Add elastic to the band—The elastic that finishes the band edges is usually cut shorter than the band and stretched slightly to fit during stitching. It helps to fold and mark the pattern piece and elastic in quarters, as shown in photo 3. When you sew the first line of stitching along the picot edge, the left swing of the narrow zigzag should just touch the edge of the elastic (photo 4). After trimming close to the stitching, turn the elastic to the inside and zigzag again along the straight edge, stretching the elastic as you sew. Or use a wide, three-step zigzag to sew down the center of the elastic.

3. Mark the band and elastic in quarters before stitching (stitched section shown at right).		4. To begin attaching elastic, start zigzagging just along its picot edge.

When you attach the band to the outside edge of the cup, continue stitching around to the center front. This stitching will serve as a guide when you apply the channeling to hold the underwire.

Comfy channeling—The nicest ready-made channeling for underwire consists of several layers, and provides lots of cushioning. Or you can make your own, if you like, with a finished width of 3/8 in. Two layers of bias-cut cotton flannel inside a layer of the bra fabric makes comfy channeling.

To add the channeling, lay one bra cup right side up on the table, fold the bra band and other half of the bra out of the way on top, and align the stitching on the channeling with the stitching guide on the cup, as shown in photo 5. Pin, covering the side seam, lower cup, and center-front seam, and leaving at least 1/2 in. of channeling at each end. Stitch close to the inner edge of the channeling (photo 6), pulling the channeling snug as you sew, which helps it roll to the inside. An option, after pressing, is to stitch close to each long edge of the channeling to prevent it from rolling to the outside, which gives a topstitched look.

5. Match stitching on channeling with stitching on cup...		6. ...then sew just inside the stitching.

Be very careful when you sew the underwires into the channeling (photo 7) -- stitching over the wire may result in a broken needle and possible eye injury. With the wires fully inserted, you should have at least 3/4 in. of space between the end of the wire and the center-front edge of the bra. On the right side, sew a line of very narrow satin stitches at the center front of the upper cup, 1/8 in. from the top edge, as shown in photo 8, and trim the channeling even with the cup's upper edge. Or you can turn the channeling under before sewing.

7. Insert an underwire into the channeling.		8. Carefully sew across the top with a narrow satin stitch to secure it, as shown. Then trim away the excess channeling.

From bra to swimwear—Once you successfully complete a bra you like, it's easy to make a few adjustments to get a perfect-fitting swimwear top, like the polka-dot one. You'll need to lengthen each back band about 2 in., smooth the shape of the upper band, and trade the bra hooks for a swimwear slide closure. Add swimwear lining to the cups, and substitute 3/8-in.-wide swimwear elastic for the plush, cutting it to 90 percent of the band measurement. Sew the elastic inside the edges of the band, then turn and zigzag again, so the elastic is enclosed. And replace the strap elastic with a narrow, self-fabric tube with a strip of elastic inside.

I think you'll find that making your own bras opens up an exciting new era of personal underwear fashion. What have you got to lose, except that frustrating feeling of being a fashion victim?

Cynthia Elam of El Cajon, CA, teaches bra making and designs bra patterns and kits under the name Élan Patterns. For more on bra construction, check out Beverly Johnson's article, "Clone a Favorite Bra," in the February/March 2002 issue of Threads (#99).

Photos: Scott Phillips; drawings: Robert LaPointe