How to Line a Bra Top with Chani Pt 1 – Relining a Bra

Let’s talk about How to Line a Bra Top!

You’ve made your bra, decorated it, and now all you need to do is line the bra top so you can protect all the hard work you put into creating it 🙂

But belly dance bra tops have a lot of curves, and ill-fitting lining can shrink or deform the bra.

In this tutorial, Chani, our alteration expert, will show you exactly how to line a bra top, especially when you’re relining it. Enjoy!

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I realized that so much information should be presented and explained about relining a bra that it needs to be handled in two segments. This post is specific to relining a costume where the old lining can be removed and utilized as a pattern. Part 2 will cover creating a new lining from ‘scratch;’ while much of the information will overlap, it does require a few different steps. Much of that information is already presented in the Nourhan posts, but we will revisit it and other related topics in Part 2. 

Relining a bra can be pretty simple – but based on how the bra is constructed, it can also be a very big and daunting project if you have never done it before. 

First off, why would you reline? And when is a good time to consider doing so? What fabric should you use? What color is best?

Why and When to Reline a Bra

Whether you just bought a new-to-you costume, or want to refresh a tried-and-true workhorse costume, relining can make a tremendous difference in how the costume feels as you perform.

You may find the old lining is very dirty, or the fabric has started to rip or simply fall apart. Maybe it has become stained and discolored. In some instances, you may have a bra that was never lined at all. These are all good reasons to reline the bra. (I suggest relining the belt at the same time; we will cover that in a dedicated post to follow. For now, simply be sure to purchase sufficient yardage to reline both pieces.)

Fabric and Color Options

Personally, I prefer the feeling of natural fibers against my skin. Many of our dance costumes are made from 100% polyester, which is in essence plastic. If you touch a lit match to it, it melts instead of burning. In my mind, this is not unlike being wrapped in a plastic bag! (Maybe that is a bit dramatic, but that is my overly imaginative brain at work.)

I have relined costumes in nearly every type of fabric. Originally, I was using plain cotton sheeting: 100% cotton, lightweight woven fabric, available pretty much anywhere, and relatively inexpensive. Literally, think of a cotton sheet, and that is the type of fabric I used. It is easy to handle and comes in a myriad of colors, and breaths. The downside to this fabric is that it has no stretch, except a little along the bias (see below for a definition of bias, if you are unfamiliar with the term). 

Now, I generally prefer to find lightweight cotton knit that has between 2% and 5% Lycra. It still breaths well, but is easier to mold to the bra shapes, and is easier to ‘fudge’ if something isn’t quite right. It also is softer against the skin, unlike woven cotton which can feel a little crisp. However, it is a little harder to find and often is not available in a large range of colors (unless you live in a large metro area with a garment district, or have a great online source). This is changing, though, as people are wearing more and more knit garments, and production has therefore increased dramatically. Now you can even sometimes find rayon knits. Rayon and silk are my two favorite natural fibers, so finding a rayon knit with some lycra in it makes me a happy camper (in black only, though, or prints). 

You can also use a cotton knit that does not have any lycra. It will still have some stretch due to the nature of knits, but will not be as stretchy. It will work fine and is still easier to work with than cotton sheeting. You will want to look for a double knit, not a single one. A double knit stretches in both directions, while a single knit will be stretchy in one direction but not the other. Literally, grab the fabric, and see which way it stretches. 

Your last best option is any stretch knit in a solid color. They will generally be 100% polyester with a variety of levels of lycra content. They also come in a wide variety of weights (thicknesses) of fabric. Look for a mid-to-light-weight knit. Heavy-weight knits just get bulky as a lining. 

In terms of color, you can either match the primary color of the costume, or you can look for the skin tone that comes closest to your skin color. These are often advertised as swimsuit lining. Swimsuit lining tends to be quite thin and very stretchy (easily 5% lycra). It works great for lining costumes when you cannot find a good match to the base color of the costume. I keep several yards of it on hand all the time.

Three fabric options: the red is a cotton double knit with 3% lycra, my preferred choice for linings; the burgundy is a cotton sheeting; the third piece is a skin tone 100% polyester double knit with 5% lycra.

