When I was creating a list of lingerie supply sources for my book I focused on online suppliers. Interestingly, I end up buying many of my bra making supplies in New York. For those lucky enough to be in New York City, you will be happy to know that you can find all the necessary supplies readily available within the span of a few blocks in the garment district.

First let’s review the materials and notions you need to make a bra. You can find additional details on each item below as well as the recommended sewing supplies used for bra making in my book.

Fabrics: band fabric, cup fabric, frame and/or bridge fabric, stabilizer and/or lining fabric

Notions: band elastic, underarm elastic, neckline elastic or trim, strap elastic, underwires, underwire casing, hook and eye closure, rings and sliders

The list of bra making supplies may look long but you only need to hit 2 or 3 stores to get everything you need. When you go shopping take a list of the materials you need along with the necessary yardage, widths, etc. from your pattern, a tape measure for stretch testing and swatches of any laces or trims you want to use.

In terms of a shopping strategy, I suggest starting with the fabrics. If you can’t find coordinating notions you always have the option of dyeing them to match. For things like underwires, underwire casing, hook and eye closures and rings and sliders, I buy in bulk so I always have some on hand. It is also much more economical if you plan on making a lot of bras.

Now on to the shops! Following are the shops (presented in alphabetical order) that I visit for bra making supplies as well as what I buy at each store when I visit the New York.

B&J Fabrics at 525 7th Ave., 2nd Floor

B&J carries an off white as well as a black 60” wide nylon tricot for $5.95 a yard that can be used for cup lining and stabilizer. You can find these on bolts in the stretch fabric aisle. Note, nylon dyes well so the off white works for just about anything.

Chic Fabrics at 225 W 39th St. # 11

This store has some of the best prices I have ever found for silk charmeuse and silk organza in the far right corner of the store (prices vary slightly by visit).

Daytona Trim at 251 W 39th St.

Toward the back of the store on the right wall is a nice selection of lingerie and fold over elastics. I end up looking for different strap and neckline trim ideas here as well. I visit this store if I can’t find what I need at Pacific Trimming (details below).

Fabrics and Fabrics (formerly Lace Star) at 270 West 38th St., 3rd Floor

They have an amazing selection of laces. Since they moved to this location and changed their name the stock is much better organized and much more accessible.

Pacific Trimming at 218 W 38th St.

My first stop for elastics since they stock several colors of fold over and lingerie elastic as well as clear and gripper elastics. I often find fun bra strap options here as well. If you don’t want to make a trip to Steinlauf & Stoller (details below) you can see if they have your size underwires from a limited supply on a bookshelf unit to the right of the registers. They also have plush underwire casing, boning and boning casing.

Spandex World at 228 W 38th St.

A great selection of Powernets in a variety of weights and colors. They also have stretch satins and other fabrics suitable for bra cups as bra bands in the $5 to $12 a yard range.

SIL Thread at 257 W 38th St. # 1

They stock a limited selection of underwires, packaged plastic boning, rings and sliders and hook and eye tape. I usually buy all these things at Steinlauf and Stoller (details below) but if you like to browse for your supplies, you can do that here. They also have basic sewing supplies with a nice selection of Clover tools.

Steinlauf and Stoller at 239 W 39th St.

They stock underwires in a variety of shapes and sizes, underwire casing, boning and boning casing, rings and sliders, hook and eye tape as well as general sewing tools and notions. Know what you want before you shop here – as in have a list of what you need with the sizes and quantities. They always have the sizes of underwires and boning that I need along with my other basics plus I love their speed and efficiency. If you want to browse for your supplies, visit SIL Thread instead (details above).

The only bra making supply that I like to use that is in short supply in New York are stretch laces. For stretch laces, Etsy is the place to hunt. There are also Etsy stores that sell bra making kits that have everything you need to make a bra.

Of course, if you want to shop for all your supplies online, you can take a peek at my resources page that I created for readers of my book here.

Before I dive into reader questions, I first want to thank everyone for making my book the #1 best selling sewing book! If you don’t have your copy yet, you can get it here.

