STUDIO

COSTURA
patterns

HA N NA BRALET T E
sewing pattern
A delicate lace bralette that combines both beauty and
comfort

size XS - XL

WWW.STUDIOCOSTURA.COM
DESCRIPTION

Hanna is a soft cup bralette made with stretch

lace and underlined with knit fabric. The neckli-
ne has a beautiful scalloped edge lace detail
and all the seams are neatly finished both on
the outside and the inside. Using stretch fabrics
makes this pattern easy to fit and it’s comfortable
for everyday use but looks fancy enough for a
special occasion as well.

SUPPLIES
stretch lace (at least 16 cm 2 m (2 1/5 yd) Fabric suggestions
(6 1/3 in) wide)
Lace
knit fabric for lining (120 cm 0.25 m (1/3 yd) This pattern is designed for stretch laces, make sure
(1 1/3 yd) wide) that the lace has horizontal stretch in it.
10 mm (3/8 in) plush back 2 m (2 1/5 yd)
elastic Lining fabric
You can use different types of knit fabrics for the lining
10 mm (3/8 in) strap elastic 0.7 m (3/4 yd)
of the bralette, the results will vary slightly according to
narrow clear elastic 0.7 m (3/4 yd) the knit you choose. The fabric should stretch in both
directions, aprox 60% of stretch in one of the direc-
10 mm (3/8 in) rings & sliders 2 of each tions is perfect. Look for lightweight knit fabrics with
spandex in them for the best fit: cotton/viscose jersey,
2 row hook & eye set 1 set
lycra, polyester etc knits.

Other supplies You can also use mesh to line the bralette, it will give a
- washable fabric marker more transparent result.
- stretch needle
- polyester thread

MEASUREMENTS
This pattern is designed for knit fabrics which means that the bralette fits well to a variety of bust sizes,
however it is most comfortable for bra cup sizes A-C (as there are no underwires this bralette is not as su-
pportive as a proper full band bra, however every woman has their own fit and comfort preferences).

To know your size you have to measure the circumference of the fullest part of your bust. Pick a size from
the chart according to that measurement. As the fit of the bralette will be very different according to
every person and their unique breast shape and underbust circumference I highly suggest you to make a
quick muslin before cutting into your beuatiful lace. See page 4 for a fitting guide.

SIZE CHART

Metric (centimeters)
Size XS S M L XL
Full bust (cm) 86-90 91-95 96-100 101-105 106-110

Imperial (inches)
Size XS S M L XL
Full bust (in) 34-35 36-37 38-39 40-41 42-43

2
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
PATTERN PIECES

A inner cup (cut two from lace)

B outer cup (cut two from lace & two from lining)

C band (cut two from lace & two from lining)

D inner cup lining (cut two from lining)

PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS

Use a pdf viewer to open and print the pa-

ttern. Make sure that your printer scaling is
turned off and is set up to print at 100%. Print
page 1 of your pattern first and measure the
test square to ensure accurate printing.

There are four pages in total. The pattern pie-

ce A has to be taped together, the rest of the
pieces fit on individual pages.

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

Cut the lining pieces from the knit fabric following

the greatest stretch direction on your fabric. As you
need two of each pattern piece you can cut them
directly with the fabric folded.

Cut the lace pieces according to the instructions

on the page 5.

All seam allowances are 0.6 cm (1/4 in)

3
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
FITTING GUIDE
As explained before you should measure your bust (at the fullest part) and pick a size from the size chart
according to that measurement. The bra sizing actually combines two volumes: the size of your bra cup
and the size of your underbust measurement. In an ideal world these two measurements are proportional
and that’s how the sizing is made. The reality is that every body is different and bra sizes vary a lot, the
most normal thing to happen is that your actual size will be somewhere in between the two sizes of this
bralette.
The good news is that it’s not a mystery at all: making a quick muslin is the easiest way to know your exact
size. This extra step will save you a lot of time later on, trust me!

To try out the general fit of the bralette cut the pieces A, B and C out of a knit fabric and machine baste
them together (no need to sew on the elastics). Attach the closure and sew the strap elastics in place. Try
on the muslin to see the general fit. The bralette should fit closely (you don’t have the elastics sewn on yet
but it should still be close fitting), if it’s not your case, see the following instructions.