If your costume has stretchy back bands and/or neck/shoulder straps, you will have to use a double knit with lycra. If you are not an experienced sewer, I do not recommend trying to do this yourself, or seeking guidance from another dancer with more sewing experience. The bands will need to remain stretchy, which means your stitches will need to be stretchy. If you find yourself in this situation and have no one to get assistance from, feel free to reach out to me at chani@sparklybelly.com and I will try to lend a hand. 

How Much Fabric Will I Need to Line a Bra Top?

Determining yardage can be tricky. When in doubt, buy extra!

The amount of fabric needed is based on your size and the size of the costume. An A-cup AmCab bra with a matching three-inch wide belt is not going to require much fabric, while a tribal bra for a larger gal with DDD cups and a large pompom belt is going to require considerably more. Thankfully, most knits are manufactured as 58-60 inch wide yardage. That width (as opposed to 45 inches for many cotton sheetings and woven fabrics) goes a long way.

We are going to remove the old lining, open up darts in the cups, and utilize these pieces to determine your yardage requirements.

Getting To It: The Existing Lining

Look carefully at the existing bra lining. In rare cases, embellishment has been sewn through the lining. I have a dress like this, which I have yet to redo (in this case, the cups themselves are misshapen and need to be replaced…. Ugh. That will be a future post!).

If this is the first undertaking for you, I recommend you take some pictures of the inside of the costume before you dismantle it. They may be helpful to refer back to, particularly for details such as dart placement in the cups and anything unique to that costume. 

In pretty much every instance, your first ‘deconstruction’ will be to remove the hooks and bars and/or snaps. Where possible, do this from the inside of the costume so as to reduce the chance of cutting threads holding beads in place. If they are in good shape and deemed reusable, set them aside. If they are bent out of shape or rusty, this is a good time to replace them.

Generally, the lining has been sewn in once the costume embellishment is complete and is the last part of the construction. Also, the lining is generally sewn in with large, easy-to-remove stitches. Usually, the bra is constructed, then the lining is sewn into the finished bra. Once in a while, though, the individual pieces (i.e. the cups, and the back straps) are lined separately and then sewn together. This can also be the case if a dancer has altered the bra for themselves. Last, generally, neck/shoulder straps are lined separately, then attached underneath the cup lining. 

This is the back band before I removed the lining; in this photo, you can see a running stitch was used. I recommend a whip stitch. 

This is the top of the cup; you can see that here they chose to use a whip stitch.

I recommend preserving the existing lining to use as a pattern for your new fabric. Don’t just cut it out or apart, but instead remove the stitches holding it in place. This takes out all the guesswork for both yardage purchases and cutting your new lining.

Tip: If you have several costumes that need relining, and one does not have a useable lining to use as a pattern, reline a costume with an existing lining first. A little experience will go a long way when you create your own pattern. Creating a new lining without a pattern will be covered in Part 2; see also the Nourhan postings.

Using a seam ripper or a pair of scissors, carefully cut the stitches to remove the lining. If the darts in the cups are stitched, remove that stitching also. Ultimately, you want each lining piece laying flat so it can be used as your pattern.

On many costumes, there is a middle piece between the two cups which is often a completely separate element and therefore is lined separately. The perfect example of this is on a Dina bra (although generally Dina bras are molded as one complete piece, not two separate cups with a joining piece. We will talk about lining Dina bras in Part 2.) You will want to treat this the same as the other parts of the bra, removing the lining and using it as a pattern piece. You will only need to cut one of your new yardages.

Three different cup shapes – but most importantly here, you can see the yellow bra and the (as yet unadorned) Dina bra both have a substantial middle band; the lowest bra has none, and the tips of the cup linings simply join in the middle. Notice that the dart on the lowest bra is at the top of the cup. You will want to recreate that placement in your new lining.

If the old lining is very wrinkled, you will need to lightly press it so it lays flat, or press it by hand and pin it into place on the new fabric. If you decide to press it and are afraid the folds showing the dart in the cups or the fold under marks will get pressed out and want to be able to refer back to them, mark them with a Sharpy or pencil before pressing. 

Now Back to The Yardage Question

Now that we have the old lining pieces removed and pressed flat, we can lay them out and get a pretty good idea of how much fabric to buy.

