Watson Sew Along #5: Cutting the Bra
Alrighty, it’s time to get down to cutting! In this post, I’ll be going over the basics in cutting the bra. I also wanted to give you some creative options so I’ll be following this with a separate post on cutting a variation of the cup in scalloped stretch lace.
Check Your Stretch Direction
Before you start cutting, double check your fabrics to determine their direction of greatest stretch. This will help you lay out your pieces in the proper direction. In specialty lingerie and spandex fabrics, the greatest stretch can be in either direction. In several of my lycra and powernet fabrics, for example, the greatest stretch runs down the selvage, which is the opposite of many jersey knits.
Trace & Cut
Before laying out your pieces you’ll want to snip out the notches so you can mark them on the fabric. Weigh your pieces down and trace around them with chalk or pen. Use the chalk or an washable marker to mark the notches.
I keep a variety of marking tools around because some nylon fabrics have difficulty accepting chalk. In those cases I use a ball-point pen. Don’t let that scare you! You’re going to be cutting these lines away so they won’t show. I’ve also been playing with a heat-erasable gel pen, which I discovered via quilting blogs. (You gotta love quilters because they have the best fabric-marking ideas!)
Cut your pieces, making sure to cut your lines away. Here is where I question my choice of ivory-colored fabrics for photo purposes but hopefully you can see my faint chalk lines.
Snip your notches (just a tiny amount—remember your seam allowance is only 1/4”). If your fabric has an open texture, such as lace or mesh, those little cuts won’t be visible, so you can just leave your notch marks un-snipped.
Tip for Cutting the Cradle & Lining
I have a favorite trick for cutting out bra cradles and linings. Since tricot linings tend to be slippery and slightly more difficult to cut, I like to cut them as a single layer rather than on the fold. This means that I need to trace two sides of my cradle pattern so I have one piece, which you’ll see below. To make cutting even easier, I place the lining on top of the main cradle fabric, trace the cradle onto the top layer, remove the pattern, and cut the two layers together using a rotary cutter.
Ready to trace…
If you have chosen to use a fusible interfacing instead of a lining for the cradle, you can do the same thing. Just place your interfacing glue side down on to the wrong side of your cradle fabric, trace onto the interfacing and cut them together. Then fuse. Alternatively, you can blockfuse: in blockfusing, you fuse a rough cut of interfacing big enough for your pattern piece to a piece of fabric, then cut the pattern from the pre-fused piece. I’m a fan of blockfusing in all kinds of sewing. It really makes cutting so easy!
Finish cutting your band pieces from your chosen fabrics and that’s it!
The Role of Bra Linings
Before I sign off, I had a few questions about whether or not one could leave out the lining on the cradle. It may help to explain the role of linings.
In supportive bra designs, linings serve two purposes: they help the bra last longer and very importantly, they stabilize areas of stretch so that they have less stretch, or no stretch. One of those areas is the space between or underneath the cups. This stabilization keeps the cups in place and in underwired bras, helps the wires stay in position.
Bras that are designed to slip over the head, such as a camisole-style bra, tend to be less supportive. Their bands need to be stretchier by design in order to slip on without a hook & eye. The Watson is designed to have a firm band fit, which includes a stable front cradle. However, if you wished to create a softer bra and leave out the lining, I recommend testing this first because it will change the fit. The band will be looser and stretchier, and the cups will shift around and possibly want to spread apart. This also depends on size—small cups have less weight so it’s easier for the cups to stay in place.
I hope this helps make sense of linings!
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