Most common problems and how to solve them:

- the band feels too tight and the cups seem to flatten the breast tissue

The size you picked is overall too small, go up a size and try it out again.

- the band feels too loose (you can easily pull it apart from your body, it’s not snug) and the cups have
wrinkles on them

The size you picked is overall too large, go down a size and try out again.

- the cups look good but the band is too loose

Cut the cup pieces A and B in the size you used but go down one size on the band piece C. This should
make the band smaller but you’ll still have the same fit on the cups.

-- the cups look good but the band is too tight

Cut the cup pieces A and B in the size you used but go up one size on the band piece C. This should
make the band bigger but you’ll still have the same fit on the cups.

- the band fits good but the cups seem to flatten your breast tissue

Go up a size on the cup pieces A and B, but cut the same size on the band piece C. This will give your
breast tissue the extra room that it’s lacking at the moment.

- the band fits good but the cups have wrinkles on the cup seams and looks like there’s some extra room
there

Go down a size on the cup pieces A and B, but cut the same size on the band piece C. This will make the
cup pieces smaller and they will fit your breast tissue better.

Once you know which pieces you are going to use

there might be differences on the pattern pieces when
you’ll sew them together.
To make everything match up perfectly you have to
overlap the outer cup piece B and the band piece C by
12 mm (6 mm of both of the seam allowances included
in the pattern pieces). Now redraw the upper seamline
to make the pieces measure the same.
(In the example I’ve matched up a size M cup with size
S band and then I’ve smoothened out the seam line on
the upper part of those pieces.)

Fitting a bra/bralette is a process and it’s normal to take some time to get the perfect fit, don’t feel
overwhelmed! The materials also play a big role here: no two knits have the same stretch so they can give
very diffrent results.
4
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

1. From lace:

Cut out the pattern pieces from lace starting with the first pie-
ce, inner cup (A). Put a single layer of lace with the right side
up on your cutting table. The long straight edge of the pattern
has to be lined up with the scalloped edge of the lace. Align
the pattern piece with the lower part of the scallops (the scallo-
ped edge extends from the straight edge of the pattern piece)
putting the notch on the piece where one of the scallops of the
lace starts. This ensures that once the central seam is sewn you’ll
have a beautiful scallop starting just in the middle of the neckli-
ne.

2.
You now need to cut out the second piece of the inner cup (A)
and the best way to do it is to use the first lace piece you just cut
out as a guide. Flip the first piece over (with the wrong side up)
to be able to cut out the other piece (that way you’ll have the
pieces with right sides together when cutting) and find the exact
location where the pieces align the same way on your lace (nor-
mally it means that you cut one piece on one edge of the lace
and the other one on the other edge).

3.

The outer cup piece (B) and the band piece (C) can be cut out
ignoring the scalloped edge, you can either fold the lace and
cut them out directly in pairs or try to match the lace pattern on
both again by aligning the pieces. Align the pieces on the lace
according to the horizontal “greatest stretch” line (usually the
stretch goes in the horizonatal direction on stretch lace).

Don’t forget to mark the notches with a washable fabric marker!

4.
Now you have all the lace pieces cut out and the order of the
pieces goes like that: the band (C), the outer cup (B) and the
inner cup (A).

From lining:

Cut out the band piece (C), the outer cup piece (B) and the
inner cup lining piece (D) from the knit fabric according to the
“greatest stretch” line on the pattern pieces (see page 3 for the
lining cutting layout). Mark the notches on lining with a washable
fabric marker.
5
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
 All seam allowances are 0.6 cm (1/4 in)

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS

1.

On the inner cup lace piece stabilize the scalloped lace edge
with clear elastic. Using a narrow zig-zag stitch (the size depends
on the width of the elastic, but 3 width, 2 length zig-zag should
be fine), sew over the clear elastic on the wrong side of the inner
cup piece. You should align the elastic with the edge just where
the scalloped edge starts. Hold the clear elastic with tension but
don’t pull it when you sew, it’s there just to stabilize this edge and
there shouldn’t be any gathers.

