Omega Shape

Fitting the Omega Shape

~ Michelle ~ 17 Comments

Here’s a little history of my learning curve on the Omega shape.

Way back in 2012 I wrote a post called The Dawn of the Alteration Age. That was the beginning of my journey in understanding and learning about the Omega shape and the alterations needed to help fit it. In that blog I wrote:

After a few bras, I made a call to Bra-Makers Supply with a question. You see, every bra I wore, whether RTW or one I’d made, all left a line or imprint about an inch or so under the bust line. I was simply wondering what caused this.

Beverly, the owner of Bra-Makers Supply, and author of two manuals on bra-making gave me my answer: the underwires I was using were either too big or too small.

Hmm, too big or too small really wasn’t the answer I was wanting, but it did help me to realize one thing – my wires weren’t fitting. They were the same wires I’d worn in RTW bras.

So, what is the Omega shape? What is this mysterious breast shape all about? Well, I can’t say every woman with an Omega shape will be the same, but there is a common thread: the actual breast is larger than the root of the breast. If you’re wondering what that mean in terms of bra-making – it means the wire/cradle will not match the cup size. For me, I need a 36 wire/cradle, but a cup that would normally take a 42 wire/cradle.

These two sized parts don’t go together easily as they don’t match in size, so there have to be alterations to get that larger cup into that smaller cradle.

Here’s an older photo showing the different length between the two parts. The cup is on the bottom.

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In this photo, you can see the cup extending out past where the cradle and the wire will end.

There are a couple of alterations to help ‘ease’ that cup into the cradle. One method that I’ve used quite a bit is to run a gathering line of stitches along the lower edge of the cup where it will fit into the cradle, then gather. You’ll have to eye-ball it a bit – gather, pin it in and see if you need to adjust the gathers or not. I tend to over-gather, so usually have to let it out a bit.

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I find this method the fastest and easiest alteration. It does leave a few small puckers in the bottom of the cup, but seriously, who’s looking there?

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As well, I think the puckering is a bit exaggerated on Catherine, as she’s not the same size as me. When I’m wearing the bras, I really don’t notice any puckering.

Another method of removing that excess is one I used when I first started making the alterations – I was trimming the corners of all the cup pieces to take out that inch or so of excess along the bottom of the cup. Basically making little darts all along the seams. The Shelley pattern was good for taking that excess out. But I had to be very careful – although I didn’t need the fullness at the seam line, I did all the fullness in the cup. And to be honest, it was a lot of work.

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The benefit is it’s a much neater looking seam line. I’ve found it’s not worth all the fussing with the seams. I’ve found just using a little steam on the bra after I’ve sewn it really makes most of the little puckers disappear.

One last thing to consider when dealing with the Omega shape is the wires. Often a Vertical wire is recommended, and many women find that the perfect wire for them.

Here’s a great photo showing two wires that are the same size – one Vertical which is much narrower, and one is a regular long wire.

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That’s quite a difference. As helpful as that Vertical wire is for many women dealing with an Omega shape – I needed more help. There’s a big difference between 36 and 42 wires. I needed both the narrower shape, but also the length and I wasn’t getting that with the smaller Vertical wires. I found Flexible wires were perfect for me.

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In the above photo you can see how much narrower that Flexible wire can be. I found the Flexible wires to be perfect for me in dealing with the Omega shape. Along with the alterations I make to the cup (to help it fit into the smaller cradle), I’ve found using the Flexible wires really made a huge difference and made my bras (finally) fit me perfectly.

Happy creating!

A Pink and Ivory Rebecca

~ Michelle

In my efforts to decide if I prefer the Sewy Rebecca pattern or the Pin-Up Girls Shelley pattern, I made another Rebecca. I know I love my last Shelley bra, and wanted another comparison with a few more adjustments made to the Rebecca.