Tip: if you plan on relining the belt too, remove its lining also, and press it. You will want to hold on to it for future use, but this way you will be certain to purchase the right amount of fabric.

If you have a cutting mat, spread the pieces out on the mat, close together but not quite touching, look at the grain lines of each piece, and remember that most pieces can be cut on the fold (the fabric is folded in half, selvage to selvage) unless you have an asymmetrical bra.  If cutting on the fold, make sure your laid-out pieces are 28” wide or less (for 58-60” wide fabric). Then, measure how much you need; see the photos. Again, add your belt lining if you are doing it also. 

The old lining is marked, pressed, and laid on a cutting mat to estimate yardage requirements. My mat is 22” wide, so if I chose a 45” wide fabric I can still easily cut on the fold. I could easily get as little as one-third of a yard for this project, without lining the belt. I would probably purchase one half of a yard just to have some ‘wiggle’ room if I needed it.

When in doubt, buy an extra ¼- ½ yard!

I recommend pre-treating your fabric to remove any sizing. Some people are actually allergic to sizing. If it is a knit, simply toss it in the wash and machine dry. If woven, zig-zag the edges to reduce raveling, then wash and dry. You may need to press a woven once dry. Wrinkled fabric does not create very accurate cut pieces. 

Cutting

If the old lining is woven, try to identify the direction of the threads (called the warp and the weft). It may not really matter, but you might as well cut your new lining (if you are using a woven as the replacement) in the same direction. If you are replacing a woven with a knit, I generally recommend placing the old lining straight across the fabric, selvage to selvage, instead of at an angle. 

Now you are ready to cut your new lining! If your costume is symmetrical (both cups, back bands, and neck/shoulder straps are all the exact same size and shape) you can fold your fabric, and pin one cup, one back band, and one strap to the new fabric, and carefully cut both layers together. If your costume is asymmetrical – one cup has a different shape, etc. – you will need to open the fabric, and lay out all your pieces, and cut them individually.

If there is a lot of excess fabric on the old lining that was folded in (I have seen this a lot on Egyptian costumes; they don’t take the time to trim excess fabric out, they just fold it in and stitch it up) feel free to trim it down. I do suggest leaving yourself at least ¾-1” (2 ½ – 3 cm) of fabric to fold under.

This is a very stretchy poly lycra knit, 60 inches wide. I have pinned my old lining pieces to it. You can see, particularly on the top of the back band, the crazy amount of seam allowance the original stitcher shoved in there. I will cut my seam allowance down to half an inch or so when I cut. You can see that the old lining was so dirty I hardly needed to mark the original fold lines. Yuck. It seems particularly icky when the dirt is from the prior owner. . . . 

One note about the shoulder/neck straps: if you are using a woven fabric, you may want to cut these on the bias, to give them a little bit of stretch and shape-ability. However, this does require more fabric as you are cutting across the diagonal of the yardage. I recommend reading through the entire blog before proceeding, so you can determine the best fabric and method for your straps. If you are using a knit, you can disregard this completely as the fabric is inherently stretchy.

If your costume includes the joining piece between the cups, don’t forget to cut one of that pieces.

Note on cutting: you can see I only used a few pins to hold my ‘pattern’ pieces to the fabric; that is because I am using a rotary cutter and cutting mat. If you are cutting with scissors, I recommend using many more pins and pinning around the out edge of the pieces. You want to get the most accurate shapes as possible in your new lining. 

DO NOT throw out the old lining pieces! You may want to refer back to them, particularly for dart placement, and just in case you need to recut any part of your new lining. I never throw away old costume elements until the refurbishing is completely done and the costume has had its debut. 

Preparing To Sew the Lining

You will start to reline by stitching the back bands first. I recommend pinning the new lining in place before you start any sewing in case you need to move the lining a little in one direction or another. It is a drag to start sewing, get halfway around, and realize you didn’t leave enough margin on the far side of the band. I start by pinning along the top edge of the band, working toward the end where the hooks go, and working my way around.

Pro Tip: Mitered Corners

There is a really easy way to make really neat, sharp corners in fabric: the mitered corner.

