The king has gone mad with power, and is loathed by the people. The aristocracy has freed itself from taxation. Their enemies are singled out and jailed. His majesty squabbles with his neighbors for territory. A religious war in the Middle East continues to go poorly. A deadly illness spread by rats has arrived in Europe. The year, somehow, is 2026 AD.
How to Make Your Own Binder that Fits Well and Looks Good
A while back I was in need of some new binders and thought hey, I bet I can make one way cheaper than buying it from somewhere (especially cus some of the ones Iāve bought in the past didnāt really fit right). Except when I started looking for a binder patterns online, I was very surprised that I reallyā¦ couldnāt find many that looked very nice lol. Most of them had really wrinkled necklines, or didn't bind well, or just overall looked weird. A lot of the patterns also required a serger, which I don't have.
So I just said fuck it and made my own pattern! And it ended up being relatively easy! And the binders fit REALLY WELL and are comfortable to wear, even for long periods. The neckline doesn't show under shirts with loose collars, and the bottom hem doesn't gap or stick out. Here's me wearing one:
(plus I was able to make myself 5 of them for a total of like ~$50.)
So I figured I could throw together a guide to help out anyone else who wanted to make their own binder but was dissatisfied with the patterns available!
Disclaimer: This tutorial is going to assume a baseline level of sewing experience, and also will require access to a sewing machine. It is not a complicated pattern, but it will most likely require some tweaking and adjustments after you make the first one. Donāt be afraid to make alterations to make it fit better!
This tutorial is for a gc2b-style half-tank binder. It could be altered to be a full-tank binder, but all instructions will be for the half-tank design.
Materials needed:
Stretchy fabric, probably listed as 'athletic fabric' (I use this kind from Joannās. Most athletic stretch fabrics should work, look for around 80% nylon/20% spandex blends)
Stiff fabric (I use this shirting cotton because I like how lightweight it is. If you want something a little stiffer with more structure, you can use a cotton or cotton/poly blend twill like this. gc2b binders use twill for theirs.)
Lightweight fusible interfacing (I use this kind) (get FUSIBLE not sew-in)
Fusible webbing like Pellon Wonder-Web (this is technically optional but it WILL make your life easier when youāre sewing - just make sure to get the kind with the paper backing!!!)
āBut kiwisoap thats 4 whole kinds of materials, surely I donāt need that many!ā Ok sure, you can probably get by without the fusible web and interfacing, but consider: they are both dirt cheap (im talking like $1-2/yard), they will make it much easier to sew the final product, and will give you an overall better-looking result. This tutorial is written with the assumption that youāll use them.
"How much fabric will I need?" Measure the circumference of your chest below your armpits. Add 6 inches just to be safe. This is the yardage of stretch fabric youāll need, and should give you enough material to make at least 3 binders without much excess left over. You will need around half as much stiff fabric.
Other supplies:
Big Paper (for drawing the pattern)
Flexible measuring tape
Sewing machine
Iron
Pins
Step 1: Measuring
You will need 4 main measurements for this pattern.
A) Measure the circumference of your chest just below your armpits, then divide the number in half. This will be the widest part of the pattern.
B) Measure from the top of your shoulder down to where you want the binder to end. For most folks, this will usually be around the natural waist (narrowest part of the torso), about 3-6 inches above the belly button. This will be the overall height of the pattern.
C) Measure the distance from below your armpit to where you want the binder to end. This will determine where the arm hole starts.
D) Measure the circumference of your waist where you want the binder to end, then divide the number in half.
So for example, after dividing A and D in half, my measurements are 17", 15", 7", and 14.5".
Next:
Subtract one inch from measurement A - This will help provide some compression. You might need to take it in even further depending on how it fits, but one inch is a safe starting point. I take mine in around 1.5 inches.
Subtract half an inch from measurement D. This will help prevent the bottom edge of the binder from gapping. Again, you may need to take it in more or less, depending on your own body.
Add 1.5 inches to measurement B and one inch to measurement C. This is to account for the hems and armhole placement.
This makes my final measurements
A = 16"
B = 16.5"
C = 8"
D = 13.5"
From here on out, we are only going to be working with the measurements that we have added/subtracted to, NOT the ones we initially took.
