Fashion Fabrics for Bra-Making?

Is anyone able to discuss fashion fabrics for bra-making? I'm interested in going further than the typical solid tricots. It sounds like organza is a fabric of choice for sheer lining. Does it do well as the fashion fabric too? I'm also considering georgette, crepe de chine, charmeuse, and cotton-poly eyelet. Also, is rayon cooler overall than polyester? Pros and cons anyone? It occurs to me to consider nylon, too....

Thx, Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl
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Just curious, are you going to have a message forum on your web site? If so, it seems to me that maybe you might want to postpone these types of extensive discussions until you can preserve them there, because you can't copy from NG discussions wholesale onto your web site.

I know this is totally off the wall, but I'm very, very sick and my brain is fuzzy and when you asked this all I could think about is how some talk show host said in his memoirs that he never spoke with his guests before they came on the show since discovering that the few times he did that, the best parts of the discussion never made it to the show.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

This is a great topic for discussion. :) Personally, I think you should try any fabric you want! The best way to tell how it will feel against your skin, before using it in a bra, is to cut a square (after washing it) and put it inside your bra for a time to see if it itches or is otherwise uncomfortable.

I think rayon is more comfortable than poly but I have no idea how it would hold up in a bra. I bought some very fine emerald green rayon challis last week for other things and it has a very soft, light hand after washing. So it seems like it might make a *comfortable* bra. OTOH, rayon can hold a lot of water so that would also be a consideration. Durability is definitely a factor with bras for women who are more than adequately endowed. Those bras must be able to take a lot of strain.

Nothing wrong with plain old cotton either--- especially if you want that plaid or Island print bra. I saw a lot of polka dots on Denver Fabrics' page the other day... :) I've used a very wide variety of fabrics for lingerie. If I was going to do this by mail order, I'd get large samples of a bunch of different fabric types. For myself, I generally draw on my own stash. Did you ever try Logan Kits? She sells lingerie fabric remnants by the pound too--- or used to--- very cheap. Not just kits. She gets factory remnants IIRC but it has been more than a few years since I bought anything form her. I recommend writing to her and telling her you are looking for bra-making fabrics to see if she has anything that you could use. She always had a lot of nylon tricot as I recall. I still have some gorgeous laces that I got from her.

Phae

Reply to
Phaedrine

I forgot to say, have a look at her brochure... you can download it.

Reply to
Phaedrine

After having made corsets, includeing overbusts, for a while now I finally got around to trying a plain bra. I am never going to buy one off the shelf again! Custom fit is sooooo much more comfy! As in most clothes.

For fabrics I totally endorse cotton. For comfort it is hard to beat. Plus, since I am generously endowed I want something sturdy. Cotton does the trick. But I am vain and one of those pretentious goth people, so I want attractive with my functionality and comfort. I have taken to basicly making the straps (except for the spandex triangles for movement in the back straps) and at least the lower half of the cups in plain cotton, then covering it in something prettier. Since I do much of my own dyeing and surface design I can make the pretty part out of silk quite cheaply. I highly endorse renaissance lace or similar techniques for embellishment, it is by far the most comfortable as well as being easy to do and very attractive.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

For plain cotton, do you use batiste , flannel or just muslin? Are there wrinkling issues after every washing? I'm inclined to go with cotton-poly blends for the durability. I'm all for layering fashion over function too, especially since I'm going to be making bras for my I-cup friend as well as for myself. There's no reason one can't enclose the seam allowances between the cups, right? Thanks for the renaissance lace tip.

POra

Reply to
wurstergirl

I hear you, Melinda. (She's referring to

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my site on bras for the hard-to-fit woman.) In fact, the forum is up and running right now, but the rest of the site is not looking good. I'd prefer to invite you all over once I'm sure that the frustration factor is low enough that y'all won't leave in a huff, never to return.

Yeah, I should be saving this up for our forum, but I'm so impatient. I'll only ask a few questions and then hold off so we can continue later. I'm guessing we still have another month or two before I'd feel comfortable having you guys over.

Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl

Good idea about wearing a swatch inside your bra.

I've been eyeing the Logan Kits grab bags. As soon as I feel like I've got one great bra under my belt (?!) it will be great fun to try one of those out. My I-cup girlfriend who I'm going to try to sew for will love to see something other than beige tricot!!