This time I used a little bit of lace that was left over from a bra I’d made for a friend. And I mean there was just a little bit of lace. There was just barely enough for the upper cups – no mirroring the lace here, but they’re close – and then I had to get creative with the scraps that were left over to use them to make matching panties.

Here’s my very pretty Pink and Ivory Rebecca:

Front

This is so pretty! I love this lace and have looked for it again, but… I can’t find it anywhere. I’d bought it at Bra-Makers Supply, and I haven’t seen it since. I’m ready to start hoarding lace! This is a lovely pink lace with very distinct ivory or cream in it. And it goes so well with the ivory Duoplex and Power net.

Pretty Side

On the side view, you can see where I added just a thin strip of lace that was left over. It doesn’t take a lot of lace here to make the side look so much prettier.

Back

And a basic back. I’m still using my alternate method of attaching the straps. I use some of the bottom band elastic on the outside of the band and fold that over the top of the band with a slider attached to it. Using the elastic here allows more stretch and movement than the strap elastic, it also conforms to the U-shape more smoothly. I also use two sliders rather than a slider and ring. I find the strap has a little less movement and making it less likely for the strap to fall off my shoulder.

So, what alterations did I do to the Rebecca to make it fit me?

The first changes I made were to the bridge – I know I have to lower it 1/2″, and an adjust for a flat spot on the bridge too. I also changed the cradle to a smaller cradle that normally takes a 36 wire rather than the 42 cradle the cup needs.

I thought about making small darts in the pattern to take out the excess, and although I love that neater look, I’m finding it does compromise the cup’s fit a bit. I need the extra space those darts take away. So, I put in gathers along the wire line.

The photo below shows the excess cup compared to the cradle. I have to make that all fit.

Excess Cup

This photo shows the gathers in the wire line seam. I run a long gathering stitch along the wire line, pull the bottom thread to make small gathers all along the bottom of the cup. Then I sew the cup to the cradle. It works very well, and although there is still the odd little wrinkle where a gather is showing, steaming it well with the iron really does make most of those gathers disappear.

Gathers

I used the Flexible wires again on this bra. They do make a difference in the fit. They are long enough for me, and conform well to the shape of the smaller channeling and cradle. However, they are not the easiest to get into that narrower U-shaped cradle. I had to fight with them a little. I told myself they are worth the effort. And once they are in, I don’t need to take them out again for a long time.

The inside of the bra is so pretty with its enclosed seams. I really do love that aspect of the Rebecca pattern.

Pretty Inside

And one last detail:

Clearer Crystal

I sewed a pretty crystal in the inverted V of the bridge. It has movement and does move a bit. It’s so pretty when it catches the light.

Next week some matchy matchy – matching panties.

Happy creating!

The Flexible Wire Experiment

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I did a little bra-wearing experiment. I still wasn’t 100% happy with my fit. Do you get the idea I’m looking for perfection? I am!

At the end of the day, I could see when I undressed, the wires I was using weren’t fitting me perfectly. I also knew from experience that a size smaller felt like it pinched a bit. So, if the size I’m wearing is too big, and one size smaller is too small, where did that leave me?

I’d read something recently about the flexible wires available at Bravo Bella, Needle Nook Fabrics, and Sew Sassy. I decided to give them a try and see if they’d solve my wire problem. I ordered three sizes from Needle Nook Fabrics – 36, 38, and 40. Anne St. Clair was so very helpful. I must say, women like Anne and Beverly Johnson are a tremendous help to us non-professional bra-makers. Thank you!

I could tell with just a glance that the 40 wires were the same size I’d been using, so I ruled them out, initially. The 36s felt perfect but were too short for me to use. That left the 38s. I popped out the Vertical wires I’d been using from my most recent Black Butterfly bra and wore the flexible wires for a day. (Here’s a confession: I didn’t even sew the seams up!)

Here are the two 38 wires  – one regular and one flexible:

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And this second photo shows just how much these flexible wires can flex:

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That’s tremendous. There’s no way a regular wire is going to move like that! As well, the flexible wires don’t splay outward anymore than the regular wires I’d been using did – I checked. They flex inward.