2.
This is how the clear elastic should look like after sewing it on the
wrong side of the inner cup piece.

TIP: using the clear elastic is a good way to stabilize lace edges
and make them more durable as it’s transparent and doesn’t
show. If you wish more support you can use a narrow plush back
elastic the same way but you will see it on the right side of the
lace. You can also skip the elastic in this part of the bralette on
smaller bust sizes as there’s normally no need for the extra su-
pport.

3.

Overlock/zig-zag (3 width, 3 length) stitch the outer edge (only

the curve) of the lining piece (D).

TIP: if you want a very neat finish you could cover that edge with
FOE or make a bias binding from share lining or similar light fabric.

4.

With right sides together, pin the inner cup lace pieces (A) toge-
ther at the center seam. Overlock or zig-zag stitch (small zig-zag
stitch 2 width, 3 length) the seam.

Repeat the same step for inner cup lining pieces (D).

6
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
 All seam allowances are 0.6 cm (1/4 in)
5.

Hide the overlocker threads inside the seam passing them throu-
gh the stitching with an embroidery needle both on the lace and
knit lining pieces. If using zig-zag stitch just finish your seams with
some reverse stitching and cut the threads.

To make this seam extra strong you can sew a bartack (several
rows of small stitches) on the upper part of the seam on the right
side to secure the stitches in place.

6. Now let’s sew together the bust seam. To have a completely

neat finish both on the outside and the inside you need to put
the pieces on top of each other in correct order:

1. outer cup lining piece (B) with right side up

2. inner cup lining piece (D) with wrong side up (this piece is
already sewn together with the other lining piece in the previous
step)
3. inner cup lace piece (A) with the right side up (this piece is
already sewn together with the other lace piece in the previous
step)
4. outer cup lace piece (B) with the wrong side up

7. Pin all the four layers together on that seam matching the not-
ches on all four pieces. It helps to first pin together the notches,
then beginning and the end of the seam and then add more
pins over the curves.

Overlock or zig-zag stitch (small zig-zag stitch 2 width, 3 length)

the cup seam.

TIP: removing pins while sewing this small curved seam on all four
layers might be a bit complicated, basting this seam together
first can be very helpful

8.

Now you have a neat seam on both sides of your bralette and it
should look like this. Repeat the same step for the other cup.

7
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
 All seam allowances are 0.6 cm (1/4 in)
9.

Once the both sides are sewn together this is how the inside of
the bralette should look like.

10.

Topstitch the cup seam from the right side using a 2.5 length strai-
ght stitch (sewing through both layers). Make sure you have the
lining underneath flat in order to not create any wrinkles.

11.

On the inside pin the inner cup lining piece (D) in place on top
of the inner cup lace piece (A). Make sure the center seams on
both these pieces match.

12.

Using a zig-zag stitch (2.5 width, 2.5 length) sew over the finished
edge of the inner cup lining piece (D) to attach the lining to the
lace.

8
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
 All seam allowances are 0.6 cm (1/4 in)
13.
It’s time to attach the band pieces (C) and it’s done in a similar
way as sewing the cup pieces together before. Place the pieces
on top of each other in this order:

1. band lining piece (C) with right side up

2. lace outer cup piece (B) with right side up (already together
with its lining piece (B) underneath)
3. lace band piece (C) with wrong side up

Basically you are sandwiching the outer cup pieces between the
band pieces.

14.

Overlock or zig-zag stitch (small zig-zag stitch 2 width, 3 length)

the seam. Repeat with the other side. Now you have all the pie-
ces together and it looks like a bralette!

TIP: I usually don’t topstitch this seam as we did on the cup seam
but you can do it if you wish.

15.

It’s time to sew on the elastic on the lower part of the bralette.
With the right side of the bralette up, put the elastic with the
decorative edge towards the inside of the bralette (left side)
and with the plush side up. Put it on the edge of the band on the
lower part of the bralette.

16. Using a zig-zag stitch (2.5 width, 2.5 length) sew close to the de-
corative edge of the elastic while pulling it slightly to give it some
tension. Sew all the way to the other end of the band.

TIP: The lingerie elastics are different, some are “softer” and
others are “stronger”, the amount you should be pulling when
sewing depends on that a lot. Think that the bralette is already
designed to be snug and the elastics just need to give the final
touch. You need to find the way to sew the elastic with right ten-
sion: don’t leave it too “loose” but don’t gather the fabric with
elastic either. It takes a little practice but it’s not so hard!

