Dixie’s Big Fat List of Bra Suppliers and FAQ
Where to buy supplies:
North America
Blackbird Fabrics
Vancouver, Canada
Has a lingerie supply section with elastic, strapping, findings, fabric, etc – plus kits!
Bra Makers Supply
Ontario, Canada
Sells full kits, fabric kits, notion kits, patterns, fabric, underwires, foam cups, and more.
I think they are a little more expensive than some other places (a single bra kit is $30US) but they have a good selection and a lot of detailed information for products.
Bravo Bella
Fresno, CA
A one bra kit includes fabric and notions. You have to buy underwires separate. One basic kit plus underwires costs $18.50 for US residents outside of California. CA people have sales tax. Fancy fabric kits cost more. They also sell panty kits and patterns.
* NEW The Emerald Studio
Belleville, Canada
Bra kits, fabrics and notions as well as swimwear fabrics and supplies.
Fabric Depot Co
Garwood, TX
They offer lots of fabric including cotton lycra, simplex, tricot, powernet, all over lace and more. They also sell kits specifically for Elan patterns in black, white and nude that include underwires for $12 plus about $13 shipping. Fabric Depot has books, patterns, notions, elastic, foam cups, lace trim, etc but unfortunately no online shopping. You either have to call or mail in an order form. Maybe you can email the form? I’m not sure.
Logan’s Kits
Double Springs, AL
This small company does mail order kits to make various Kwik Sew lingerie patterns.
Needle Nook Fabrics
Witchita, KS
Sells kits in basic colors like nude and white plus notions (that are pretty cheaps!) and some pattern but you have to call to order. Their single bra kits range from $12-16 and they also sell a three-bra kit for $35.
Hooks and Wires
New Hampshire
Sells hand dyed bra making kits so everything matches. Includes fabric, lace and findings. She even includes underwires in the cost but you have to tell her what size. She has different width strap elastic and you can request a specific color if she doesn’t have it in stock. Colors range from all sorts of pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, anything color you can think of! One kit with US shipping comes to $20.
Porcelynne
Los Angeles, CA
Sells bra making notions in bulk like elastic in 10yd quantities. So if you want to make matching bras for you and you 9 sisters, well, here ya go.
Sew Sassy
Huntsville, AL
Sells nearly everything you need. Tricot and powernet by the yard. Not many powernet color options but about a dozen tricot colors are available. They have lace, trim, notions, patterns, foam cups, and underwires by the pair or by dozen pairs. Also sells some swimwear supplies and the elusive demi underwires! Website is a little hard to navigate. They are discontinuing their kits, though.
*NEW TailorMade
Fabrics, kits, patterns, lace, findings, etc. Their blog also features plenty of tutorials.
Europe
Lijfgoed
Netherlands
A newer shop that offers fabric, notions, lace, etc.
Danglez Closing soon
Netherlands
Fabric, patterns, lace, notions, etc.
deisylopezrosalopez
Netherlands
This Etsy shop sells notion kits and kits with fabric which range from $24-$65US. So, not a good buy for North Americans but maybe worth it for Europeans.
English Couture Company
UK
Sells Elan patterns, kits, and a variety of supplies
Make Bra
Finland
Patterns and supplies sold individually (no kits). Their patterns use polylaminate foam lining as an alternative to pre-formed foam cup.
Merckwaerdigh – Etsy
Netherlands
Sells patterns, underwires, fabric, notion kits, full kits and more. Kits usually are for one bra and one brief.
Sewing Chest
UK
Great site for all the necessary supplies from hooks to wire casing and lace. Like the website URL implies they have plenty of corset supplies as well. Full kits (in lots of colors) range from about 9-12 Pounds and they also sell “refill kits,” smaller kits that only have about 4 or 5 supplies for cheaper. They sell Kwik Sew lingerie patterns along with costume and corset patterns
Sewy
Germany
Sewy has their own brand of bra patterns but unfortunately for English speakers the site is only in German and the Google Translater version is pretty difficult to understand.
Spitzen Paradies
Germany
From what I can gather from pictures (the site is only in German) they sell patterns and supplies for bras, undies and corsets.
Everywhere Else
Booby Traps
Australia
Quite possibly the best or worst bra company name ever. They sell patterns, supplies, and kits.