Step 2: Drawing the Pattern
You will need a piece of paper large enough to accommodate the entire pattern. This may involve taping multiple pieces together, or using a piece of newsprint, etc.
I recommend folding the paper in half to ensure that you get a symmetrical pattern. However, this means you will need to divide measurements A and D in half again, or else youāll end up with a pattern thatās twice as wide as it should be!
Also note: the pattern is drawn with the seam allowance built in! You donāt need to add any seam allowance.
To draw the pattern:
Begin with your folded paper. Measure and mark B and C on the paper, and draw a line extending across the paper. These will be your guidelines.
Measure and mark A and D along the middle and bottom guidelines, respectively. Remember, the paper is folded, so you only use half of the measurement for A and D.
Draw a loose curve connecting the endpoints of A and D. If needed, you can also just draw a straight line between the two.
Mark the opening for the neck hole. Depending on your size, it will measure around 6-8 inches across at the top (remember to divide this in half for the folded paper) and about 5-6.5 inches deep. (mine is 6.5" across and 5.5" deep) Draw a curve to connect the two points. This part will take some tweaking and adjusting to get it to look right lol.
Measure the width of the strap - this should be somewhere between 2.5 - 4 inches wide. They will end up about 1/2ā to 3/4ā narrower once you sew them. Draw the line at a slight angle, as shown.
Connect the endpoint of the strap to the endpoint of line A with a curve like in the diagram.
This will be the pattern for the front piece.
To make the back piece, trace the front pattern, but make a very shallow curve for the neckline instead of a steep one, as shown:
The last piece is the stiff front panel. This is what provides the flattening effect of the binder. To make the pattern, trace the front pattern again. Trim 3/8ā in on the sleeves and neckline, and 3/4ā to 1ā along the bottom. This gives a flatter hem. Then trim the straps shorter by a few inches. This helps the binder lay flatter along the shoulders.
When you're done, you should have 3 pattern pieces that look approximately like this (stiff panel shown overlaid on the stretch fabric to show how it fits together).
NOTE: If you want more compression or just want to make it a bit sturdier, you can add a second panel of stretch fabric to the back piece. Just use the bottom half of the back pattern (from the widest part down to the bottom hem) to cut out another piece of stretch fabric. Attach it to the back piece with a strip of fusible webbing and a zig-zag stitch along the top.
Step 3: Putting It All Together
Once youāve made the patterns and cut out the pieces of fabric, you should have something that looks like this:
The next step is adding interfacing and fusible webbing. Use your pattern to cut out 3/8" strips to fit on the top of the straps for both pieces, and to the neckline, sleeves, and bottom hem of the back piece, as shown:
If you want to add it to the bottom hem of the front piece, it will help keep that hem flat when sewing it down later, but it's not essential.
If you choose to also use fusible webbing (WHICH I RECOMMEND), you will apply it to the stiff front panel similarly to how the interfacing was applied, ~3/8ā strips along the neckline, sleeves, and top of the straps. Cut out two strips for the neckline and sleeves, because we'll use those later too.
Iron the strips onto the front panel as shown:
Once it's on, just peel off the paper, position it webbing-side down on the stretch fabric, and iron it to fuse the two pieces together so everything stays in place while you sew. THIS MAKES IT WAY EASIER TO SEW.
After the stiff front panel is fused to the stretch fabric, youāll sew the straps of the front and back pieces together, then join the pieces along the sides. Pin the hell out of it to keep everything in place -this type of material is VERY prone to puckering.
When sewing, USE A ZIGZAG STITCH. A straight stitch will NOT WORK for stretch fabric. I adjust mine to 1.3mm long and 3.5mm wide which has worked well. If your machine doesnāt let you adjust stitch length or width, well. That sucks, I donāt really have any advice.
After you sew the front and back pieces together, you can add more fusible webbing to the front panel to help hold the hem down flat and prevent it from puckering while you sew it. Just add the strip, peel the paper off, then fold the hem over and iron it down. This part isnāt really necessary, but it does make the hems look nicer. If nothing else, I would recommend adding it to the neckline.
