Bralettes have become the biggest small thing in the lingerie world. It’s no wonder – they are super comfortable, easy to wear and easy to make. But did you know how versatile they can be? I recently wrote a book called Sew Simple Bralettes for Nancy’s Notions and to celebrate the launch of this new book, we thought of 8 ways to wear a bralette. Hint – they’re not just for young girls any more!
1. Bridal or trousseau gifts. Because a bralette doesn’t require much in the way of fitting, they make practical and pretty gifts for a bridal shower. Here we used bits of lace edging for trim behind the fold-over binding.
2. Use a bralette as sleepwear. It will give light support and be comfortable on hot nights, particularly if you make it from bamboo like this one or cotton jersey. Full instructions for this bralette are featured in the book.
3. Wear a bralette as a cool summer top. Almost any fabric would work. You can lengthen the bottom edge to a midriff or even a waist length for more modesty. Better still, you could make it as a halter and get some sun on your back.
4. Wear it under a sheer top for modesty. Rather than show the world a revealing bit of lingerie under that sheer blouse, a foam-lined bralette like this one will cover and still be pretty!
5. Make your bralette into a nursing bra. It’s easy to convert your existing bralette into a nursing bra. We show you how in this post.
6. Convert your bralette into a mastectomy bra. Making a pocketed bra to insert a prosthesis couldn’t be easier! You can see the pockets are still temporarily sewn shut. With no wires and channel to worry about, the construction is a snap!
7. Make one as a sports bra. With the right combination of fabrics the Sweet Sixteen makes a no-bounce sports bra. Here we used duoplex lined with Active Cotton. As you can see here, our Canadian team gal is super excited not to bounce as she jumps!
10. Last but not least – Make your bralette into a bikini top. Here we used grommets to make the back lace up, as we didn’t want hook and eye. This is the midriff length trimmed with gold stretch trim.
I am sure you can think of more than 8 ways to wear a bralette! Have you made a bralette yet, and if you have…we’d love to see what you made!
Nice blog! Thanks for sharing your blog for ways to wearing a bralette.
I love the lace-up bralette modification! Could we please have a tutorial on how to do this? Or are there any tutorials that you recommend? I haven’t been able to find this anywhere, but have been wanting to learn this since I started sewing.
I cover the instructions for the lace up bralette (or bikini top) in full detail in my book, make & Fit Bralettes!