Patterns
Bra Elite – Bra Elite (30AA-44DD) and Queen Bra Elite (sizes 34D-48H). Found at Bravo Bella and Needle Nook Fabrics.
Bravo Bella – Bravo Bra #2 for sizes 34D-48I. Found at Bravo Bella.
Cloth Habit – the Watson Bra and Bikini set.
Elan – front and back closures, padded and non padded, seamed bras, some patterns go up to size 48FF. Found at Bra Makers Supplies, Fabric Depot Co, Sew Sassy.
Ezi Sew – makes crossover (nonwired), underwired, nursing and push-up bras. Found at Fabric Depot Co.
Jalie – has a non-wired bra and nursing bra pattern. Found at Jalie, Fabric Depot Co.
Kwik Sew – they have a few bra patterns out ther along with other lingerie. Found at Sewing Chest, Bra Makers Supplies, Sew Sassy and Kwik Sew.
Modern Sewing Patterns – offers two bra patterns along with several other lingerie patterns. Found at M-Sewing.com.
Make Bra – has four patterns, a push-up, balconette, full coverage and a pattern good for larger sizes. They are seamed bras meant to be used with foam lining rather than pre-formed cups. They also have a free hipster underwear pattern. Found at Make Bra.
Marinique – I’ve only found one pattern but it includes four bra and four panty designs in one pattern. Found at Elingeria (shop now closed). Update: So it looks like Marinique is from South Africa and has a website. Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy patterns from their site, which is a shame because they have many patterns.
Merckwaerdigh – seamed bras, swim suits, panties, garters, all sorts of lingerie patterns. Found at Merck’s Etsy and Ebay shop.
Orange Lingerie – well-drafted bra and undies patterns.
Pin Up Girls – Seamed bras in full and partial band, front and back closures, padded and non padded, foam cup bras. Found at Bra Makers Supplies.
Ralph Pink – has a pattern for a balconette bra (download and print at home!) but only in limited sizes. He also has some undies and corset patterns. Found at Ralph Pink Patterns (in the couture section).
Sewy – They have quite a few bra pattern variations. Unfortunately they only have German instructions and the Sewy.de website is hard for English speakers to navigate. Maybe you can find some of these on eBay? Found at Sewy.de.
Online Tutorials
*NEW TailorMade’s Complete Guide to Bra Making
Cloth Habit’s Bra-making Sew-along
Elan 654 (Hooks and Wires)
Elan 511 (Hooks and Wires)
How to Install Bathing Suit Bra Cups (Threads)
The Bra Dilemma Solved (Threads)
The Construction of Bras (Threads)
Inserting cups in a full band bra (So-So Sewist)
Sigrid has a couple tutorials on making bras (and panties) that are divided up into different posts.
Bra Band Tutorial (Li’l Miss Muffett’s World of Sewing and Other Adventures)
Make Bra has several tutorials for their patterns including general instructions and design specific tips (look under the Sewing Instructions tab).
Abigail’s Crafts How To has a bra drafting series.
Foundations Revealed has a boat load of info on making, fitting and grading bra patterns.
Books
Demystifying Bra Fitting and Construction by Norma Loehr of Orange Lingerie. She also has an informative blog.
Kwik Sew’s Beautiful Lingerie – Found at Fabric Depot Co, Bravo Bella, Sew Sassy, Bra Maker Supply.
Intimately Yours: Bras That Fit from Needle Nook Fabrics
Making Beautiful Bras by Lee-Ann Burgess at Bra Maker Supplies. You can also find it here.
Beverly Johnson has written a number of manuals on bra-making which you can find at her site, Bra Maker Supply.
Lingerie Secrets by Jan Bones
Websites
Pattern School– lots of detailed information for all kinds of stretch patterns. Some free patterns, info on supplies, and inspiration.
FAQ
What kind of fabric can I use?
Patterns will tell you what type of fabric you need. The back band is usually powernet, a strong but stretchy fabric that looks like netting, hence the name. The cups can be tricot (a somewhat stretchy knit), simplex or even duoplex (which are less stretchy than tricot). Some patterns use stretch lace.
What notions do I need?
Lingerie elastic (one side is nice and soft), underwires (optional), underwire casing (a soft fabric tube), straps and metal loops (to adjust strap length), hook and eyes (usually on a tape), thread, foam cups (if you’re using a pattern with foam cups), extras like tiny bows or other decorations.
