Call me a prude, but I really can’t stand it when my bra strap starts to wander, letting the world know just what color and condition said bra is in. (Answer: generally not great.) In fact, it drives me nuts. I don’t want to have to constantly be adjusting and digging around. It’s just not… dignified.
Fortunately for me, the solution to the problem is really simple. And fortunately for fellow bra-strap-loathers, I’ve created a tutorial for this fix.
What you need
Ribbon 1/4″ (7 mm) wide
two sew in snaps
thread
needle
scissors
matches (yes, matches!)
How you do it
Start by cutting a 2.5″ (6 cm) piece of the ribbon. Singe the ends with a lit match, so they don’t fray. (See! Matches.)
Fold the ribbon in half, and give it a good pinch to press a crease in. (If you wanted to get all perfect about it, you could press in a crease with a cool iron. But that’s totally optional, and frankly, a little overkill for this project.)
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Sew the snap pieces onto each end of the ribbon like so:
‘
Make sure that they’re facing each other so you can snap them.
In the shoulder of your garment, sew the ribbon into place. Make sure the snaps are facing towards the arm.
Done! Now repeat the process with the other shoulder.
When you’re getting dressed, simply snap that pesky bra strap into the little loop. No more wandering straps! No more migrating necklines! Your life is really coming together now!
Now, go spill something. The universe hates a vacuum.
Oh HOORAY!
I have scoliosis, and I’m lucky in that it doesn’t affect me too much cosmetically. Yes, my right shoulder is like HELLO WORLD from behind if I wear something that shows my back, but I don’t really care.
What I do care about is that my right bra strap WILL NOT stay up. I am forever pushing it up, and I can make it tighter, yes, but my shoulder slopes, and it just sliiiides off. Slowly, if it’s tight, but inexorably. Infuriatingly. All the time.
I am so excited to try this! Even on my long-sleeved shirts, I know nobody can see but I can FEEL the darn strap dangling off. Hooray!
Would making a similar loop but to hold your bra straps together at the back help on long sleeve shirts?
There is a product for this ( http://www.amazon.com/Buckingham-Bra-Angel-Dressing-Aid/dp/B006J7H948 ) – but I don’t see why you couldn’t jimmy something up yourself 🙂
Alas, maybe I am too fidgety, I had something that that but it always popped off or slid up on me. Not that brand, though – I will give it a try, thanks!
Took me a few reads, but now I get it. This is clever!
Specifically (just in case anyone is as silly/un-caffeinated as me), I didn’t initially understand that you stitched the ribbon onto the shirt garment itself, rather than the undergarment.
Two things I love for my new dresses to have–pockets, and bra strap holders. Thanks for the tutorial. Now, I can always make sure that 1/2 of my dress dreams come true!
Me too! Scoliosis and everything. Bras are a nightmare.
One thing that might help the bra strap thing is a properly fitted bra. I read yesterday 85% of us are wearing the wrong size and even then our bra size can change 6-7 times in our life due to pregnancy, weight loss, and other body changes. One vendor I’m definitely going to check out soon for a proper bra fitting is this store. http://www.myintimacy.com/ Boutiques and actual bra specialists are way better for fittings than the busy, undertrained girls over at VS.
Of course, with budget concerns (I definitely have those!) and other problems (like an earlier commenter’s scoliosis),new and proper fitting bras may not be the solution and this is a super clever and easy fix! Thanks for the tutorial!
Just wanted to give you a heads up about the bras at My Intimacy. Both myself and my soon to be wife went for a bra fitting. They are great people there. No complaints about the sales women. They weren’t pushy or anything negative. They do recommend that you purchase 3 or 4 of their bras. Well, that is impossible unless you have disposable income. Not one of their bras they carry, unless they are on sale, cost less that $100. That being said, we each bought one. We felt so good about our bras. We thought, finally! Bras that won’t hurt or yay the straps won’t fall. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. The bra I wear, and my size is H, kills me. It hurts so bad that I can only wear it once in a while. However, my straps don’t fall down. They also make it look like I’m from the fifties. You know how breasts looked then? Kind of pointed? Yeah, that’s me in this bra. My partner’s bra hurts her too. AND her straps still fall down. 🙁 We were so excited. Perhaps these bras are great for women with the right breasts size. For bigger women, maybe not so much.
Anyway, my two cents that turned into an essay. Sorry about that! Best to you on your search for a good bra! Hard to find!
This is great! I’m assuming you could also sew these little snaps in the front of your strappy tank/dress to hide bras that ride a little high along the side of the cup. Am I the only one who has this problem?
As Annabel mentioned, there’s the “Bra Angel,” but they also make a similar product that’s a ribbon-like piece of plastic which loops around both bra straps in back, near your shoulder blades, essentially turning it into a racerback style. This one could also be easily replicated with a piece of ribbon, either just tying it in a bow or sewing in “snaps,” just like the shoulder version. I have the plastic store-bought one and I still actually prefer using a ribbon, because the length of the store-bought one won’t extend enough for me, and my straps end up hurting my shoulders (racerback bras do this to me, too).
I actually had a magical dress that came with snaps like that… genius!
This is clever! Quite a few of my vintage dresses have these little loops and snaps and I love it. I just never imagined that I could sew some onto my other dresses aswell! Thank you!
I had my dressmaker do exactly that with my wedding dress! It worked a treat.
I have GOT to try this! Showing bra straps bug me and it annoys me to have to constantly check for them.
I had to do this to one of my dresses today. It had been driving me crazy for a long time. Everyone should know how to secure their bra straps. It makes us look more polished. Thanks for the tute! Glad I thought to do a Google search before I began. Thanks for the tip about sealing the ribbon with a flame.