The Famous Bra Purse
Directions for Making the Original Bra Purse
Materials List:
Under wire bra with personality and some "body", size to be determined by what you want to carry, whether it is a lipstick and a credit card, or wallet, hairbrush, and mouthwash.
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Basin of cold water to be used in conjunction with the hot glue gun. Ouch!
Heavy needle and thread
Scissors
Embellishments: whatever speaks to you, sequins, beads, feathers, fringe, lace, birds, butterflies, flowers, etc.. Anything you can carry is appropriate.
The bra purse is extremely simple to make as there are no mistakes, only opportunities to express yourself and have fun! The first thing I did was to cut away the back of the bra, leaving perhaps 3/4 of an inch of Lycra that is then pulled over a thin application of glue and into the cups of the bra. The backs of the shoulder straps are severed at this point and left attached to the front to see if they will be of service later. The hinge at the front of the bra can now be tucked in and secured to the structure of the wires with a bit of hot glue. Now is an excellent time to attach any dangling embellishment from the bottom of the bra with the hot glue gun. By now you will probably have used the basin of cold water. Glue guns and sticks leave an immediate and painful impression, you may find toothpicks or other implements helpful. Fold the bra together, matching the curvature of the under wires, when you have a good feel for how it should fit, apply a healthy bead of hot glue and stick that rascal together. You will want to hold it firmly until the glue does it’s job.
You now have a bra purse, you still need to develop a handle, a closure and embellish. You will find that you can reattach the straps to the back of the bra with needle and thread, I took the back closure and glued both sides from the inside across the top of the purse for a "hook and eye" closure, if you choose to do this, just experiment with the length and cut away the excess from the already cut edges. You can also attach one side, apply a heavy article (perhaps a piece of jewelry) and let it hang across the top to keep the bra purse closed.
You have all the structural work done and now comes the fun part. Making it your own, one of a kind of "bra art" accessory. Tassels were my first addition (suggestion of the husband - now, what is that about?). Use the glue gun, use needle and thread, or if you are making an "office" model, paper clips. Your imagination is the only limitation to what you can accomplish.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!