And hey, I'm taking that plaid cotton as a challenge, girl! ;-) lol

Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl

Yes, rayon challis would be soft. If layered over a cotton or organza lining perhaps it wouldn't absorb a lot of moisture.

Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl

I used lightweight poplin for one, and it was great.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

G'day Pora

I like to use poly-cotton and overlay it with whatever pretty fabric or lace I find. Just recently I noticed a bolt of Raschel Lace in the wedding fabric section and while it was quite expensive per metre because I only needed a small amount so that didn't matter. The width was 1.2m so I'll get a few bra cups out of the piece and it is sooo pretty.

I've also embroidered plain fabrics so the choice is only limited by your imagination.

Br> Is anyone able to discuss fashion fabrics for bra-making? I'm

Reply to
HC

Well, I've started homemade bra 2.0. Bought flesh-toned organza and am using some leftover georgette and organza ribbon. Because the georgette is actually stretch georgette I bonded it with a layer of organza to stabilize. Maybe the stuff I'm using to bond is too strong, because it turns practically like paper! More in a few days...

Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl

I have done one in a lightweight flannel and it feels so nice! Might be a bit warm for summer though. Plain muslin (I'm useing a 4 ounce for this) works very well indeed. I have been petting some light sand washed broadcloth and having notions. I prewash the devil out of my fabrics, as much abuse as I dare for the given weave and fiber. Wrinkleing or shrinkage has not been an issue for me. A bit of mild rumpleing, but that smooths out once you have the thing on.

No reason at all not to enclose the seams, save perhaps weight and bulk. The usual stuff, depends on your exact construction and fabric.

Since you are making them to fit, there is also no reason to make the shoulder straps adjustable either. Unless of course you are embarking on a course of bodybuilding or an extreme diet :)

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

That sand-washed broadcloth sounds excellent. It's good to hear that difficulties with wrinkling and shrinkage "come out in the wash" so to speak!

I"m not sure about making strap length permanent. I find that I adjust my straps regularly. But I'll ask the other ladies I'll be bra-making for. It would save the effort of finding or dyeing strap elastic to match.

As an aside, the bra I started making last night feels like it's made of butcher paper. I fused the fashion stretch georgette to an organza layer for stability and ended up with something you could wrap around last night's fish! I've only sewn one cup, so maybe I'll switch to Sulky Solvy and just wash the bonding layer out after sewing. (Any opinions here?) This is an important investigation for me, since I have some stretch fabrics I'd like to use for both the cups and the back wings.

Pora

Reply to
wurstergirl

I adjust mine all the time too.

If you need a temporary bond, would that spray stuff used for embroidery or temporarily bonding quilt layers (instead of basting or pinning) work? I have not used it so I don't know. And I also don't know how it reacts with various fabrics but I thought I'd just throw the idea out there.

Phae

Reply to
Phaedrine

Yes, I figured such a thing must exist but know nothing about its performance. There are several quilting shops nearby, so maybe they'd know. Sounds easier to use than the wash-out fusible. If there is a kind that washes out too.

P.

Reply to
wurstergirl

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Good stuff. I've used it for quilts and applique.

The only potential problem I can think of is "strike through", whereby the adhesive would go through the organza to the layer behind. You could get round that by spraying it onto the other fabric rather than the organza, I would think.

Look at the FAQ at the link above for information about how long it lasts.

Sally Holmes Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

Reply to
Sally Holmes

I have one handkerchief-linen bra.

I'll never make another cotton bra as long as handkerchief linen is available.

Joy Beeson

Reply to
Joy Beeson

Yeah, that would be a totally personal call. I hated adjusting mine with the comercial ones. After a couple of wearings the adjustment kept slipping. Do rethink the elastic though. If it's what you want it's what you want, but one of the things I started out to do was eliminate all unnecessary elastic. Both the side breathing triangles and the straps are easy enough to replace, I just didn't see the point to making the straps elastic.

The joys of stretch fabrics. I would definitly go with a lightweight soluble. Or maybe since it is smallish sections, a washable glue stick (sticky stuff on stabilizing fabric then the georgette on that) might be functional. I'll have to try that, I've never used it on a quite so big a small section but it ought to work. It'd be considerably less expensive too.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

A good thought, but IME it doesn't work for beans on synthetics. Unless it is a low percentage stretch and a high percentage natural fiber it wouldn't stick very well. Nasty fumes too, it is a use in a well ventilated area then have a cuppa while you come down off the glue buzz kind of product.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

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