The Boulder Holder Predicament — DIY Bra Fix
Let me set the scene. We are at a local farm and play attraction, Long Acre Farms. I bend over to get something out of my bag and I hear a weird tear/crack. I think “Oh dang, I must have ripped my tank top. No biggie.” Yeah, well I started feeling a poke under my boob and sure enough the wire broke inside of my bra and was poking through the fabric working a hole into my skin. Ouch.
Every woman knows that salvaging a bra with a broken wire is completely and totally pointless. So now I am forced to go bra shopping. And for those of you who don’t already know, I am 15 weeks pregnant (YAY!) and I really don’t feel like spending money on bras because everything is changing on my body. I have no choice though.
Well, I used to work at a large lingerie retailer, so I have been trained in how fit a bra. I grabbed my trusty old tape measure (the seamstress kind) and found that I was not even close to wearing the right size. Whoops! Well, I did my own little life-hack and am going to get by as long as I can without having to drop the equivalent of a box of diapers on a bra that I will only wear for a little bit.
Here’s what I did:
- Cut off the hooks and the loops on the broken bra.
- Sewed the ends together and made my own bra extender!
- The end.
Worked like a charm and now my smaller bras are cutting the mustard… for now.
But, I want to give you all a few more tips on how to find the perfect fitting bra.
- Straps: Do NOT tighten them so that the back of the bra is riding up your back. You want the band to go straight all around your torso.
- Cups: If they are gaping, go down a cup size. If you are gushing out of the cup like a boob-style muffin top, go up a cup size.
- Band: If adjusting the cup size is not working, go for the band. A smaller band size will also help with a gaping cup, while a larger band size will help with an overflowing cup. You ultimately want to have the front/center part of the bra flat against your chest. If you have a very large chest, this may not be easily accomplished, so just make sure you are not gushing out of the cup.
- Note: If you go larger up in band size, the cup will get a little bit bigger with it. Go to a store and compare a 34D with a 38D, you will see what I mean.
- Sister sizes: These are sizes that are a close equivalent to your regular size. If you are a 36B, your sister sizes are 34C and 38A. So you go up one (cup or band size) and down the other.
- A proper measurement:
- Measure evenly around your torso just under your arm pit. This is your approximate band size. If there is a significant difference between this measurement and the second torso measurement in the next step, go middle of the road. A woman’s body can fluctuate up to 5 lbs every 3-6 months, so you will want to give yourself a little wiggle room to adjust your band size for comfort.
- Measure evenly across your chest and then evenly around your torso just under your chest. Each inch in difference is a cup size letter. So, if there are three inches in difference, then you are a C cup.
I hope that this post helps you to find the right-fitting bra for you. If you cannot measure yourself, go to a bra retailer and ask if they measure. Don’t feel embarrassed—it’s what they are paid to do and they know what they are doing! Keep your girls happy. 😉
About Abbie Schmitt
Abbie is a stay-at-home mom to 2 year old Sophia and an Independent Consultant with a direct sales company. She and her husband Patrick also have a Bishon Frise, Jax, and an American Eskimo, Petey. Abbie describes herself as ”crafty, sarcastic, a little OCD, sometimes too critical, but an easy-going mom who isn’t afraid to say it how it is.” Abbie is looking forward to sharing both her opinions and her adventures of being a mom and woman surviving the modern world.