Balcony bra – pre-made cups
This is the first post on how to make a balcony bra using pre-made cups. I made my first bra this way at a workshop at Kantje Boord (Paula, the famous underwear store and workshop in Amsterdam, who didn’t mind me posting this). In this article, I will explain how to cover a cup with stretch lace. To give you an idea: this is the first cup bra I made: In this and the following posts, I used embroidered lace with a little stretch for the bra. The base color of the lace is the same as the cup, which eliminates the need for a separate layer under the color-matched lace. That’s for another bra/post. Step 1 – Cups are cut from pre-made cups that are not intended for balcony bras. Use a cup that fits your size. I only sew for myself and occasionally my daughter, so I can’t advise on this. Once it’s cropped out, the front of the center won’t be as obvious. Mark left/right and front center on the inside. I used markers that disappear with water. Step 2 – The upper edge is covered with flexible (enemy). Unfortunately, the picture is a bit blurry. To start, pin the beginning of the enemy on the edge (only 1 pin) and get a little extra to start. Sew the elastic part with a zigzag stitch. I don’t like working with the enemy, but it’s not too bad if you work for a long time. Work as follows: sew – stop – sew – stop….. Every time you stop, pull the elastic a little and fold the edges a few centimeters. Step 3 – The cup is covered with lace. This is the pattern I got from the workshop. The upper edge is the shell side. If possible (depending on the embroidery) try to embroider as little as possible on the seam, especially not at the center point I marked in the picture below. This makes beautiful curves more difficult. Tp get a good mirror image I use the first cup to cut the second cup. Step 4 – Sew the seam and make sure the point is rounded. It also helps with curves. Step 5 – Pin the lace over the cup, starting at the top edge. Depending on the amount of stretch, the lace will be slightly longer than the cup. This is not a problem. Make sure there are no wrinkles. Step 6 – Sew the top edge with a zigzag stitch to the rest of the bowl. I did the top edge from the outside and the rest from the inside. For this I changed the position of the pins. Step 7 – finish: Here you can see the lace extending over the cup. It was cut off. Result: two cups covered. The edges have a 3.5mm seam allowance (in this pattern) which is the same width as the zigzag used to sew the lace on the cups.
