How to Make a Belly Dance Bra Pt 2: Measure, Cut & Make Straps

So in Part 1 of the How to Make a Belly Dance Bra series, you saw all the materials you need for making a belly dance bra. In Part 2, you will see how to take measurements, cut the bra, and make side and shoulder straps.

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What you need to measure

When you make a belly dance bra, you need to take 3 measurements.

First, the under bust. Put on the bra you are going to use as a base. Measure your under bust. In my case, it is 72 cm.

Second, the length from the point where the right side strap is attached to the point where the left side strap is attached. In my case, it is 17 cm.

Third, measure the length of your shoulder strap.

Now, there are mainly 3 types of shoulder strap styles.

1. Halterneck

If you want the halterneck style, measure from the top of the right cup where the shoulder strap is attached, around your neck, and to the top of the left cup.

2. Over the shoulder (regular bra style)

If you want over the shoulder style, measure from the top of the right cup, over the right shoulder, to where the shoulder strap is attached at the back.

3. Criss-cross at the back

If you want criss-cross, measure from the top of the right cup, over the right shoulder, to where the shoulder strap is attached on the left side at the back.

Cut

Once you have the measurement, go ahead and cut all the straps off the bra. Easy!

How to make the center strap

If you want to keep the center part as is and later cover it with fabric, it is fine, especially the cups come close together. If the cups are wide apart, you may want to cut the connecting part off and re-create it. I like to cut it off usually, because I like all parts of my bra top to be nice and sturdy.

To create the center section, place the cups on interfacing. Take your marking pen and trace the section. How deep you want to cover the section is up to you, but I usually aim to create a nice smooth line that extends from the cups.

Once you trace the shape, give 2cm for seam allowance to the sides of this triangle. And cut it off.

I like to make it sturdy with another piece of material like felt or canvas. So place the piece of interfacing on top of the material of your choice, I’m using a piece of felt here, and trace it with a marking pen. Then cut it off.

Next, sew the interfacing to the felt, or if you use fusible interfacing, use a hot iron to attach the interfacing onto the felt.

How to make side straps

Now, there are many styles for side straps, but here I will show you how to make this thick and solid style that I think is the safest choice for beginners. This style is quite standard, and you can make them thinner or thicker, depending on your preference and comfort level.

First, determine how long each side strap should be. Take the underbust measurement from earlier, and subtract the measurement between the points where the cups intersect the side straps. In my case, my under bust measurement was 72 cm, minus 17 cm, gives me 55 cm. Divide that number by 2 and add 5 cm for the overlapping section. You may think 5 cm for the overlapping section is too small, but giving 5 cm to each strap creates 10 cm overlapping, which should be enough for most people and gives you room to adjust later. So 55 cm divide by 2 plus 5 cm gives me 32.5 cm.

So first, lay a cup on your interfacing or material that is going to be your base. I like to place the cup against the straight edge, and give about 2 cm from the edge. Then trace the side of the cup.

Then add 2 cm seam allowance along the line you just traced.

After that, measure the length of your side strap.

From that point, measure 3 cm upward. This will be the thickness of your strap at the center of your back. If you like it thinner, go ahead and make it thinner. If you like it thicker, add more width.

From this point, measure 10 cm to the left, and connect the points. This makes sure when the straps are overlapped, the width of both straps are the same, and gives a clean look.

From this point, draw a nice curve that connects this point to the point that is attached to the top of the side of the cup.

Then cut along the line.

To create the other side, flip what you just created and use it as a pattern and simply trace it. If you are using fusible interfacing, make sure you flip the pattern, so that fusible side faces down. When you finish tracing, cut the interfacing.

Now you have 2 side straps, one for each side. To make them thicker and more sturdy, trace them on the material of your choice. Again, here I am using felt. Cut along the lines.

Sew each set together or use an iron to glue them together for fusible interfacing, and now you have side strap bases.

How to make shoulder straps

Making shoulder straps is basically the same as making side straps. You can cut interfacing to make straps, or you can use grosgrain ribbon to skip cutting interfacing.

For all types of shoulder strap styles, simply take the measurement from earlier, and add 10cm to the measurement. Adding 10cm will allow you to have a couple of cm for seam allowance, and room to adjust the length once it is finished.

I find it easier to cover the shoulder straps with fabric before I attach them to the bra base than after I have attached the straps to the bra base. So first, measure the fabric. It should be the same length as the ribbon, and for the width, you take the width of the ribbon, add 5mm, and multiply by 3.

So for example, my ribbon is 1.5 cm, add 5 mm, it gives me 2 cm. Multiply by 3, and I get 6 cm. This is going to be the width of my fabric. Measure the width, and cut the fabric.

Now fold the fabric length wise, right side together. Right side is the pretty side of the fabric that you want to show. Pin it together, and sew along the line which is half as long from the edge as the width of the ribbon plus 5mm. So in my case, the width of the ribbon plus 5mm was 2 cm, half of that is 1cm. So I will sew 1cm away from the edge.

Once you finish sewing, flip the right side out, and put your ribbon through the tube.

Now that you have a base for a sturdy belly dance bra, are you ready to cover it with your beautiful fabric?

Next, you can sign up and get all parts of the How to Make a Belly Dance Bra series (including the next section) in one PDF document from below.

Click here to download the PDF version of the entire Bra Making Ultimate Guide for free!

Or, you can continue on to Part 3 and check out how to cover your belly dance bra!