Change your Bralette into a Nursing Bra

One of our staff members is out on maternity leave and she had a great idea to change her favourite bralette into a nursing bra. This is a great idea, Christine and we thank you for the photos you took of the inside of the garment. Here’s how to change your bralette into a nursing bra. No drafting required!

First start with a good bralette. This nursing bra hack can also been made to an existing bralette, but Christine likes to make them from scratch. Christine used the Sweet Sixteen Bralette pattern. She made one size larger than she usually wears. She says it wasn’t only because her breasts are fuller, but because that little bit of wiggle room makes it easier to pull the cup down and tuck it under her breasts when she is nursing.

Christine needed to make only two small changes to the Sweet Sixteen Bralette to turn it into a super comfy nursing bra.  First, she replaced the ring at the top of the cup with the bottom half of our One-handed Nursing Clip. We get those clips from a ready-to-wear supplier so you can be sure they are the same great quality as you see on nursing bras in the shops.

The top half of the Nursing Bra Clip is fastened to the strap that goes over her shoulder.

But wait…there’s one more piece to this conversion! What’s that extra piece of elastic doing there?

After constructing the rest of the bra, Christine added a piece of elastic between the slot on the top half of the nursing clip and the bottom band.  She used the soft touch strap elastic for this part. This keeps the strap held to the bottom band while the bra cup is in the lowered position.

Notice it is sewn just about even with the curve of the cup seam. A zig-zag stitch back and forth keeps it secure.

That’s how easy it is to change your bralette into a nursing bra. Remember, you can convert a bralette you’ve already made, or make one just for nursing. It’s a super easy hack any sewist can do!