Just before I popped those new wires in, I pressed them together to make the curve a little narrower. On the Bravo Bella web site, Monica Bravo has a couple of videos about the wires, and on one she explains how they can be shaped. That sounded perfect to me.

At the end of the experimental day, I could see these wires were a much better fit for me. Yay! I now have a nice little stash of flexible wires on their way to me.

Now to adjust my pattern to help with the wire fit. I’ve learned though, change one part of the bra pattern, and it means changing something else. Now I decided to look at the cradle those wires are fitting into. What I’ve been using is drawn from a 38 wire cradle that I lengthened to fit the 40 Vertical wire. I wanted to change that. Clearly, the channel that fit a 38 wire was too big.

In this photo, you can see the bridge and then the 36 and 38 cradle lines. There’s not a lot of difference between the cradle sizes, but I think one size will be just enough to make things a little more comfortable and fit better. The main problem with a cradle that’s too big is the weight of the breasts will push the bra frame down and you won’t get the support you need. The cradle really needs to fit.

I traced the 30E on this pattern (the smallest cradle size on it). I’d been using the 32E cradle for my last few bras. I’d even tried the 34E cradle, which would normally take  a 40 wire, so I would have fewer cup alterations, but I found it really didn’t help with my fitting issues – just my alteration ones.

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So, out came my pencil, eraser, and medical exam table paper. I traced of the 30E cradle and then laid my custom pattern pieces over that to add those aspects to the pattern – the narrower and lower bridge, adjusting for a flat spot, thinning out the elastic under the bust, and raising up the side 1/4″.

At this point all the alterations were good to go. In fact, you’ve seen them! I used them all on my last bra – the Sewyfied Shelley. That bra is my best-fitting bra! There are only a couple of cosmetic changes I want to make at this point. What a great feeling that is!

Happy creating!

Basic Black Butterfly

~ Michelle

This week started with me drawing, re-drawing, and re-drawing vertically seamed cups. I think I have a good pattern to cut out, but after all that work, I wanted to sew something that I was sure would fit – back to my Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern. So once I test the vertical cups, my next bra just might be my Prima Donna Milady copy. I don’t have the bra, so can’t make a clone, but will just make something similar based on their lovely bra.

I went back to basics colors this week, but wanted a little something special, so I added a Butterfly Effect. It’s really a lovely effect, and doesn’t take a lot of lace.

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The lower cup on this bra has been split, which I’m told is always helpful to someone with an Omega shape. I also made a few fitting alterations to the pattern. On this bra, I took in the lower part of the cup along the wire line so it fits into a smaller cradle – no gathers this time. I put darts in along the wire line to take out the excess. The cups really do look a lot smoother in the bra. Those tiny gathers aren’t anything that would be visible under clothing, but I like that little extra of the cup fitting perfectly in the cradle.  I also made the underarm area smaller by putting a dart in the pattern there. I used my custom bridge, which is altered for a flat spot and also lowered 1/2″, and I thinned the elastic under the cup.

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Here’s a close up of the Butterfly Effect. It really does look quite a lot like a butterfly. I think the lace I used, which has a clear border, helps to outline that effect nicely. The upper cup is trimmed with loopy elastic, but it’s not showing very well. It seems to want to curl inward on Catherine.

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Here you can see how smoothly the cups go into the smaller band. (Here I go again.) I do really like that. The gathers, however, are an easier option, and really hardly show at all. If anyone reading this is making that adjustment for an Omega shape, do yourself a favor and do the gathers initially.

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I did change one part of the back. I made the back strap elastic join the bra with a slider attached to elastic on the band rather than attach directly to the band, so the back strap elastic is done in two parts rather than just one. This method seems flatter on the back.

From the comments I’ve been hearing this week from my dear hubby, this is the prettiest bra I’ve ever made! He really likes it. Then, I think he doesn’t want to upset me and says all the other bras I’ve made are pretty too, but this one is really pretty. He’s so cute.

