Some words appear to be needed on just what these FAQs are for and about. It used to be obvious to people, but of late I've been getting obnoxious email in response to the FAQs. Note also, that I rarely answer paper mail, I don't usually have the time or interest unless it's interesting to me for some usually personal reason.
I get a lot of email from people who, while they're interested in the subject matter and often enthusiastic in one way or another, have clearly NOT READ THE FAQs. PLEASE READ THEM THROUGH, before you ask me anything. It's most likely covered in the FAQs. Really. Or I probably don't know the answer. I am then very likely to refer you to the newsgroup (or to SewSassy, they're very helpful, knowledgable people there, you can also ask the owner-operatrix of Elan Patterns, Cindy Elam).
Please look above. Notice I mention the newsgroup rec.crafts.textiles.sewing. A lot of this discussion is derived from posts and email I've used with permission that originated on this newsgroup, years ago now. The posters there are often very helpful and knowledgeable and can answer some of the basic questions people ask me in response to these FAQs. They may also be able to point you to a more local source of something than I can, because people are spread out all over geographically on the Net. (If you don't know what Usenet is or NetNews, you poor, poor person.)
I have had some requests for my "catalogue". People. I do not now, nor have I ever, put out any sort of catalogue. READ THE FAQs before you ask me questions. READ THE WHOLE SUITE OF FAQs, just to be sure I have answered your question. If I have not, I probably don't know the answer, but you can certainly check with me about that. (Be prepared, though, I rarely answer mail in a timely manner.)
This site is not for sale. Nothing about this site is for sale. I have nothing on this site for sale. MOVE ON if you think differently than I have just stated. If anyone who sends me more of this kind of smack is a pretty serious LOSER, possibly even world class. I simply cannot stress enough just how very much of a general-purpose, world class, astounding LOSER you have to be to write me this kind of smack. Inevitably, these LOSERS have not even read the FAQs before sending these emails, too.
Further, it has become increasingly necessary to answer emails of the sort: "...your Underwire and Bra FAQ page ranks #1 on Google for the term 'bra'. Did you think of the possibility of making money by simply putting up a link linking to a site that sells bras? [sic]" (From an actual email of this sort.) What a LOSER. People. I guess I have to repeat this again:
This is NOT A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE. DO NOT LINK TO THIS SITE IN ORDER TO SELL SOMETHING TO ME, ANY CONTRIBUTOR, OR TO ANYONE ELSE. THIS IS *NOT* A *COMMERCIAL* *ENTERPRISE*. THIS SITE IS PURELY INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL. PERIOD! No one wants to hear from these LOSERS.
No "WANNAS" of any type are welcome, not sexual, not commercial. NONE. DO NOT ASK ME AGAIN, PEOPLE, or you will get a very nasty response, I can assure you. I am really tired of fielding such queries and requests over the past decade-plus, now. These files are here as a favour to primarily women, at least 80%-90% of whom are wearing ill-fitting bras in the wrong size, wrong shape, with poor support. If it were not for the shear number of people who write to me praising my efforts in this suite of files in the decade-plus since I wrote them, I might've taken it down because of being pestered by LOSERS who clearly haven't even read these files, but they want to link to them for commercial purposes, or write obnoxious things about only an aspect of the discussion in these files.
Invariably, these LOSERS have been male. At least the actual target audience gets the point of these files.
This set of FAQs was put up specifically as an educational work. ONLY. It is only up as a volunteer effort at spreading to others what information I have gathered on the topic. PERIOD.
Oh, and another thing: while I have nothing against kink, pleasegod don't tell me your habits! Perhaps it hasn't dawned on some of you that I might not CARE? Of the men who want to dress all frilly-like: look, I don't CARE. The same problems other flat-chested people find in getting or making bras that fit them are the same problems you'll have. Really. It just works that way, ok? (And, to those men who sew for themselves or others, fabulous!)
Also: NO HORNDOGS. I do not accept being propositioned, and in fact I would probably get your ACCOUNT YANKED for the kind of email where that occurs, or comments are made about my body, that of any of the contributors, or where someone (inevitably male) makes a tasteless comment about my body in email, or asks me for a date (often in lewd tones). Not only is it really obnoxious, it makes you look like such a complete LOSER. All of these have happened to me in email, in response to the presence of the FAQs, rather than in response to having actually READ THE FAQs. I am not interested.
EXCUSE ME??? That is well beyond unnacceptable. Under the law, all of those are SEXUAL HARRASSMENT. It can get you in real BAD LEGAL TROUBLE.
Back to the actual purpose of these pages:
Places to check out ON YOUR OWN FIRST for help with basic sewing issues:
Please try these sources first, as well as your library and book stores. Browse the books and see whose style works well for your level of skill and learning style. There are also books geared to teaching children to sew that adults beginning might want to look at, too.
One more note, this about sewing machines needed for making bras. A zigzag machine should work just fine, it doesn't have to be very expensive or fancy, but it has to be well-maintained. Regular thread, or silk thread, don't buy cheap threads for your sewing projects, it breaks. Stretch as you sew, when applying elastics, and using stretchy material (like the stretch lycra for the chestband), use needles marked for stretch or knits.
BUY IT.
I was recently asked the following question from someone who sent me email
asking me:
"Can you tell me what the average bra size is in America? And what
percentage of women wear A, B, C or D? Or do you know where I can find this
info? Thanks!"
I wish I knew. Anyone with some information on these questions is welcome to
send me it or point me at source material. I'd like to also hear from those
who might know things like the ethnic demographics of the regions studied
and the climate of those regions and if it's understood to be affected by
those factors. They're good questions I've often wondered about but never had
the information to answer. Maybe we can all learn about that together.
How, for example, was the standard B-cup arrived at for RTW garments as well as patterns for the home sewer? Why that size? Is it a realistic size as an average, standard size for the time in which it was arrived at by the garment industry? Have those reasons changed? What is a more accurate average cup size for the current era of overweight, and plus sizes? Is B-cup still accurate as a basic standard size now? Why or why not? What is? Has anyone discussed this with professional bra fitters? If so, what have they found that they've discussed with you about cup sizes? It's probably too much to hope someone's already written a book covering this...
The FAQ files are also available via ftp, if that's more convenient, in: ftp.funhouse.com:/pub/FAQ.txt File names are: FAQ.html, BraFAQ1.txt, BraFAQ2.txt, BraFAQ3.txt, BraFAQ4.txt, BraFAQ5.txt; UnderwireFAQ.txt
(That isn't a URL since if ftp is more convenient, you're probably using ftp to pick them up rather than a web browser...) Some people without ftp access have asked me to email them to them, but if you have ftp or web access, please do not ask me for them. They're really too large to email. (I'm on a dialup modem.) Instead either select the whole page and copy& paste it into an editor on your machine, or use your browser's print facility to save it as a .pdf.