I’m really excited to share this guest-post with you today, because I think that many of you will find it useful AND because it’s written by one of my real-life best friends! Sarah is teaching us how to convert a regular bra into a nursing bra. You can make the conversion in less than an hour and for less than $5! I love her back-story as to why she decided to figure out how to do this, but if you are here strictly for the tutorial, scroll down to the photos! * This post contains affiliate links *
Image credit:
Bra shopping… I hate it. I don’t know anybody who who doesn’t dislike it. Even on the best day it’s a frustrating experience that leaves my arms and sides sore from all the on-and-off strap pulling.
Now add pregnancy.
Awesome.
In the space of one calendar year (which included 1 miscarriage, 1 newly under-active thyroid, and one 41 week pregnancy) I bought 4 completely different sized bras. Four. And I waited as log as possible (as. long. as. possible.) before getting a new one, so let’s just say they weren’t consecutive sizes.
Have you ever noticed that there are about 7 thousand different combinations of bra companies, styles, and sizes? Just for your regular-wear-every-day-don’t-need-special-straps-or-anything bras. Women of every shape and size have a reasonable expectation of finding and being able to afford at least one bra that fits correctly.
Now add pregnancy.
Your choices shrink to a handful of manufacturers, most of which are only available online. How is a woman who is a different size and shape every day of her pregnancy and for several months thereafter supposed to be able to buy a bra online and get something that not only fits ON her but also gives sufficient support and comfort (let’s not talk boob comfort for preggo boobs… most women I know would claim there’s no such thing!) without cutting off the all-important circulation for healthy milk production and mastitis prevention?!?!?
I digress.
When my son was 2 months old my mom took me nursing-bra shopping. We waited that long to make sure ‘the girls’ would be the same approximate size for the rest of my time nursing so we wouldn’t have to go through this again.
We skipped the typical places that didn’t have bras in my size (I needed something like a 38 or 40 G… not super unreasonable given that I started as a 36 D before pregnancy/milk/etc.) and went straight to the specialty lingerie stores advertising extended sizes. There were 3 in Houston that also advertised nursing bras. Houston, the fourth largest city in the US. You’d think that if I’m going to find something to fit, I’d be able to find it here. And while I’m not trim, I’m certainly not the largest woman to ever birth a baby and want to nurse. Not only did they not have bras in my size (WHY do most bra companies, even the ones that are nursing bra specialists, stop at a DD cup size? What do the women do who started at a DD before pregnancy do?!?) but they also were super squeamish about my baby coming in the store with me. Ugh.
After an extremely frustrating day that made me feel like a giant leaking cow we finally paid over $120 EACH for two non-nursing bras at a specialty store that sent them away for 2 weeks to “customize” them into nursing bras.
Now I’m a broke giant leaking cow.
And do you know what my first thought was when I saw the bras two weeks later? “Wow, I could have done that.” And right there I vowed I would never buy an outrageously priced bra to have it customized or an ill-fitting nursing bra again. Never again.
Never. Again.
So this time around, I didn’t.
This time, I went to the bra store that I usually buy from. And bought bras that fit comfortably. I even bought them on sale, paying about $60 for FOUR of them.
Over the next few days I modified them into nursing bras that are more comfortable, sturdier, and more wearable (lightly lined cups work WAY better for perkiness, leakiness and hiding nursing pads). Each conversion took me between 60 and 90 minutes, including taking pictures and re-pacifying the baby (to buy me a few more minutes to finish) and looking at the demolished $120 bra I used as an example to figure out a reasonable method including improvements.
Total investment: 90 minutes and less than $5!
Granted, I already had a sewing machine, needle, and thread. I think this would be a little difficult to hand sew, but it’s pretty easy with a machine.
So… hopefully my experience has made you chuckle and this tutorial with save you both time shopping and money spent on your next round of nursing bras.
How to Convert Your Favorite Bra Into a Nursing Bra:
Supplies:
1 regular bra that actually fits you
1 bra extender (2 parallel hooks&eyes for each bra – available at most sewing stores, WalMart and Amazon)
Thread
Sewing machine
Scissors
Seam ripper
Instructions
- Using scissors or seam ripper, remove hook end of bra extender. Don’t just cut it off – you want the folded part to make a little pocket to go over the part of the bra you’re about to cut.
- Connect the hooks to the bottom metal eye and cut each row apart. Trim the length to be only 2 metal eyes.
- Cut the strap of the bra where it meets the top of the cup.
- Fold the little pocket part of the hook over the cut on the bra cup. Be sure the hook is ‘hooking’ toward the inside of the bra/toward your body.
- Zig-zag stitch around all three open edges of the hook piece. This will secure the hook to the bra cup as well as prevent unraveling on the cut side of the hook fabric. Do your best to get this little guy on straight (or at the angle that the strap was coming off the bra cup) or it’ll be less comfortable when you wear it.
- Zig-zag stitch across the raw edge of the strap.
- Center the metal eye piece on the strap so that the bottom metal eye is as low as possible without extending past the strap. (Note: Double check to make sure you’re sewing it on to the front of the strap!)
