Let's talk about my boobs. . . again

Yep, it's about a bra reconstruction project again!

I have big boobs. There is no getting around that. They're huge. I'm a 36F. I also have back problems, that while not caused by my big boobies, it's certainly not helped by them either. I noticed a few months ago that wearing a convertible bra where the straps are crossed in the back dramatically cut down on my back pain. I also have issues with costochondritis, which is pain in the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone. It can honestly feel like a heart attack. Wearing my straps crossed helps to take some of the pressure off my ribs while balancing it more evenly for my back and shoulders. 

In other words, comfortable and supportive bras are not just a matter of fashion to me. . . they're a health concern.

Good bras, especially ones that have the function I need, are expensive, and I hate spending money on stuff to just cover my parts. Also, because of the weight of these things strapped to my chest, even expensive bras don't last long for me. My straps often wear out, so having the ability to just replace the straps is a big money saver.

All of these things led me to my first bra recon project that can be found here. It involved clipping the straps and stitching part of the bra, so that I could replace the ruined straps with new ones. Basically all of my bras have had this done to them now.

This way involves tossing the old straps though. Recently, I got several new bras on major sale, and it seemed like such a waste to throw away new straps that weren't damaged. I had to rethink how I was going to recon them because I hate throwing away useful things. The results were awesome.

So this is one of my new bras. It's purple, and it's adorable. The underwire is also thin enough to not press into my ribs even when it was like this. Once I reconed it, there is no pressure on my ribs at all. It was a steal at $2. 

First, I stitched the strap to make a loop in the front much like I did for my first project. Then I cut the strap under where I stitched. Next comes where this project differs.

 

Since I wouldn't be adding removable straps, I needed to add two of these little guys. You can likely buy them, but I clipped the ones I used from the clear straps that come with my strapless bras. I HATE clear straps. Each clear strap has two of these on them, so it worked out well. 

Next I just stitched the little metal clip thingy (I have no idea what to call these things) to the strap I just cut. Make sure the stitch is on the underside of the strap.

Then I just repeated what I did on the second strap.

 

And here it is all done. It's my new favorite bra, and it's more comfortable than the expensive bras I've tried. 

Broken Howl is moving along, and it will hopefully be in the hands of my editor soon. Click the picture to check out the FB event for the release! My editor on this one is the lovely Roz, who I interviewed back in March in this post. Her second book will be on its way soon, so be sure to check it out.