What if I can’t find matching fabrics?
Because you usually use two different fabrics on bras – one for cups and one for back bands – it can sometimes be hard to find matching colors. What you can do is layer a piece of your cup fabric over the powernet and sort of use the powernet as a lining. You can use this same trick if you found an awesome fabric but it is too stretchy for bra cups. Make the whole bra with your cool fabric and line the cups with plain simplex or tricot and line the back with powernet. You can also buy plain white powernet and tricot and dye it yourself. Some companies sell dyed matching kits.
How can I find my size in US/European sizes?
This nifty chart might help.
What patterns can I use if I have a large size (bigger than D cup)?
Bravo Bella Bra #2 goes from 34D to 48I and the Queen Bra Elite pattern ranges from size 34D-48H. Elan’s B520 bra includes sizes 42C to 48FF. Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band Bra and Linda Bra have size ranges up to 48H.
Pin Up Girls makes several foam cup bra styles that can fit cup sizes up to F and E..
How can I save money on supplies?
If you know you’re going to make a bunch of bras you can buy basic supplies like elastic and straps in bulk and dye them different colors if you choose. If you buy several supplies from one website you can save on shipping. Merk sometimes sells “extra” bits and remnants at auction on ebay and you can get a good deal. Fabric Depot Co has assorted grab bags of fabrics, sometimes up to 10 yards for less than half price but you don’t know what colors you’ll get. You can always buy a few yards of neutral colored tricot and powernet and buy smaller pieces of fun fabric or lace to layer over.
What pattern should I use if I’m a beginner?
Pin-Up Girl Bras have good instructions and include seam allowances (some European patterns like Merck don’t have them so be careful!) Also the German and Dutch bra patterns might not have the best English translations. I know Kwik sew includes seam allowances. I’ve read reviews saying that some European pattern brands run a little big compared to the American sizing so if you’re from North America try one of the US or Canada pattern makers to start (Bravo Bella, Pin Up Girls, Bra Elite, Kwik Sew).
***I know I’ve forgotten a couple resources here and there so if you think of any please let me know!
Updated May 8, 2012. Thanks Heather for the Make Bra link (which I found on her Pinterest)
Updated Sept 8, 2012. Thanks Pora Park for lots of info. She’s a custom bra maker in Cupertino, California, how awesome is that!?
Updated June 10, 2013. Looks like a couple suppliers went out of business but I added a new one for Europe.
Updated June 14, 2013. Added a new book.
Updated Feb 27, 2015. Added Cloth Habit and Orange Lingerie to patterns list.
Updated Aug 1, 2015. Added Cloth Habit’s Bra Making Sew-along and Blackbird Fabrics. Deleted some out of business websites.
Updated Oct 7, 2016. Added Tailor Made Shoppe and The Emerald Studio.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been wanting to try my hand at bra making for a while now, but had no idea where to even start.
you’re welcome! good luck on future bra making!
Wow! What an excellent, comprehensive list. You have really done a lot of research. Thank you!
Wow, this is a fabulous list! Thank you for posting this!
Thank you for posting this and for sharing all of your info and knowledge.This is just what I needed!!
A fantastic resource post, thanks for taking the time. I see you have mentioned patterns for DD, have you come across the wires for these at all? After seeing your post last time I clicked through the links but came up blank for getting wires and patterns in my size (although your link above resolves the pattern issue thank you!)
DD and E are interchangeable. So if you can find wires that fit your band size and an E cup those will work. Wires work for several band and cup sizes. So a wire set that fit 38A will fit 36B and will also fit 34C and 32D, etc. Or 34B will fit 36A and 32C. That’s why if you loose weight and go down a band size you’ll tend to go up a cup size even though technically the girls are still the same size. You get the idea. Bra Makers Supply for example lists DD cup size as E on their wires page.
Thank you very much, that does ring a bell for something I’ve heard before! Yay, this could start an amazing new sewing obsession!
Great list – thanks for putting this together!
thanks lizz!
Thanks for all the research! Not sure I’m ready to make my own over the shoulder boulder holder, but I’ll be sure to keep these resources in mind for when I am 😉
haha! i don’t think i’ve ever heard that term before but that is genius!
you are SO awesome for compiling all these! I also have the book “Sewing Lingerie That Fits”, which has a bra-making chapter.
