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Member since 7/2/09
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Posted on: 11/11/16 2:37 AM ET
I have a underwire full band bra pattern that fits me very well. I want to convert it to a bikini. For the moment I'm concentrating on turning the pattern into a "bikini" but made out of stretch fabric. This is my thought process so far...
* Underwire stays the same, ergo the cup seam between the frame and the cup stays the same.
* Original cup on bra pattern is made of rigid material but new cup will be made of stretch. How do I get it to fit and support?

My first trial was to make the cups out of foam and cover them with the stretch fabric, with the foam being the "rigid" bit. However, the foam I have is while nice and soft, is quite stretchy and mock up of the cups were disappointing. Sad cup shape. Ugly ridges where the seams are.
My second trial was to cut the bra out of stretch fabric just to see how bad the fit was as my fabric isn't that stretchy. Verdict: the frame and bridge are ok (reinforced the bridge with microfibre) but the cups aren't very supportive and are loose along the neck edge. I also lost the lovely shape this bra gives me.

Any suggestions? How do you shrink the cups down but still keep the length needed for the wires?

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Life is too short to work with rubbish fabric and lousy tools.
  
Member since 12/2/09
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Posted on: 11/11/16 2:45 AM ET
Could your rigid layer be heavy duty power mesh? Or a woven nylon, if it needs no stretch at all?
  
Member since 7/2/09
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Posted on: 11/11/16 2:55 AM ET
Possibly, possibly. I have stacks of no stretch at all microfibre. The only thing is I once made this bra out of stretch fabric and lined it with tricot for support. Great bra but after a days wear the outer "skin" starts to sag a little!

Hmm.. Maybe I could just take deeper seams on the stretch fabric and stretch it to fit the microfibre lining?? Definitely worth a try!
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Life is too short to work with rubbish fabric and lousy tools.
  
Member since 3/31/14
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Posted on: 11/11/16 8:21 AM ET
You might try pre-made swim cups I they work with your pattern. It would give the cups extra rigidity and use a chlorine-safe foam.

Keep us posted.The main difference but ween a bra and a bikini top are the materials used so it should work out fine.
  
Member since 11/1/15
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Posted on: 11/11/16 9:36 AM ET
When I made my first bikini from a bra pattern I removed all the seams from the cup. I laid out my pattern pieces, joining them at the corners so that they would fit into the existing underwire seam, overlapping them as required and then just made a new single cup pattern piece without any shaping - there was enough stretch in the material that the cup fits nicely. I then lined the cup with another piece of swimsuit fabric to give a double layer and that gives me enough support and a nice shape to my DDD breasts.

You can see some pictures of how it turned out here.

http://solecrafts.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-new-bikini.html

-- Edited on 11/11/16 at 9:41 AM --
  
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