Friday, June 10, 2016

BRAS- WHO KNEW ?

 Lets start with the bras we all have and that are readily available at the thrift store. Not this cute Minnie Mouse bra that I got at the Fashion Institute Scholarship store in the LA Garment District but just regular bras. I am still trying to figure out how to make this bra smaller so I can wear it. Minnie Mouse and her fabulous use of polka dots is my role model of polka dot fashion.
 Anyway, I sew across the bottom of the bras and then cut them out. The thicker ones work the best for these covers for hangers. I fold them in half and stitch them to fit the hangers. I usually do a double line of stitching and then cut off the extra pieces. Snug them on your plastic hangers and then hang your sweaters or any item that has a tendency to get hanger marks on the shoulders.

Now originally these were supposed to be made with shoulder pads, but when I moved, I gave away most of the shoulder pads that I had so using bras was the idea I came up with. Another fun thing is that bras come in a lot more fun fabrics and colors than shoulder pads, which is a plus for my closet and I !!!
 Now for the second thing you can do with bras. The shoulder elastic makes great watch bands. I started with a watch that had a similar watch band as the above band.
 It is hard to see with this picture, but after the band was removed, there is no outside opening to attach a watch band. It is a solid piece.
 Mr. Partner in Crime was able to cut a opening in the solid piece so I was able to run the bra elastic through the opening. So if you had a regular watch, you can just use the watchband openings to run the elastic through.
 With this band, I decided to run two pieces of bra elastic through the openings. I like the thicker feel of the two pieces but that is a personal choice. The bottom was a smaller piece than the top elastic. Both were from bras. I stitched the two elastics together.
 I was able to fit the watch band perfectly and since all watch band are too big for me that is a great plus. I am also able to get any color band I can imagine. As long as I can find that bra. I finished the watch band off with a large snap.
The nice thing about this watch band is that it was cheap. I could make it fit my wrist just as I wanted and I can change it out as I want. Just remove the snap and replace the elastic.

One other thing you can use bras for is use the back closure of the bras with the hooks as a closure on a journal or fabric book. Bras have lots of uses besides the normal one of intimate apparel.