To make the corner, fold the edge of the fabric at the corner in on the diagonal, and create a triangle of fabric folded in. Then, fold over the top of the fabric, and then the side of the fabric, having the edges meet over the ‘triangle’ of fabric below. Pin in place to hold the miter while you stitch in the lining. (You can also take a stitch or two through just the folded edges of the mitered corner to ensure it stays in place).

1. Fold in the corner to create a triangle.

2. Fold the top edge in, cutting the triangle in half.

3. Fold another edge in, meeting the edge of the second fold.

4. Shows the other corner as a standard fold, never as neat along the edge as a mitered corner. 

The photos do not show the back band; this is a scrap of lining just so you can see the three folds you will make, which will be on the inside of your lining as you fold in the seam allowances.

Finish pinning along the bottom edge of the back band. Once you get to the side that meets the cup, you do not need to fold any fabric under. This raw edge will be covered by the lining of the cup. 

Sewing the Back Bands

I like to start sewing where I started my pinning, at the top of the back band where it meets the cup. If my lining is skin tone, I choose a thread that matches the costume in case any stitches show.

I am an OCD stitcher and tend to take smaller than necessary stitches. However, from my background in custom-made clothing, I am a believer that the inside of a garment should look as nice as the outside, when possible. Maybe no one but you sees it, but it will hold up better and it will look pro when you are done.

I use a whip stitch to sew the lining in, instead of a running stitch. (See terminology below). Work your way along the top, down the hook end, and back along the bottom of the back band. Once you get to the join with the cup, take a few extra stitches in place, then proceed to baste the edge where it overlaps the cup. Here, since these stitches will be covered by the cup lining, you are free to take larger stitches in either a whip stitch or a running stitch. We want to baste this loose edge of fabric in place just to create a more stable surface for the cup lining to be stitched to. Finish the second back band in the same manner.

I have started to sew around the back band. I am using safety pins in place of straight pins as that was all I could find at my daughter’s house! 

Middle Band

If your bra has a middle band, this is the time to stitch the lining in that element. Generally, your piece will be a triangular shape, or a rectangle, such as in a Dina bra. If triangular, fold the tip of the triangle down, and the long bottom of the triangle up. As with the back bands, the two sides will be covered by the lining of the bra cups, and do not need to be folded under. Neatly whip stitch the folded edges, and baste the raw sides in place into the cups. 

Neck/Shoulder Straps

Neck and/or shoulder straps can be a little tricky to reline if they are quite narrow. If they are stretchy, you will need to reline with a stretchy double knit with lycra in it, regardless of what you used for the remainder of the bra. As mentioned above, this becomes a whole different type of sewing, as the lining and stitching itself both need to be able to stretch. 

For narrow straps, you can reline with your lining fabric by keeping the edges narrow, minimizing how much is folded under (whether a knit or a woven).  If you lined the costume in a woven, you can purchase bias tape or grosgrain ribbon to use in place of the lining fabric. Many fabric stores have a wide variety of colors in both. Most bias tape is what is called four-fold, which means the edges are folded in, and then the whole strip is folded in half. You will want to cut this down so you are using a single layer of bias tape with the edges folded under – not two layers of bias. The advantage of bias tape is it has a little stretch. As mentioned above in the Cutting section, you can also cut the lining for your straps on the bias out of your purchased woven fabric.  

Grosgrain ribbon is a very densely woven ribbon, and because of that density has no stretch at all. Sometimes this is beneficial if you want your straps to be sturdy and have no ‘give.’ However, if you have any amount of curve in the strap, or you want them to have a little ‘give,’ grosgrain is not a good option. For the narrow neck straps on the Nourhan costume, I made the straps completely out of grosgrain ribbon. I like the sturdiness and absolute evenness of the width but had to re-attach the straps in a different arrangement from the original costume because of the lack of stretch and pliability of the straps. 

Once you determine the lining for your straps, you will want to sew them next. If the straps are used as neck straps (i.e. a halter) you will want those ends to be neat; mitered corners will help, even if the straps are narrow. (In a knit, this may not be worth the effort because of the curl a cut knit can make; any neat folding and stitching method will do!) The ends being attached to the cups do not need to be folded under as they will not show (they are under the cup lining). 

If your straps attach to the cups on the front and the band on the back, you may still want one end to be neat and will stitch it to the outside of the lining for easy adjusting. If you plan to attach your straps under the lining on both ends, you do not need to create a finished edge on either end of the straps.

Once your straps are relined, sew the straps back on to the costume. I like to use thread that matches the costume so that I can carefully sew through all layers to the outside of the costume, taking small stitches so that they don’t show from the right side (and burying them in embellishment wherever possible). By stitching through, I make the straps as solid and strong as possible – once again, looking to avoid a “Janet Jackson” moment. Once sewn, I tug on each strap to make sure it feels solid.

The red strap is a grosgrain ribbon. The Blue strap is lined. 

Now. . .  Line The Cups

A word on darts: While most commercially made garments have darts that are simply straight-sided triangles, often a better fit is accomplished with a curved dart. This is particularly true for larger breasts. Think about it: the triangle creates a cone shape in the fabric. Google a picture of a bullet bra.  Most breasts are curved, not cone-shaped. While not curved like a ball there is a distinct curve, particularly on the outer edge of the breast (although I did have a client once whose augmented breasts resembled medium-sized mellons more than natural breasts). Curved darts are also easier to taper to a smoother end at the point. If your costume has more rounded cups (again particularly for larger-breasted women), you may want to play with curved darts for your lining. The total length of the dart should be the same, and the amount of fabric taken at the base of the dart should be the same. But instead of a straight line, sew a gradual gentle curve. Play with scrap fabric before you sew up your new lining though!

If the darts on the old lining fit the cups well, I suggest you simply transfer the lines from the old to the new fabric.

There are several ways to do this. You can use a pinned variation of what is called a tailor’s tack. You can use a rotary marker (not a rotary cutter!) and transfer paper to mark the dart from the old to the new. You can also use a pressing method to crease the fabric, using the old lining as a template. This is probably the hardest way to get an accurate transfer, however. It also will not work as well for knits as for wovens, although a cotton knit might still be okay. This is also best used with a straight edge dart, not a curved dart. (I would not use this method with a poly knit.) Last, you can cut the dart carefully out of the old lining, and mark those edges onto the new back of the new lining.

Tailors Tack: Place the old lining on top of the new one (make sure you use the correct pieces of fabric: the old right side lining and the new right side lining; also, make sure that the old lining is right side up, and the new lining, underneath, is also right side up, against the wrong side of the old lining.) Put a straight pin through the point of the triangle that makes up the dart; put two pins about halfway down each side of the dart, and finally put two pins on the sides of the dart where the fabric was folded over. The pins will be hanging through both pieces of fabric, so hold the fabric as close to horizontal as you can so the pins don’t slip back out (see photo). With five more pins, stick pins in from the opposite direction exactly where the pins came out on the bottom layer of fabric. The result should be a pin tip next to the pin head on the top, and the same below (again, see the photo). Once all five pins are in place, gently pull the two pieces of fabric apart; at this point, it is the pins in the new lining that are important, so if you need to manipulate your fabric so that those pins stay in place, do it. You now have a general marker of the size, shape, and placement of your dart. (If the dart is curved, you will utilize several more pins per side of the dart in order to ‘trace’ the curve of the dart.) If the dart is straight, simply use a pencil or fabric marker and a ruler to draw a straight line from the apex (point) of the dart to the edge of the fabric – drawing the triangle that is your new dart. (If your dart is curved, you will draw from pin to pin to maintain the curved shape. 

Rotary Marker and Transfer Paper: This paper is similar to old-fashioned carbon paper, which most of you are probably not familiar with. (I am showing my age here! Carbon transfer paper was used in offices between two pieces of paper placed in an old-school typewriter, to create two copies of a document as the typist worked. While I never used it – see, I’m not THAT old! – I am familiar with it. Anyhow, this is a fabric-specific version of it. You may be able to purchase it at a better fabric store or find it online. In NYC, the tailor’s supply Steinlauf & Stoller carries it. It comes in dark blue, white, and yellow. While it does not wash out particularly well, if you use it on the wrong side of your fabric it won’t matter. The rotary marker looks like a small wheel of teeth on a handle, and it rolls just like a rotary cutter. These two tools are obviously super handy for transferring markings from one piece of fabric to another. Place the WRONG side up of your old lining on top of the WRONG side of your new lining, with a small piece of transfer paper between, color side down. Make sure that the pieces of fabric are lined up properly; check your fabric edges before you mark or your dart will not be in the correct place. Then, making sure the top fabric doesn’t shift, roll the rotary marker along the two seam lines of the old dart. You can even mark the fold line, which can make it easier to line up the stitching lines of the dart on the new lining. 

