You'll need to cut&paste these. These are all to do with bra pattern sources, or some aspect of bramaking. None of this is likely to be in any particular order.
http://www.fashionmall.com/guide/lin/doc/from.html
http://www.morgeve.dk/guide/rests.html (scroll down for bra pattern)
http://www.brashop.co.nz/brahistory.htm
http://www.brashop.co.nz/fittings.htm
Cupsize alteration:
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,CRHO_project_11449,00.html
http://www.shira.net/askcg.htm scroll down to Fitting And Alterations
See also the discussion about Analyzing The Fit (scroll down):
http://www.bramakers.com/thebrashop.htm
You may find KS2200 is useful, and KS2489. There are a few others on that page that could be good for the smaller figure, so definitely check them out and find out what will fit you (you may have to just buy several, the advantage is being able to alter to fit and having multiple possible styles to work from in multiple sizes -- copy, never cut the printed pattern, as Cindy Elam notes on her Elan Patterns). When you alter any pattern, do so with a copy only. You don't want to destroy your master pattern! Once you get good enough at altering garment patterns you can more readily and more accurately alter on paper before you cut a trial garment out and check the fit. (Use the coated butcher freezer paper (I know at least Reynolds Wrap makes this, and in 15" or 18" widths, check your supermarket for what they carry) and indelible markers. Nancy Zieman (of Nancy's Notions and her TV show Sewing With Nancy) recommends using different colours, one for the copy of the original you trace through the freezer paper size and the other for the alterations to that copy. Cut on the alteration lines.) She uses an alteration method in which rather than "slash & spread", you pivot and slide to alter. I've found it pretty effective. Her site is at www.nancysnotions.com
http://www.elanpatterns.com/page12.html
There are several bra patterns here, and note that they're in metric (I don't DO metric and I'm surely not the only one who doesn't so I end up painstakingly translating the numbers), but despite that they seem very good. Their page is: www.sewing.co.nz (Sewing Specialties).
I think it says something to have to send to New Zealand just to find bra patterns for my daughter... Well, that's a little bit of a misnomer in that I ordered from a US company that carries some New Zealand patterns, but I still think it says something about the US pattern market for that age and size range. Something prudish as well as mercenarily merchantile I think. (The number of astoundingly innapropriate hits you can get while surfing for sites that carry such patterns is a bit astonishing.) I think some of the commentary in the Brumberg article above (The Body Project) is interesting as regards this. It has me now wondering when bra patterns for any size or age started to appear for the home sewing market. I'd think that somehow there would be a motivation to offer more such patterns for the young beginning sewers, though. I'll keep hunting. If anyone has other sources for these patterns, send me email with what you've found and any information about finding them. I'll add your information here.
http://www.kawakib.com/page-16.html (Constructing a 'cabaret-style' costume bra.)
Cindy Elam does a very good job in her SewNews article teaching copying RTW bras without cutting the bra to pieces, but I have yet to see anyone discuss how to recreate a bra from the seamless RTW styles. Copying one necessarily renders it non-seamless. As far as copying seamless bras, and this involves a Bra Sacrifice, I think something to try with one of those bras (Olga Comfort Back bra, is one example) is to take a ballpoint pen or a marker (but you may not want indelible marker bra seams on your skin), and in front of the mirror wearing the seamless bra that fits you the best and you'd like to copy (not if you only have one of them, hopefully you'll have at least one other like this to wear!).
You will need to take the following measurements:
chest circumference, bust circumference (the difference between the two is the cup size), bustpoint-to-bustpoint, seperation between cups, bustpoint-to-chestline (bottom of pectorals), bustpoint-to-side-seam, bustpoint-to-shoulder-seam, back chestline-to-shoulder-seam, back width, front width (these are taken at the crease of arm to body at the armpit fold), back width of left side seam to right side seam (and the same across the front at the bustline across the bustpoints); and for a longline extension of the chestband you'll need chestband-to-waistline, and waist circumference. Very carefully mark on the bra:
bustpoint on each cup (where the nipple is or should be)
where you want to put the center front seamline endpoint for each cup, where upper and lower cups will meet along center front, which you may want to measure from one side to the other so that it matches between left and right cups.
where you want the cup side seam to land for each cup (few of us have symmetrical breasts), which is where you want the upper-lower seam to meet at the side seam. This marks out the lower cup.
You may also want to note the bust point to center front measurements, bust point to the strap attachment point or the highest point of the upper cup (depending on style they are not the same spot). To measure the sideseam-to- bustpoint, you may also want to take a tape measure and measure from the flesh at the sideseam, to the garment bustpoint, especially in the case of one larger side or an it-almost-fits bra that you want to alter to fit better in the copy. For the larger cup, set aside that cup copy so that you can alter the cup to fit later. Usually the larger cup is the one fitted for in the end.
draw the curve through each point for the new seamline on each cup for where the upper cup and lower cups should meet, drawing from center front to side seam through the bustpoint for each cup.
DART CONTROL
"What's that?", I hear you ask. I guess you're asking because you're not much in the habit of garment sewing or maybe don't pay much attention to altering darts (maybe you haven't had to be aware of them before).
Dart control is essentially points in a garment where you let out dimension or narrow dimension in a garment's construction. They are triangular slashes that are sometimes deep enough to be trimmed and sometimes too shallow. You can put the dart control in a seamline by curving it or straightening it, or you can use it someplace in the body of the garment. Waist darts in trousers, or skirts; bust darts in blouses, shirts, jackets, coats, etc. These allow you to make something dimensional out of flat things like the pattern and the fabric.
"What does dart control have to do with bras?", I hear you ask.
What I had left out is crucial about dart control. In a bra, the dart control in the cups is in the seams, especially the seam joining lower and upper cup. What I left out is a discussion of how to address this once you've drawn the seam of the lower cup that will later be sewn to the upper cup. SO:
Measure the length of the seamline of the lower cup. Measure the same line for the upper cup. When you copy the lower cup, set it aside and copy the upper cup. Now, using the lower cup seam edge as a guide, flip over the upper cup copy and match the side seam and center front points of it to the seam at those points in the lower cup (the strap will be pointing towards the chestband seam of the lower cup). Copy the curve of the lower cup's seamline (adding it to the upper cup draft). Measure the new upper cup edge. It should not be any longer than 1/4" longer than the lower cup edge (because they have to fit smoothly and more ease would be too much, especially with tricot; wovens have less tolerance so be aware of the original fabric). If it's too long, flatten the curve a little at a time until that line matches in length, plus the small amount of ease.
Check the curve against any bras with a cup seam that you know fit well, or against a similar pattern that also fits well. The bottom cup is usually more rounded than the upper cup at that seam, since you're literally creating a cup from something flat. The curved edges of those pieces creates a pair of darts, one at the side seam and one at the cup center front, inherent to that seam.
Not all cups with rounded bottom ("contour cup") edges will use underwire, but the shape of the bottom of the cup plays a part in support, especially with underwires. You need a certain amount of tension across the bottom for support and also some stiffness, some of which results from adding a second layer to the lower cup, or something to stiffen the lower cup some other way. Some cups may even have vertical boning in the lower cup in a central seamline, many use underwires to keep the shape and to maintain supporting tension. Most often the boning seems to be used in the chestband instead of the cup as it's more comfortable. The cup and wire sizes should match so that the wire is neither where it can poke you, nor the cup size and shape such that the wire is where it can poke you; all while giving the right support. Some of us have no choice but to use underwires. Not all underwires are metal, so if metal allergies are an issue and you need underwires, look for the plastic ones, or well-coated wires. You can also coat your own wires with a very thick tool handle coating, and you can shorten them (nip the ends so they're rounded and dip them in the coating or they will poke through the underwire channeling and can be pretty sharp, also make sure the edges are filed smooth and as dull as you can manage). The wire should also lie flat against your chest at the breastbone in center front and at the sideseam of the cup (without also poking you under the arm or poking your arm). Another place to add both dart control and boning is the chestband. Look at bra chestbands for hints about both issues and work out what you want and where you want to design either in. Boning helps keep the chestband from scrunching up along your side as you wear the bra, but it also can take up some of the fabric in attaching it.
If you want to design more than one bra style (two-piece baseball style cup vs. three piece baseball style where you have a panel going down along center front and replacing the center front corners of the two-piece baseball cup you're making now, or even make it into a nursing bra, etc.), wait until you have this basic one done. Once you have one pattern that fits you can play with that. http://www.funhouse.com/babs/FAQ.goddess208.jpg is an example, picture it without the seam on the lower cup.)
Have someone else help you do this if you don't think you can be accurate enough. They can also help you mark any changes you want to make to the chestband and any marks that don't fit on the fabric should be jotted down on a notepad to pack with this template. I put mine in a ziplock baggie.
Note the fabric and elastic stretch (It's useful to have a fabric stretch chart of your own, for example: 4" of fabric that stretches 2" to 6" total has 50% stretch, and so on). http://www.funhouse.com/babs/FAQ.fabric_stretch_chart.pdf
The next thing is to very carefully and painstakingly seam rip everything from the bra. That means even the elastics. Set them aside and note where they came from, how wide they are, how much they stretch and where they are stretched in a 1:1 ratio to the fabric and where, and mark the seamline on the part of the bra they came from. You can add the untrimmed seam allowances once you're done and have a clear template, but it will help you to mark where they are so you don't copy them later as cutting lines because you forgot to add in seam allowances. Are the straps stretch or non-stretch? What fabrics are used (check the printed tag)? Would you like to change any of that? Make a note.
Measure all of your pieces in a non-stretched state and note those numbers. Note elastic and strap lengths and all attachment points. Note if you're changing the position of the straps in back, for instance RTW non-slip bra straps are positioned close to the center back, near the closure. If you look at the way that part of the back has been redesigned you can copy it. It also shifts the tension from the top of the cup, and can change support more or less, depending on whether you also change the top of the cup shape to move the strap attachment point on the front, too. Some people might prefer this change in fit and support.
Note also any lace or seam tape and so on and all seam allowances. Clean up the cup seam lines. Is there underwire used? Mark upper cup, band seam, lower cup top and bottom, side seam side on each upper and lower cup, left or right cup, grainline, stretchline and how much stretch both vertical and horizontal for each piece. Mark the back or back-and-sides and center-front-frame pieces for grain and stretch. Note on which side of the back panel at center the back the hooks or the eyes are sewn to. Mark the size, style and company on the printed tag on all pieces. Cut the cups along the new seam line.
If you are blessed with a scanner on your computer, flatten the pieces and scan them each into a file. With a graphic editor you can clean up the template's lines and then add in all of your notes for each piece and your seams. If you can set the background in the buffer as you edit the scanned images, set the background to the layers to clear. This will give you clear overlays, as if you were using acetate sheets in an overhead projector, or layers of tracing paper. You may want to draw over one or more of the scanned images in the editor (always use a copy!) and make those lines into their own layer from a composite of the others, which could then also be saved in its own file after dragging a copy of the layer into another file.
If you don't have a scanner, very carefully trace the pieces onto paper. If you have a macrame' board or similar arrangement where you can use T-pins to anchor the pieces to a piece of paper and trace around the edges, use that. If you can scan the pieces in, you will now have a printable pattern, although I'd still urge you to first copy it onto the more flexible freezer paper and cut out your first trial bra. I use the frosted clear tape (the adhesive doesn't fail quite as soon or messily as the clear) to extend things as I alter on the freezer paper. I can also alter in my editor, and when I think I have a viable draft, I can save it and print a copy and work on that, measuring it and maybe make a trial garment from that. The advantage of this is that once you do have a good pattern, you can print out as many copies as you need at will if you've been able to scan it in. It's not subject to hand-copy-dimension-creep.
Once you've made the bra and it fits you, say you need a nursing bra. You'll probably have to alter the bra for size to fit the pregnancy and nursing size you are at that point, but the alterations to make this bra into a nursing bra will be roughly these:
Copy the bra cups and cut them out so that you can manipulate them. You need to draw a straight line that starts curving from about 1" below the upper-to-lower cup seam at center front, crossing that seam and traveling to the bustpoint. The next line is drawn from the upper-lower cup seamline to cross the first line at the bustpoint. You then need to curve that line so that the curve is maybe a half inch (a little more if you want to) above the bustpoint (aka nipple, if you have a similar nursing bra, copy it and make any alterations needed).
The front curves up to the strap, as does the side seam, although it should be drawn a little lower (~1/2 below) the side seam side of the cup so it's below the elastic. When you make the nursing bra itself, these two armhole and neckline edges will be elasticized on the upper cup (as well as on the nursing flap), and at the top where it leads to the strap. You will need a set of 1-hook & eye tape with 3 hooks for each strap, sewn on vertically. The nursing flap is stationary, the upper cup is where the hook goes. If you can't serge the raw bottom edge of the flap, use two layers and a narrow seam allowance and sew right sides together, press and edgestitch. Then put the elastic on and attach the flap and build the rest of the bra. This edge is not elasticized. There are other desings of nursing bra, this is just one. If you wear an underwire now in your bras, make your nursing bras with an underwire also.
At least some commercial nursing bras are made with t-shirt weight single knit 100% cotton in two layers wrong sides together throughout. I found it ok but not resilient enough in stretch and not quite supportive enough (but I was also poorly fitted, the chestband on the only large cup nursing bra there was too big), the advantage to the cotton is that it's more breathable than nylon or polyester tricot and that can be important both against sensitive infant skin and sore nipples (it's why cloth nursing pads are cotton, you can make your own: 4 layers of 100% cotton flannel, cut in 4" circles and serged or sewn together per pad). You may want to compromise and use the 100% cotton as a lining behind the heavyweight tricot and that as the shell or fashion fabric for the cups. Two fabric layers will be warmer, but they can also give more support.
Make the straps adjustable and maybe even out of plush elastic with a ring and slider set. You may find that you want to either adjust the strap length, or use a lower eye on the strap at times on the nursing bra so making them adjustable makes life that much easier until weaning. It may be generally more comfortable (it is to me) with the slider at the back with the ring in back and one strap end sewn to the cup at the strap, rather than having the ring against your collar bone when you make your own bras. Some RTW are made this way. You may want to compromise and use the 100% cotton as a lining behind the heavyweight tricot for the cups, as well. You'll have more flexibility in how the finished bras will look, there's no reason not to embellish the bra like a non-nursing bra you've made from, say, the same bolt of tricot and using the same lace.
http://www.nerve.com/Regulars/LifesWork/kolski/
http://www.sewinglingerie.com/patterns/index.html
Specifically: http://www.sewinglingerie.com/patterns/crossover-bra.html
http://www.boobytraps.com.au/