For more tips and tricks on sewing lingerie elastics visit the Hanna
bralette sewalong over at www.studiocostura.com 9
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
17.

Turn your bralette with the wrong side up and cut away the
fabric that extends the zig-zag stitch. This step reduces bulk in this
area and once you turn the elastic under everything will be neat
with no fabric edges showing.

18. 19. Prepare the straps:

- cut two pieces of strap elastic 35 cm (13 in) long each

- with the right side of the elastic facing you, pass the elastic
through the slider
- on the wrong side of the elastic fold 1 cm (3/8 in) down. Stitch
with a straight stitch (2 length) back and forth a couple of times
to secure the end of the strap
20. 21. - with the elastic wrong side up pass the ring through the other
end
- fold the end of the elastic back and pass it through the slider as
you did in the first step

22.

We’ll be using the second row of zig-zag stitch on the band elas-
tic to secure the strap in place. Place the strap elastic with wrong
side up where the notch on the band piece (C) marks the strap
position. Do it on both sides of the band.

23.
Flip the elastic to the wrong side of the bralette and using a zig-
zag stitch (2.5 width, 2.5 length) sew the second row of stitching
close to the non decorative edge of the elastic.

As you already have the elastic stretched from the first pass
you don’t need to worry about it now. Just make sure that both
elastic and the fabric are evenly fed trough your machine. You
can stretch both of them lightly to make sure there won’t be any
wrinkles when you sew.

10
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
24.

This is how the band elastic should look like after the two rows of
zig-zag stitch on it and with the strap elastic in it’s place.

25.
Before attaching the elastic in the underarm area check if your
closure fits properly with the end of the band. You should have
the fabric on the band piece extending exactly the width of your
elastic at that point as this is the amount of fabric that will be
folded under after sewing on the elastic. If your closure is smaller
you can just cut away a bit of fabric to make them match.

TIP: you can use closures with various widths when you make sure
that they fit with the pattern. The end of the band piece should
have the width of your closure + two times the elastic width. If
necessary draw a new line on the pattern piece marking your
desired width on the band and gradually join this point with the
rest of the pattern piece.

26.

Sew the elastic in the underarm and band pieces the same way
you did before. Start on the right side of the bralette on the first
row of zig-zag stitch, cut away the extra fabric under the elastic
and fold it on the other side and do the second row of stitching.
Don’t sew over the strap elastic, leave it out because we’ll be
attaching it on the next step.

27
12.

Using a straight stitch (2 length) sew the strap elastic in place

over the elastic you just sewed on the upper part of the band
piece on the inside of the bralette. You can sew a double row of
back and forth stitches to make it extra secure.

11
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com
28.

Making sure that the strap elastic is not twisted, pull the lace end
of the inner cup piece (A) through the ring attached to your
elastic for about 1.5 cm (2/3 in). Secure it in place with some
rows of straight stitching (2 length) on the wrong side of the bra-
lette.

29.

The eyes of the closure go on the right band piece and the
hooks on the left band piece when you have your bralette with
the right side up. (Remember that the eyes will be seen on the
right side of the bralette and the hooks will be seen on the wrong
side of the bralette.)

Open the little pocket of the closure and slip the band piece
inside it. Sew a double row of straight stitching (2.5 length) to join
them.

30. The hooks are sewn on the wrong side of the bralette to prevent
the machine being damaged with the metal parts. Again, slip
the band piece inside the closure and sew one row of straight
stitching (2.5 length) to join them.

TIP: there’s not so much room to do the stitching as the hooks are
on the way of your sewing machines presser foot. You can either
use a narrower foot, move the needle position away from the
hooks to be able to sew more on the border or you can try the
zipper foot to help you at that point

*When sewing on a closure with raw edges, pass a narrow zig-

zag stitch (3 width, 1 length) over the edges.

31.

That’s it, you have successfully sewn a lace bralette. Congratula-

tions!

Share your work on Instagram with #hannabralette and tag

@studiocostura so I can see your makes!

12
HANNA BRALETTE Studio Costura Patterns© www.studiocostura.com