Pressing the Dart: With the right side up of the old lining, fold the fabric along one side of the dart; you can even stick a couple of pins into the fabric to hold the fold. Set that aside, and with the right side up of the new lining, place it on top of the old one, and using the cut edges of the fabric to line up the old and new, create the same fold line on the new lining. Once you feel you have the right placement of that line, press the fold of the new lining, stopping at the point of the dart. Unpin and unfold the old lining, and refold on the other dart seam line, and repeat the process with the new lining. When done, the triangle of the dart will be evident by the pressing marks.

Cutting the Old Lining to Mark the Dart: neatly cut the fold line of the dart on the old lining. Place it on the wrong side of your new lining, the old lining is also wrong side up (this ensures you are transferring the dart from the same side of the old lining to the same side of the new lining). With a pencil, draw the dart onto the new lining.

Mark the dart along the original fold lines; cut the OLD lining so you can copy along the cut lines onto your new lining. Don’t cut the new lining; this just marks your fold lines for the dart.

To create your dart, you need to match one side of your marked dart to the other. If you marked the fold line, you are a step ahead, and can simply fold along that line. Otherwise, ‘guestimate’ where the half point is, and now we are going to use tailor tacks to make sure the sides of the dart are lined up accurately. Using the same method, fold the fabric where you think the halfway point is; insert a pin ¼ inch below where the point of the dart is, then another an inch (or less) away, and proceed until you have pins sticking in the fabric the length of the dart. Holding the pins in place, flip over the fabric and see if the pins are emerging along the second side of the dart. If not, remove the pins and adjust the fabric along your fold, and try again. While this sounds pretty tricky, it is actually pretty easy once you understand the process, and you will get a hang of it pretty quickly. Once you feel confident that the stitching line is lined up well enough, pin the dart for sewing. 

Stitch the dart; you can do this by hand or on a machine. Press the dart, pressing the fabric to one side. If your dart is large, I recommend cutting away the extra fabric, leaving about 3/8” or so. This will allow the dart to lay flat inside the cup. On a curved dart, clip into the curve.

Now pin the lining into the cup. Use the old lining to determine where the dart goes. Generally, the dart will be around the underarm, or where the back band intersects the cup. It can also be straight up from the bottom of the cup. Then begin to pin the lining into place. I usually start along the top edge of the bra cup as it is the closest thing to a straight line. Fold in your seam allowance, and pin the lining as close to the edge as possible. Once you get to the back band, continue to fold under and pin your lining, this time attaching to the band lining, and covering the raw edges of the band lining. Then, pin along the bottom of the cup, over the middle band (if there is one), and back to the upper edge of the cup. Once pinned into place, you are ready to sew.

I have had Egyptian costumes where the cups are made of solid hard plastic. It is impossible to sew into this material. If this is the case, you may have to sew directly to the bit of exterior fabric that has been folded to the inside of the costume. That fabric can feel delicate; if possible, stitch the lining through a little more material to make it feel stronger and more secure. I use a small whip stitch, as I did with the back bands. Stitch all the way around the cup, covering the back band, the middle band, and the straps. 

Once your lining is stitched into the cup, you have one more detail to take care of: tacking the apex of the lining to the apex of the cup.

Cut a length of thread that matches the outside color of the costume, and thread both ends through the eye of the needle, creating a loop of thread. Insert the needle through the deepest part of the lining and all the way through the cup, and pull the thread most of the way (but not all the way) through. Leave about 1 inch of thread loop showing on the lining side. Take a small stitch on the outside of the cup (hiding it behind embellishment if possible), and push the needle back through to the lining. Pass the needle through the thread loop, and now gently pull. Do not pull the thread all the way tight, though. You want the lining to have a small amount of ‘play,’ or room to move, from the cup. You don’t need much; about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch (3/4 – 1 cm) is enough thread between the lining and the outer cup. Overstitch inside the cup to secure your sewing thread. 