Over the last week I have discovered that one of the best parts of publishing a book is interacting with its readers. I also received some questions about my book that I wanted to share since others may want to know the same things.

The number one most asked question was how to get my book if you don’t have a Kindle. That is an easy one!  Kindle books are instantly downloadable to your computer, IOS, Android, Windows or BlackBerry device using the free Kindle app available here.

Sign up for the email list here to receive information on how to purchase my book on April 15!

It may seem to have been quiet around here but I do actually have a couple of very good reasons.

First I have been hard at work on my upcoming book, “Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction”. After a lot of work, the book is nearly ready and it will be released this April. If you want to be alerted when my book is available, you can head over here and add yourself to the email list.

The second thing keeping me busy also has to do with the book. Over the last few weeks my book has undergone testing by an amazing group of sewists and as this lovely group was testing my book, so was I!

To test my book I worked through a selection of commercially available bra patterns to see what it was like to sew a bra from a beginning bra maker’s perspective. It was fun to work with some different styles but there were two main problems:

1. Bra pattern instructions leave out a lot of important construction details. In some cases they make construction more difficult or just don’t make sense. There is also a lot of missing information such as the fabric properties that the pattern was drafted for.

2. A beginning bra maker would not know how to adjust the pattern to get a good fit or to how fill in the missing instructions to get a professional looking result.

Now I truly understand why even intermediate to advanced sewists shy away from bra making.

Good news on point two: I think my book solves this problem since I wrote it from a beginning bra maker’s perspective. On point one, well, time will tell, though I have some ideas!

Over the last few days I seen a lot of sewists state that one of their New Year’s resolutions is to sew more lingerie.  In case you need any more incentive to follow up on this goal, here are the top 10 reasons to sew your own bras.

1. It is actually cheaper than buying a bra.

Surprise! Once you have the pattern, all the materials – fabric, findings and trims – can cost as little as $15. Of course you can also spend a lot more too! Regardless of what you spend on materials, the quality of the bra you make yourself will far surpass the one from the store.

2. It is faster and more efficient than shopping for a bra.

With experience, it will only take a few hours from tracing the pattern to wearing the completed bra. Compare this to the time it takes you to get to the store, park, find the bras you like, try them on, pay, etc. Even finding bras online can take some serious time, especially once you factor in the returns/exchanges as you try to find the ones that fit.

3. You get what exactly you want.

You get to choose the color, fabric, trim, etc. You could, if you were so inclined, make a bra for each outfit. That plunging top? That racer back tank? That sheer blouse? No problem. You have a bra for that.

4. You get a bra that fits.

With no real size standardization for ready-to-wear bras, your best hope for bra that fits is to make your own (or have one made for you!). Plus, once you have a pattern that fits, you can replicate it time and time again without worrying about the bra being discontinued, sold out or no longer available. Since bras must be regularly replaced, this is a big deal.

5. It will be easier to fit the other garments you are sewing.

You will find fewer alterations are necessary to the bodice of your garment when your bust is contained and is positioned correctly on your body by a bra that fits you properly.

6. You will become a better seamstress.

There are plenty of construction techniques in a bra making project to help you refine your skills. We can all benefit from practicing precision ¼” seaming and parallel lines of topstitching. The best part is that no one else but you (well almost no one!) will see any of those imaginary sewing “imperfections”. So you will wear the garment.

7. You can regain your sewing momentum.

There is nothing like a high utility project that can be completed in a few hours to get you back into the sewing room. Bras are a perfect sewing jumpstart when you are stalled on other more complicated projects.

8. You can replicate your favorite bra.

We have all been there. You love it, it fits, but it must be retired. You search and cannot find one anywhere. Copy it. You can also improve on the fit in the duplication process.

9. You’ve just found a way to use your sewing machine’s embroidery and embellishment features.

All those decorative stitches that you have not used since you bought your machine can be put to work. Astonishingly with today’s embroidery machines you can even make your own lace.

10. You become a better judge of quality materials and craftsmanship and know when to pay for it.

There you have it. Great reasons to sew your own bras. Time to get sewing!

