, but sew top stitch straight radiating lines / spokes from the point of bust to the bottom cup hem.

Start by stitching the decorative radiating lines onto the cups' bottom panels.

Sew the cup panels together at the over bust seam, a tricky bit of sewing around the lower panel's curve. Try “feeding” the panels into the machine instead of pinning the panels together. Fold the seam allowance on to the top panel and stitch / tape down. Fold under and tape the neckline hems of the cups.

Sew the cradle halves to the cups and seam tape.

Sew the two cups / cradle halves together at the CF and seam tape; remember to get the alignment right.

Now sew the wings to the cups / cradles but do not apply seam tape. We will sew blush bone casings over the seams on the inside after we have sewn on the blush elastic hems.

Yes, time for the tricky single step zig zag / fold under / three step zig zag stretch sewing. First the bottom hem.

Then the cup underarm / wing top hem.

Now that the blush elastic hems are in place, time to sew the blush bone cases over the cup / cradle to wing side seams. Sew down both edges of the casing, stitch across one end, insert the bone then close off the other end of the casing.

In my example I have used bar rings at the cup's apex and sewn the free ends of the straps to the wings, but you can sew strap rings on short lengths of strap elastic to the wings as before. For my example I made the straps up from 45cm of strap elastic plus a slider for each strap.

Lastly, sew hook & eye tapes to the ends of the wings and try the bra on.

Quite a simple looking “day” bra, stylish retro in cool cotton instead of boring pudding basin modern moulded cups. As usual you can experiment with colours, fabrics, trims, more topstitching and so on. Try a crisscross quilted topstitch on the cups' bottom panels. Also, experiment with moving the over bust seam / darts of the cups around, but remember: instead of sewing up a complete bra, try making paper and sticky tape mock-ups of the cups to see how the cup shape looks.

Go on to Part Three

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