The Humble Sequin: How to Make a Tear-Away Cup Bra

Ever wondered where those performers with that amazing tear-away reveal got their bras? Well, THEY MADE EM! Yup. These puppies are not available off the rack. You've got to get your scissors out, buy a stack-load of snaps and enjoy a great TV series sewing them all on!

Materials:

• 2 x IDENTICAL BRAS in your size

• 12-24 snaps/press studs (we will explain what snaps work best for who further down this post)

• Needle and Thread

• Fabric Scissors

STEP 1: Buy 2 Bras

Don't worry, we're not gonna make you sit at a sewing machine and sew in a channel for your underwire. Head to your local cheapo lingerie store (we got ours at Kmart for $4 each). If you're lighter breasted, you can get away with purchasing 2 strapless bras (with underwire). If you've got a heavy bust you might want to seriously consider having straps to help everything stay up (it also adds extra area to sew snaps on for that extra support). Keep the straps sewn onto the BACK of your bras, but cut them off the front. They will then be re-sewn onto the front of your underwire side to help lift up your girls. You can also consider changing your shoulder straps to a halter for a more 1950s showgirl look.

Now, you want to get two IDENTICAL BRAS! Same size, same cup, same colour, same style. And we'll tell ya why....

STEP 2: Cut the cups out of one bra

On ONLY 1 BRA, cut out the foamy bit of the bra cup. Do not cut out the wire bit. This will be the "underwire" section of your bra cup:

For a neater finish, try to cut only the padding and the bottom lining layer, and give yourself a little overhang of the top layer so you can fold it over and have a nice clean edge. Do this buy cutting one inch into the cup to separate the layers...

...then carefully slide your scissors under the top layer to separate it from the the middle and bottom layers at the top seam.

Cut the top layer a good inch away from the underwire all the way around the cup...

... and then fold back that flap and then cut the foam and under layer RIGHT next to the underwire in a nice clean swoop.

You should have the foam of the cup removed with a flap of the top layer left attached as shown below.

Fold over that top layer 'flap' twice (in on itself) onto the INSIDE of the bra. Hand stitch this edge down on the INSIDE of your wire.

Then your underwire side is all done!

If you are larger breasted, then here is when you will re-sew on your straps. You want to sew the front of the strap right beside the curve of the underwire to give you that extra oomph.

REPEAT on the other cup of the SAME BRA.

STEP 3: Cut out the WIRE and CUP of the other bra.

Cut along the underside of the underwire of your second bra so you have a cute little cup shape.

Try to cut SUPER CLOSE to the edge and trim any excess fabric for a nice clean edge. For an extra clean finish you can always box stitch around the edges to keep them all tucked in nicely.

REPEAT on the other cup of the SAME BRA.

STEP 4: Choose your Press Studs to 'Tear-Away'

You wondered why you needed the same cup size, and here ya go! You're going to sew snaps all along BOTH underwires (of the bra and the cups) so they match up and can TEAR AWAY!

So...to make this a tiny bit complicated, there are different types of press studs and they have different strength grades. These snaps will be sewn evenly spaced along the wire of both the cup and the underwire sections of your bra for that 'tear-away' effect. To get the most out of your Tear-Away bra, keep your snap choice into consideration. Please refer to the pictures below:

• LEFT: Metal press studs (which you can buy at Lincraft) and perfect for a fast removal as they aren't overly grippy. These also come in a range of sizes - the smallest being the weakest and the largest being the strongtest. They also come in either black or silver.

• RIGHT: Plastic press studs are naturally stronger than metal ones because that material has just a bit more grip. The small plastic studs would be just as strong as the larger metal studs, if you get my drift. So you can have more discreet ones that hold a bit better. However, sometimes these can be a bit TOO strong, so it might be handy to have some metal studs on hand to alternate between. They come in either black or clear (and we sell them at the Maison Burlesque Boutique).

If you're small busted, you can get away with using only small studs the whole way around the wire. 

But as you go up in breast size, it will take some trial and error to find that perfect balance between size and material of your studs. Best to sew the 4 main connection points first, then the very bottom of each cup, then fill in the spaces as needed. 

The best option we've found for larger cup sizes is having 4 large snaps on the main connection points on the ends of the underwire on the outside and in between the cleavage. 

STEP 5: Sew on your press studs

Here's a cheeky image of the cleanest way to sew on a press-stud. Sliding your needle under the snap between the layers of fabric will keep your stitches looking super neat.

You will want to sew the "penis" side of the snap to the underwire portion of your bra, as these are easier to disguise with rhinestoning designs so they aren't as obvious when the cup is removed.

The "vagina" side is to be sew onto the cup in the same measurements as the underwire so the cup and the bra match up perfectly to create the illusion of a single bra. Be really careful what side of the "vagina" you have facing up as it's a common mistake to sew it on upside down!

Find a good TV series, podcast or audio book and settle in. This is tedious work but the reveal is worth it!

Enjoy making your very own tear away cups!

Another handy tidbit - If you'd prefer your snaps are "hidden" from view once the cups are removed, glue some small ss16 crystals between the snaps on the underwire side. This then disguises the snaps to look like crystals themselves! And sewing fringing along that underwire gives the perfect showgirl effect!

Check out our Humble Sequin Episode on "How to Make a Tear-Away Bra" and brush up on tidbits using this blog post!

If this blog and videos has been helpful, let us know below in the comments on YouTube and don't forget to like and subscribe to our channel if you enjoyed this video!

Video Credits:

- Presenter: Miss Maple Rose @missmaplerose

-Filmed & Edited by: Frenchie Holiday @frenchieholiday

Find out more about Maison Burlesque!

Instagram: @maisonburlesque

Facebook: www.facebook.com/maisonburlesque

Check out our YouTube Channel for more Humble Sequin Videos!

Web: www.maisonburlesque.com.au

Queries: info@maisonburlesque.com.au