A recent project involved cloning a bra and making alterations for a better fit. The cups in the ready to wear bra, the gray and white bra pictured above, have a great fitting wire but the cups themselves are too large. The band is the correct size but is a bit too narrow. Both were corrected for in the new pattern while still maintaining the style lines of the original.

Part of cloning involves finding comparable materials, so for this assignment I used a stretch lace with similar properties for the exterior.

I also used similar lining, elastics and findings.

Now the clones are just multiplying in the studio!

Off to find some more stretch laces!

In case you do not read Racked Chicago, Orange Lingerie is included in their Complete Mapped Source of Where to Find Lingerie!

Even better than a fixed bricks and mortar location, I go directly to my clients locations in the Chicago area for all consultations, measurements and fittings of their custom bra.

In terms of what to expect from the bra making process, it generally takes four to five meetings to produce the first custom bra for a new client and I generally meet with clients once a week during the process. In the first meeting we discuss what you are looking for in a bra, take some measurements, determine the best style of bra for your figure and select the fabric and trimmings from my library of options. Subsequent meetings are for refining the fit of the bra and finally, delivery of the finished bra. You can read more about the custom bra making process on my blog here.

Just contact me to set up an appointment and we can get started making the perfect bra for you!

I will be in Manhattan fitting clients Sunday, February 12. Just send me a message to schedule your appointment.

What are you waiting for? Now is the time to have bras made that truly fit you!

What better time than the start of the New Year to revamp your lingerie drawer? Undergarments are the perfect place to start with your resolution to look your best. As you  know, a bra that fits you well can make you look slimmer and more proportional, all you have to do it put it on to get the magic effect!

I know every woman owns bras that are beyond their useful life of service either sitting in their drawer or more likely being worn, not doing their body justice. Of course most women are simply unaware that bras wear out long before they rip or tear. So how do you know when a bra should be replaced? Let’s take a look.

In my studio I keep a bin of bras for illustrative purposes, design details, different trim and strap treatments, etc. I keep this particular bra to show clients what a bra looks like when it needs to be replaced.

The biggest sign a bra has passed its prime is that the elastic is no longer elastic. It is hard to see this in a static pictures but I tried to capture this by focusing on the ripples in the band in the picture below. Its like the elastic is too big for the fabric in the band causing the fabric to flare out.

Inelastic elastic is a normal sign of bra aging. Bras have multiple hook positions in the back of the band and adjusters on the straps anticipating the gradual loss of elasticity over time. These adjustments allow you to keep the bra snug around the body as the elasticity loses its spring. As time goes on though, regardless of the care of the bra, skin cells and body oils simply wear down the elastic.

Once you have the band of the bra adjusted as small as it will go and it feels loose on the body or moves around, the bra can no longer do its job providing support and needs to be replaced. This concept applies to the straps as well. When you start the day with the straps adjusted to fit and over the course of the day, they seem to magically lengthen and fall over your shoulder, the elastic is done and the bra is dead.

The second major sign of aging, which applies to foam bras, is that the foam no longer holds its shape. This is visible as both a general collapse of the cups and folds in the cup as seen below.

As foam ages it can also start to break down. This is visible via the ripples in the foam under the fabric covering (admittedly hard to see from this photo).

Another tell tale sign of aging, though impossible to see from these pictures, is that there is a grayish cast over the original pink/beige color. Just another normal sign of aging resulting from the cumulative effect of exposure to body oils and skin cells which as time goes on can not be entirely removed from the fabric via cleaning.

If you have bras exhibiting signs of age, replace them! By continuing to hang onto old worn bras you are cheating yourself out of the great support and figure flattery that comes from a properly fitting bra. If you simply love a particular bra and cannot find the style anymore, contact me to see if I can make a copy of it for you!

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to meet up with the other independent lingerie professionals in Chicago. Who knew there were so many of us? Each company has its own unique business model and style making for a collaborative environment.

Read more about the meet up in my guest blog post for Bra La Mode here.