Standard measurements of a bra strap
Full strap
After having a client call the other day, standard measurements came up in the conversation. Like were there any? And although there isn’t much standardisation in lingerie design, I can share with you what measurements I start by.
Today we will look at the bra strap, often an after thought, however get it wrong and too short the sliders will be digging into your shoulders after you’ve adjusted the bra strap, or too long you won’t be able to tighten the strap enough. Both an uncomfortable solution.
The bra strap should only take 20% of the breast weight in a bra, and is designed mainly to hold your bra in place not fully support your breast, that’s the job of the under-band, but they still play an important part in bra as mentioned above.
So straps, when writing a spec sheet, I usually have three measurements on the spec:
Strap cut at…
Strap finished at…
Sliders finished at…
The reason for all three measurements is that some factories, like to work from the cut measurement and others like to know what the strap is finished at. Number three is where the sliders sit on the strap.
So on a bra that is a full adjustable strap I would start at these measurements
Strap cut at 35-40cm
Strap finished at 28-35cm
Sliders finished at 5cm
The strap gets cut at 35-40cm , depending on how stretchy the strap, you don’t it to be too long that the adjustable sliders sit on the shoulders when adjusted. The strap finished it always approximately 7cm smaller that the cut strap measurement, this allows for the adjuster to to be set at 5cm and for the strap to be attached to the slider and front apex or ring. I always set the sliders at 5cm, this allows for even hanging on a hanger and tends to give the wearer not having to adjust it too much when they place it on.
Slider finished at is a personal/brand preference, I have worked with brands that like the sliders to all the way to the front so technically 1/2 the strap measurement as they find that the bras don’t fall off the hangers as much. Just remember that what ever your slider measurement is will affect the finished strap measurement.
Split strap
A split strap bra is where the the strap is literally two straps, the front strap and the back strap. Reasons for two straps? Could be you want a decorative front strap, satin covered bra strap, or want more rigidity in the the strap if you’re designing for bigger boobs so the boobs don’t bounce as much, as the there is not stretch in the front strap. Or you could simply want two different colour bra straps for design.
Main problem you will encounter for split straps is to ensure that the front strap goes up over the shoulder and doesn’t end on top of the shoulder, as this will be mega uncomfortable as you will have a ring on top of the shoulder with the whole weight of your boobs on this. Second thing is to ensure that the back strap isn’t too long, as this means that you won’t be able to tighten the strap enough and the straps won’t stay in place.
So measurements I start with…
Front strap: Finished at 20cm - this allows the strap to go up over the shoulder.
Back strap": Cut at 23 - this allows the strap to be short enough to not be fully tightened, as if you are wearing the bra with the strap fully tighten, you have no where to go if the elastic stretches.
If you wish to learn mores about the components on a bra. Check out ‘The anatomy of the bra’.
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