Pretty bra straps? A crazy tutorial

Pretty bra straps? A crazy tutorial

• 8.26.2010

Okay, I have a tutorial to share with you today that I think is pretty cool, but some of you may think is the craziest thing you've ever heard.

In one of my magazines I heard about the Maidenform Charmed line, which has come out with some pretty bras, including two with pretty lace or straps--so it doesn't matter if they poke out from under your sundress!

And this slightly different one, with a pretty band and plain straps:

Very pretty, right?  They're not the style of bra that I usually wear, but I like the idea of pretty straps that you're not afraid of showing a little.

This gave me an idea--again, please don't judge me too much if you think I'm ridiculous for doing this! ;)
I took an old bra that I liked but didn't care too much about, and added wide lace ribbon straps instead of the elastic ones.  I removed the straps that came on it to do this.  That's okay with me; they were kinda dirty already, you know how white bra straps get.  It may be close to time for a new bra, but until then, I have pretty bra straps that look like another layer of tank or something, not too lingerie-ey!

So how about a simple little tutorial for how to do this yourself (if you're in the school of, "hey, that's a neat idea!")!

You can do this with a regular bra or a strapless (I also tried it with one of those removable strap ones).

• Cut off the straps if necessary.  you're going to sew at the point where the old strap attached to the bra.

• Pin your lace or ribbon onto the bra.  I like to make it continue to the bottom of the band, just for less strain on the stretchy nylon.

• Sew along the ribbon or lace (I matched my top thread to the lace, bobbin to the bra) in line with the band.

• Great.  Now, try on you bra and pull the straps toward the front.  Pin them in place where they'll meet on the front, and try to move around a lot as you do when you wear a bra normally.  These won't have as much stretch as modern bra straps, so you want them at a nice medium length (not the tightest, not the loosest).  You can always buy lingerie sliding pieces to use with your ribbon or lace, but I went the easy way and just chose a length.  No pics of this part!  Don't want to show the internet too much of my undies.
• Make sure both sides match in length, or are close, and pin in place.

• If you're doing this on a strapless, tuck the ribbon or lace behind the edge of the bra.  If you do it on a regular bra, I suggest putting it in front of the cut-off part and finishing it nicely.

Ta-da!  Super easy and fast!