Great and helpful list!
Thank you! This is a wonderful resource!
Dixie, this is awesome and just what I am looking for.
Hi, I am a size 40 double J cup! I’ve been ordering my bras from the U.K. for about 5yrs. Now! Where can I find patterns for cup sizes J-M cups. please help!
I also would be interested in similar patterns for these sizes if you have anyone come back on this – sooo frustrating trying to find a good fit and fitter! Myrah have you tried Triumph for ready made in Uk – also figleaves or Marisotta for you big girls?
@ Anaisnais no i havent tried those but thanks! I will go check them out! This is very challenging! Due to nothing being big but my breast! #Help! :)..
Myrah, I sew custom bras for others but mostly order mine from the UK too! If you have a bra that fits you perfectly, it’s fun and fairly easy to make a pattern from it by yourself. I developed my own technique for copying that is pretty foolproof. Please email me and I could write it as a tutorial for you. Cheers, Pora Park pora@changsworld.com
Does anybody know of any halter bra patterns out there? I am making a halter dress to wear to a wedding and I am not quite willing to go sans support. I suppose a strapless pattern could also work, if I could figure out how to add a strap. Thanks for any help!
Dorrie, most commercial strapless bras come with removable straps. Loops on the tops of the cups enable halter positioning of the straps. Often they even include a clear set of straps along with standard elastic ones.
Danglez has an announcement, (3/6/2013) that they are closing. So grab their patterns while you can!!
Thanks for compiling this awesome list of suppliers! Sadly, Elingeria is closing at the end of May (2013). 🙁
Excellent resource!! thank you for providing us with all the good info! http://9thelm.com/strappys-decorative-bra-straps/
I’m looking at buying some supplies from Kantje Boord, a fabric store from the Netherlands. Payment is with a bank transfer, so probably only viable for sewists in Europe.
There are both full kits, fabric and collections of lingerie findings.
http://kantje-boord.net
Good day All / Dixie
I am looking for Bra Suppliers in the Sizes from D / DD / DDD up to HH.
( Not interested in A / B / C Cups )
We are based in South-Africa and would like to buy at reasonable prices as we still need to pay Import Duties on Imports of 45% on Invoice Value !
Could anyone perhaps assist us in this regard please … ?
Thank you Kindly ! cooty.brands@gmail.com
I wish these patterns were available as pdf. Danglez and pin up girls seem to have the only bra patterns with a “power bar”
Clothes designs are really awesome specially I love white color bra. Possible I get similar that soon.panties garters
I’ve found another supplier in Australia:
http://www.aussiecorsetsupplies.com/bra-making-supplies
They seem to have all the basics if you don’t mind sticking to black or white (or dyeing). They have power net too.
Oops, forgot to also mention M Recht:
http://mrecht.com.au/products-categories/bra-and-bikini-accessories/
It looks like Danglez is back — I just placed an order with them!
The updated link for pattern school is http://web.archive.org/web/20130604212426/http://www.patternschool.com/?page_id=1022
Doesn’t seem to be maintained any longer. I highly recommend making your own pattern following the instructions on this website to make your own bra band and bra cups. I’ve made a few so far and they fit perfectly!
Has anyone found resources in Asia?
Unfortunately I haven’t, but that may just be a language issue as I only search in English. I know many suppliers on Etsy are based in China and other Asian countries and you might be able to find individual supplies here and there from various Etsy sellers.
Hi Dixie,
I recently made a list of bloggers who sew bras, in order to make them easier to find. You can find it at http://iammsfrizzle.blogspot.com/2014/10/bra-sewing-bloggers-by-size.html I’d like to add you- would you mind telling me your size?
Thank you!
Really good post.
There’s another great supplier from Austria: http://www.wien2002.at/ Sadly their site is in German and they only ship to a few European countires. But they offer a wide range of bra making supplies which are quite cheap.
Beverly Johnson teaches two classes on Craftsy: ‘Sewing Bras, Construction and Fit’, a novice class, and ‘Sewing Bras, Designer Techniques’, a class for individuals who have sewn at least one ‘basic’ bra. These classes are quite complete in altering a pattern for a perfect fit and customization.
A book to add: “Bare Essentials: Bras” by Jennifer Lynne Matthews-Fairbanks is about construction and pattern drafting.
Bwear.se same as bra makers supply but for EU.