- Zig-zag around all four edges of the metal-eye piece. I recommend also reinforcing (with a straight stitch) across the strap where the metal eye sticks into the fabric… get as close as possible to try to actually sew the hook in itself… in the overpriced fancy bras I have, these metal eyes started to come out after a couple of months of on-off-on-off for nursing)
- Check all seams for threads or anything that might be itchy and trim it now!
Note: I was worried that without tethering the strap to the base of the cup that I would lose the strap during nursing. That’s only happened twice in the 27 months I’ve spent nursing so far. It seems that the shirt sleeve/collar holds the strap relatively in place.
–Sarah
(Paula, here again!) Thank you Sarah, for this awesome tutorial!!!
So now you just have to find a bra that fits, the good thing is, you have so many more options and you can even fall back on your old favorite brands!
Are you ready to give this a try yourself?
If you need a new nursing pillow or breastfeeding cover, you can get both for FREE from my affiliate. At checkout, use the promo code: BEAUTY1
This will make the pillow and cover free, you’ll only play shipping!!!
These are affiliate links, and I will get rewarded if you choose to get a FREE nursing cover or FREE nursing pillow! You can’t beat free!!!
If you have an older child and a baby, see how to make your own busy bag for your toddler to use while you breastfeed the baby.
More essentials for breastfeeding moms here.
Nervous about baby biting while breastfeeding? Check out our gentle way to handle it by clicking the image below.
Veronica says
Awesome! I have a stack I’ve been needing to do this to and just haven’t figured it out by myself. Thank you!
Sarah says
You’re welcome! I hope they work out easily for you!
Veronica says
I found a way to make them even cheaper! I asked my Freecycle group if anyone had any old bras they didn’t want that I could rip apart and I got some givers! Hooray!
Gracie says
Best idea ever! I am a curvey gal and even the nursing bras I ordered did not fit right and support like I needed them to. All I wanted was for the brand I usually wear to make a nursing bra! Now they do! (They just don’t know it.) Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for this tutorial! :) <3
Sarah says
Hah! You took the words right out of my mouth… I have a stack of nursing bras that don’t fit from my first time around! So frustrating! I had SO MANY conversations with my husband saying “WHY doesn’t this company make nursing bras?!? They would have a total corner on the market!”
So glad this helps – let us know how yours turn out!
chrissy@thepearlblog says
if only i stayed the same size when nursing this would be great. instead i have to by 3 different bras. one for during pregnancy,one for right after the baby. and one for when nursing then hopefully they shrink down enough to wear my regualr bra again!!!
Sarah says
Yes, I had the same problem… the band is too small during pregnancy but then is huge (while the cups are too small) after delivery. That’s why I waited 6-8 weeks after delivery to choose new bras and fix these. I have friends who just live in sports bras for a while until everything evens out. I hope your regular bra works for you again!
Stephanie @ Six Figures Under says
What a wonderful idea! I loathe bra shopping (just ask my husband), especially for nursing bras because there are almost no options.
Of course, my pre-pregnancy bra wouldn’t fit while I’m nursing, but being able to convert a regular bra increases the options.
I am pinning this for future reference!!
Sarah says
Hope it helps when you need it :) Yes, ‘loathe’ is the appropriate word for bra shopping!!! I feel your pain :)
Miranda @ Someday Crafts says
I was searching for nursing bras just a week ago since our son came unexpectedly and I found one…that doesn’t *really* fit. I didn’t think I would be able to find the typical nursing bra clips in a timely manner, but I like the idea of using those hooks instead! Thanks for linking up at Whatever Goes Wednesday. We’ll be featuring this over at Someday Crafts tomorrow! :)
Sarah says
Thanks for featuring this! I hope it does well for you :)
Yes – I thought about the nursing bra clips and went looking for them… when I realized they were only online (or at least not sold anywhere near me), and that my ridiculously expensive bras had just used regular bra hooks, I ran to the fabric store down the street and came home to make one that night!
Amesy says
30B here.
This is brilliant and so simple. THANK YOU!!!
Sarah says
You’re welcome! Glad to help :)
Shelley says
This is genius thank you! I will have to consider this for part of my cosplay ideas too depending on how long I end up breastfeeding. Now if only it was easy to find bras that fit even before I became preggers [30GG ordering bras from across seas England T_T]. Let me tell you, I can’t rock a sports bra much longer its killing my shoulders! Only at 4mos so I’m seriously debating what to do. Any helpful tips? Like, how much did your rib cage expand? I’d hate to waste $$$ to not fit a month later. This kid just went up to my diaphragm and I’m already up a band size. Kids 2oz bigger then average and long as heck!
Sarah says
Hi Shelley! First, congratulations :) I would suggest buying a bra one size larger than you usually wear and using an extender for the band during pregnancy. Your band size should stay somewhat similar for the next few months since the baby will grow out more than up for a while. The last 2 months you may have more band growth, especially if you have a short waist. Best wishes for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery!
Becki says
This is why I just have given up and wear tank tops with built in bras. Might give this a shot if I can actually find a normal bra that doesn’t make me feel like I have a torture device on. In the meantime though, no bra is a good bra lol.
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Infofactshub says
this is great idea thank you