I do want to do this effect again and cut away the Duoplex from behind the lace. That gives a sheerer look to the butterfly effect. I think that would be really lovely too.

I have some of the leaves from the lace cut out and ready to be sewn onto some matching panties, but didn’t have as much time this week to sew as I might have wanted. That will have to wait until next week.

A friend of mine came over yesterday to take some photos. She’d made a lovely shawl and wanted to use Catherine to display her shawl. I was happy to let her and took a few photos too.

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I watched as this shawl took shape, week after week, while we had a ladies’ night and watched Downton Abbey.

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Here’s a close up of the two fibers. I like the sheerness the one yarn has.

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This is my favorite part though – the little details are what always win me over. Julia unraveled some of the yarn on the fringe and beaded it. It’s just lovely.

Happy creating!

Kwik Sew 3300

~ Michelle ~ 5 Comments

This is such a pretty style. Here is my Kwik Sew 3300:

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I think it looks so pretty with the black and white theme. The lace was a gift, and the floral stretch lace is from a local fabric store. All other material supplies are from Bra Makers Supply.

It’s pretty, but there were a couple of fitting issues. One really wasn’t a biggie. This bra  had the straps pinned up about 2 inches here in the picture – so I shortened those.

The bigger fitting issue is the upper part of the cup is loose. I could pinch a quarter-inch out of the upper cup. That shouldn’t be too hard to fix on the pattern, and thankfully it doesn’t show when I wear it. This style actually fits similarly to how a foam cup bra fits.

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You can see here where I pinned the cup.

The steps I took beforehand really helped me to get the cup to fit properly. Here’s what I did for this bra (and some of this is from  past posts, but I’m putting it all together here):

The first thing I did was sew up a muslin for the cups. I did this twice. After looking at the pattern pieces, and picking the one I thought was closest to my size, I sewed up my first muslin. I used some scrap cotton I had left over from a skirt muslin I’d made. On this first one I could see how much I would need to adjust the pattern along the wire line. Remember, I my wear one size bra for the cups, but my wire size does not match that – it’s quite a bit smaller. So that was my first adjustment.

After I altered the pattern I sewed up another cup muslin. Again, I used some left over cotton, but this time it was from one of my moulages. This second one I pinned over an existing well-fitting bra. It was a pretty good fit at this point. But still needed a bit of adjustment. On this second muslin I drew where the seam lines fell underneath it.  Again, dealing with an Omega shape means most patterns don’t fit the way they are.

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At this point I was pretty sure I had the right size and shape for me. And I was really close.

This bra has a vertical seam, so no upper and lower cup, but instead and inside and outside cup. I was using lace for both the inside and outside cups, so I lined them both with sheer cup lining. That made both cups completely non-stretch to give it the support it needed. I’ve done this before on all lace bras, and it works great. I usually don’t use Lycra because I don’t find it offers the support needed, but using this sheer cup lining would be a great option for under Lycra too.

At this point I was feeling quite confident that this bra was going to fit without any issues. You see, most of my issues have been the bridge and the adjustments I needed for the Omega shape. I haven’t run into this looseness before.

I didn’t use the band that came with the pattern. I used the one I know fits wells. I now have a custom bridge that is working great for me and I wasn’t going to mess with that. As well, I drafted the cradle on my band to fit a Vertical wire and a custom bridge. After all the work to get the band to fit so well, there was no way I was going to try another band! All I was really wanted was to insert the 3300 cups into my band for a different look.

Even though this bra pattern still needs some tweaking, the steps I took ahead of time really were worth all the effort. And if you have challenges with fitting, I really recommend this method of fitting the bra cups. A shout out to Sigrid for sharing this. And after much searching, I realized it was not in her blog, but on Pattern Review. She explained this when she reviewed Merckwaerdigh’s BHST2 pattern. Really a great tip!

Happy Creating!