Splitting the lower cup often allows better use of fabric when the quantity is tight. More importantly it allows you to change the DOGS for better support, especially on the heavier or larger breast. It is easy to split the lower cup and it does not matter if the original pattern is for a full band bra or a partial band bra. Mark the seamlines inside the edge of the lower cup. They are 1/4” along the cross cup seam and the wire line curve.
Draw a line from the notch along the cross cup seam to the notch at the bottom of the cup. On the Pin-up Girls patterns, these will be marked as CC and A. Ignore the B notch of your pattern has this.
Trace off the pattern pieces and separate them
Draw a curved line using a hip curve or a French curve from seamline to seamline on both sections of the lower cup (that’s why you drew in the seamlines!)
Add the seam allowances of 1/4” (6 mm) to each curve. Add notches or match points to the seam. I always put notches toward the top of the line, not at the exact middle of the line. It’s easy to get the pieces turned around and having the notches at the top helps you to orient the pieces correctly.
Once the seam allowances have been marked, the DOGS can be put in. This is a golden opportunity to alter the DOGS to give better push-up. Angle the DOGS slightly off the original straight line as shown. Mirror the DOGS on the other half of the cup.
Would this alteration work for minor wrinkles/dead spot along the wireline of the inner lower cup? Or should the seamline on the inner lower cup be bumped out where it meets the upper cup? I am very full on top vs. bottom (BCD of 3.75) and touch in between, and have added 1 inch to the top of cup, with a slightly overlapping underwire casings. Other than that, everything else fits perfectly and it would be nice to have this last area smoothed out. Thank you.
Yes it does. Splitting the lower cup and bowing the seam out gets rid of the flat spot (in most cases)
In the text you say to ignore notch B, but it seems you mean notch A?
Also, would you possibly go down a cup size if you were doing this? How does it change the fit?
The split adds a little bit to the bottom volume but certainly not a cup size. It is best in situations where the cup is a wee bit small, and then the split gives that bit extra. As for the A notch of the B notch, refer to the diagrams I’ve done for this post. In your pattern the notch may be labeled differently
Thanks! DOGS stands for Direction Of Greatest Stretch. The direction of the grain on a stable knit that has the most mechanical give
Hello Beverly!
First of all, I love your blog. I have learned so much from reading it. I was wondering though. What does DOGS mean? I'm sorry if I can't seem to figure it out 😛