4 Fixes for Gaping Bra Cups – Belly Dance Bra Alteration

I wanted to start off the new year with the most common costuming problem that belly dancers have – gaping bra cups.

Our body goes through changes, but most belly dance bra cups are not so flexible. And most of them are heavily decorated, so cutting up the bra cups is too much work and you may wreck the beautiful beading work.  🙁

So here are 4 ways to fix bra cups that are too big, WITHOUT doing a big surgery on your bra. Let’s get started!

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4 Fixes for Gaping Bra Cups – Belly Dance Bra Alteration

Fix #1 – Check your side straps are nice and snug

First, you have to start from here. If your side straps are loose, your bra cups will be loose. Make sure your side straps are nice and snug.

And you can tighten them by moving the bar of the hook closure.

Make this perfectly-fitting belly dance bra in the Belly Dance Costume Workshop 🙂

Fix #2 – Add padding

This is an obvious one. But the important thing is *where* you place the pads. Normally regular push up bras would have padding at the bottom of the cups. And this is good, but if you need to fill up more, add padding to the sides of the cups.

Padding at sides bring your girls closer together, filling up the bra cups nicely. For more, have a look at my DIY bra pads tutorial. 🙂

Fix #3 – Change straps to criss-cross at the back

If your bra has shoulder straps that go over the shoulders, change them to criss cross at the back. This alteration is fairly easy, and you can see how to do it in my beaded bra alteration post.

By changing the directions of the shoulder straps, the weight of your breasts are distributed differently and it helps bring your girls towards the centre, filling up the cups.

Fix #4 – Magic straps

If all of the above is not enough, try what I like to call magic straps. Magic straps are just simple grosgrain ribbon covered with fabric that matches your bra. You can make a tube of fabric by folding a piece of fabric lengthwise. Do a straight stitch, turn it inside out, then take a safety pin to thread a piece of grosgrain ribbon inside.

Or if you are going to decorate the strap later, you can simply wrap a piece of grosgrain ribbon with a strap of fabric, make sure the raw edge is at the centre and do a zigzag stitch to catch the raw edge.

Put on your bra, and pin an end of the magic strap at the top of your bra. Take the other end, and pull it up at an angle. Try pulling it up to meet the shoulder strap on the same side or the other side.

You’ll feel the strap helps close the gap between the bra cup and your chest. Find the right spot and length, and stitch the end down to the shoulder strap. Do the same with the other cup.

It’s just straps, but this is my favourite method of solving bra cup fitting issues, because it not only solves the gaping cup problem but also gives your bra more support and provides more coverage without adding heavy coverage. Plus it adds more interesting design to your bra. Seriously, try it and you’ll see what I mean. It’s like magic!

Curious about this bra design? You can make these flower and curly appliques here!

Hope you found these tips helpful, and if you did, please share these tips with your dance sisters! They’ll appreciate it 🙂

And if you want more costuming tips and DIY’s, sign up for my newsletter and get my belly dance costuming course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101 for free!

Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling! 😀

P.S. Pin this image for a reminder! 🙂

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