Voila! Your bra has a new fresh lining. 

Hooks and Bars 

With the straps on and the lining done, the last step was to fit the bands for hooks and bars. This actually is something you can do without help! Here is how.

Sew your hooks to the side you want to have overlap. It doesn’t generally matter which side overlaps which; perhaps if you are right-hand dominant it might be easier if your right side overlaps the left. Or you may determine which side has better embellishment. Assuming the back band is wide enough, I always stitch at least two hooks, and always stitch through to the right side of the costume for strength. 

Once you have your hooks sewn on, thread a large, heavy-weight safety pin on the other back strap, guessing at the amount of overlap the straps will have.

Then, you can try on the costume, hooking it to the safety pin. Remember when you go to sew on the bars, that the safety pin is laying on its side when you fit yourself; the bars need to be sewn where the side of the safety pin lay, not where the pin is inserted. Or, if it isn’t right, reposition the safety pin and refit until you are satisfied. 

I hope this tutorial on how to line a bra top has been helpful. Feel free to reach out to me at chani@sparklybelly.com with any questions. I am happy to help!

In Part 2 I will create a new lining when an old one is not available to use as a pattern, review challenging elements such as symmetrical bra cups, cups with fancy edges such as scallops, and other surprises one might discover on the removal of the old lining. Stay tuned!

TERMINOLOGY

Bias: This is the cross-weave direction of a woven fabric. To see what the bias does and how it has some stretch, take a piece of cotton woven fabric, and fold the top right corner of a large square to the bottom left corner, thus creating a triangle. Now, gently pull the top left corner and the bottom right corner (the tips along the fold line) of the fabric – you will see that the fabric now has some stretch. 

Selvage: The tightly woven edges of the commercially produced fabric. This creates a non-raveling finished edge of the fabric. It generally is pulled considerably tighter than the body of the fabric, and should not be used in your construction. Example: curtain makers always cut the selvage off when making long drapes as the ‘hang’ of the drape will be impacted by the tightness of the selvage. The selvage is great for making sure you are cutting yardage on the straight grain, but generally you do not want to incorporate it into your garments or costumes. 

Stitch Glossary:

Whip Stitch: This is a great stitch to attach a layer of fabric to the fabric underneath; it is perfect to use to attach a lining. Bring your needle up near the top edge of the lining, then take a stitch through the fabric you are sewing too, and then back into the lining, bring the needle back out. See the video to see the stitch being made.

Whip Stitch Used to Stabilize Fabric, also called an Overstitch: This stitch can be used to reduce fraying on a raw cut edge of the fabric. In this case, you bring the needle out on the side of the fabric facing you, wrap the thread over the top of the fabric, and push the needle through again, back to front. See the whip stitch video; I show this stitch utilized both ways in that video.

Running Stitch: this is the most basic of stitches, and the hand sewing stitch most people learn first. Poke the needle through to the back of your fabric, and come back up some distance in a straight line with the first. It is ideal for basting something that will be machine stitched, or as a temporary line of stitching when you need to check fit, etc. It is generally not suited for a permanent stitching line; if any tension is put on the seam, the fabric will slightly pull between each stitch.

Back Stitch: This is a more durable and permanent version of a running stitch. From the outside, the tension on the seam will not produce any pulling, and more closely resembles the stitching line from a sewing machine. I will even use it for a small repair on a regular garment if I am too lazy to get out my sewing machine, or the repair would be hard to get to with the sewing machine (near a zipper, for instance). To create a back stitch, start as you would a running stitch, but instead of continuing in a forward direction with the subsequent stitch, you will actually stitch backward to the end of the prior stitch. Your third stitch, pushing the needle through to the back of the fabric and then coming up, will be about double the length of the first two stitches; your next back stitch will be half that length, again pushing the needle through at the end of the prior stitch. You are taking one big stitch forward, and a half stitch back. Again, view the video for clarification.

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Hope you enjoyed this very comprehensive tutorial on how to line a bra by Chani! If you did, please share this post with your dance sisters.

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