|
Posted by Kate Dicey on November 20, 2006, 2:46 am
emgomez@gmail.com wrote:
> Hello hello --
>
> I've been scouring the internet for information about replacing broken
> underwires in store bought bras, but I haven't found much aside from
> the FAQ about underwires and bra manufacture by Babs Woods that brought
> me here. I plan on ordering replacement underwires from Sew Sassy, but
> I'm having trouble figuring out how to remove the broken underwires. In
> theory, it seems as though it would be simple to just yank them out,
> but I can't seem to manage it. I know that the wires aren't sewed down
> or glued in because they twist and occasionally shove their way out of
> the channelling and into my armpit. Should I cut a small slit in the
> channeling? Would it be better to cut this slit by the armpit end of
> the underwire or by the end of the underwire at the center of my chest?
> And lastly, what exactly should I use to cut the channeling? Scissors
> definitely do not work and I almost ruined a bra beyond repair by using
> them. An exacto knife? Or something else that I haven't thought of? And
> even if I do manage to exacto the channeling open, I'm not sure if I
> can yank the entire wire out in the cups where it's broken. Are there
> some kind of . . . tiny little pliers that I could buy and use? Should
> I just cut multiple slits in the channeling? After I insert the new
> underwire, I'll probably just superglue the slits shut, since that's
> what I do to the channeling when the underwire ends poke through into
> my armpit and it seems to work decently, but is there a better method I
> could use to close the slits?
>
> Thanks for any help, especially from people who have tried this before.
>
> ~elisa~
If you really think it's worth trying to repair, you could do as you
propose, and sew a small patch of something soft over the ends of the
casing in addition.
If the wire is sticking in the channel, then that usually means that the
dip they put on the ends has gone sticky, and it's time to replace the
whole thing.
I find that bras are not usually worth fixing like this. By the time
the wire is dead, so too is the rest of the bra. Charnos (bra
manufacturer here in the UK) told me once that I could expect a maximum
of six month's wear out of a bra, and less if it was machine washed or a
larger than 36DD size (I took a 38F at that time) because of the
stresses of wearing it. This was especially true if the bra was being
worn two or more days per week... Mine usually last a bit longer than
that (worn one a week and washed on a very cool delicates program in
non-bio washing powder). They expected their Bioform bra, which was
designed to be machine washed, to last longer. Unfortunately they no
longer make it (I think that despite the comfort levels, women found it
to clunky and heavy in use - rather like plate armour!), and the
thickness of the armature was too much for smaller women. I know I
found mine extraordinarily uncomfortable when I started losing weight.
The usual first point of failure in a wired bra is exactly the point you
are proposing to slit the casing: at the end of the wire. I frequently
darn a hole that the ends of wires make at this point and get an extra
month or so of wear out of the bra, but I know when it goes here that
the writing is on the wall...
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap