DIY: 5-Minute Low-Back Bra

Want to wear low-back shirts/dresses without being tacky? Just get two items for this super fast DIY! 

{an elastic extension that wraps around your waist and attaches to the hook/eye of your bra}

What You'll Need:

Elastic

Bra Hook & Eye

 Sewing Equipment (by hand or sewing machine)

  Your Favorite Bra!

(total cost = $3 from Discount Fabrics)

 When you buy..

1. Make sure the bra hooks match up with the bra you're using; if your bra has 2 hooks, find an eye with 2 hooks. 

 Any sewing or craft store will have these; alternatively, the dollar store or thrift store might have bras you can salve hooks/eyes from (you might get funny stares at the checkout line though). I would personally get them at a discount fabric store, like Fabric Outlet in SF ($.99 up by the cash register). They're overpriced at stores like Jo-Ann.

2. Make sure the elastic is the same width as the hook and eye. It should be long enough to comfortably wrap around your waist--but don't cut it yet! Keep in mind that it will be in contact with your bare skin.

Steps:

1.  Sew either the hooks OR the eyes to one end of the elastic. I like to keep the elastic on top so the raw edge won't chafe. The type of stitch shouldn't really matter since you're not sewing in the direction of the stretch (just make sure it's securely attached).

I'm painfully bad at sewing since I bought my machine less than a week ago--I just ran a zig-zag stitch a bunch of times over. If I made it work, I'm sure you can too!

1B. There was a pre-attached elastic tag I didn't need, which I just trimmed off. Do whatever works best for you; if the hook/eye has two pieces of fabric, sew the elastic in between them.

2. Put your favorite bra on, and attach the bra's hook to the eye on the elastic. Wrap the elastic around your waist once; imagine where the elastic would attach on the other side of your bra and mark it.  

Alternatively, you can use something like 9/10ths of your waist measurement. Since it's elastic, you don't need to be exact. If it ends up being too loose, you could always sew off a pinch of elastic and trim it off?

Remember: this should be able to hold 'everything' in place, so although it shouldn't be uncomfortably constricting, it shouldn't be loose (who wants a loose bra?). Getting the right length is probably the most important step.

3. Sew the remaining hook or eye to the place you marked on your elastic, and trim the remainder. Make sure you sew on the correct sides--if the hook is facing up, the eye will face down. Try to keep the raw elastic edge on the side that won't be in contact with your skin.

How To Adjust:

To make the back tighter, tug on the elastic on your waist. To make the back looser, tug on the elastic on the back.

To make the bra back higher or lower, simply pull up or down. Adjust tightness (and bra straps) accordingly.

Variations:

If you used clear elastic, you could probably pull off a sheer-back shirt like this super cute DIY from inspiration&realization:

(as long as there's enough fabric to cover your actual bra)

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It works because I'm using it below :). If you're still not convinced, you'll find you can actually buy products like this.

 

Pics from the same day: my MIA Quincy lace-up wedges, soo comfy!

(they're OOS, but they made a flat version called the Botticelli, which I think is still sold online. There's also this one for $25 at Urban Outfitters)

Stay tuned, and don't forget to follow! If you reblog and make your own, please credit me :).

//I apologize for going awol for so long--I had a pretty busy few months, and on top of that my laptop broke lol.