After that, you just fold & pin all the hems and sew them up with a zigzag stitch, then go over the raw edge at the top of the stiff panel (where we cut the straps shorter).
And thatās it! Youāre done! And now you can make your own binders whenever you want!
And hey! If you used this tutorial and wanna throw me a dollar or two on ko-fi, I wouldn't complain.
i'm going to be sick. "i started bringing it up again and they told me "noah shut up. it was one. it was one time."" that's them having to be begged for the queer character's storyline to have closure. then noah, someone that's actually from the queer community you should at least pretend to want to represent correctly, tells you it's still not right, not enough, and you shut him up because you allowed it one time already.
THEY SAID: YOU WILL HAVE A DARK CHRISTMAS. DEC 25.
THEY ALSO SAID: YOU WILL HAVE AN EMOTIONAL CHRISTMAS. JAN 7TH
JAN 6TH = VOL. 4 ANNOUNCEMENT.
JAN 7TH = VOL.4 (3 EPISODES)
ELEVEN EPISODES. ELEVEN HOURS.
Netflix will release three additional episodes to bring the total runtime up to around 11 hours. These new episodes would replace episodes 6 and 7 with the real versions ā showing what actually happened.
In those new episodes, weād see Will saving Mike from Vecna (Camazotz) and restoring his true memories. That would make the new episodes 6 and 7 canon, while the original ones become a sort of false reality or parallel timeline created by Vecna.
LET'S WISH THIS REAL EPISODE 7 IS CALLED "THE PALADIN AND THE CLERIC"!!
THAT DOESNT MEAN EPISODES 6 AND 7 ARENT CANON!! BUT SINCE THEY DONT MATCH THE OFFICIAL STORY, WE DONT CONTEMPLATE THEM IN THE RUNTIME!!
because i can be delusional one last time, here are all the inconsistencies iāve gathered so far that makes me believe that either the finale didnāt happen or was a vision or it was a tragic ending:
mike ending up like ted. even the same hairstyle.
robin suddenly dressing in frills and has long hair
rovickie break up out of nowhere when last we saw robin was promising to take her on a date
el saying goodbye to mike in her mind when the sirens were blaring and she shouldnāt have been able to do that
the voltage dial turning from grey to red
the coming out scene dialogue inconsistencies
mike being unable to tell el i love you even though that was his plot for the entirety of st4
el saying mike understands her better than anyone else when el says the opposite in st4 and her love for max is what makes her more powerful than sheās ever been
the mind flayer and vecna defeat being very underwhelming
max at the dnd game crashing out about how the campaign doesnāt make sense the way weāre crashing out.
all the wsqk clues not adding up
duffers said weāll know who opened the byers door bolt in ep1. the show still hasnāt told us
why was will framed as the exotic matter in the bridge episode drawing with an x over his heart?
why was the painting not addressed when it was wills entire st4 plot?
mike and wills eternal sunshine outfit inspirations when it led to absolutely nothing
max graduating with the boys when sheās missed a year of school
WHAT was vecnaās plan exactly? what would merging worlds do? what would it look like?
where were the demos both in the upside down and the abyss?
what about birthdaygate? why do henry and will share birthdays?
why do joyce and hopper never mention knowing henry?
what was the point of the āsnowballs to avalancheā conversation?
why did will go from hopeful to giving mike up in a day?
why do the military let them go? and why is there a memorial with eddieās name on it (as seen in BTS)?
why wouldnāt mike touch will even before the coming out? and more so after?
is mike grieving el the emotional weight of the finale? because it didnāt move me. in fact it pissed me off that he couldnāt say he loved her even then.
the duffers equating el to her powers in an interview saying she had to die. when millie herself said elās st5 arc was realising sheās more human and less superhero.
if iām missing something, feel free to reply and iāll add it in edits
edit (more):
creelby parallels with byler going unmentioned
ācan love defeat fear?ā theme in tfs, but the finale was ācan weapons defeat the mind flayer?ā
where is henryās backstory? and patty?
does will still have powers?
we never saw Will's Vecna Vision
mwtfdydg
do the kids have powers now?
is the mindflayer even dead?
the lies and contradictions in Interviews
the tape in promo
will standing like henry in shock jock and that not leading up to anything
whereās the turnbow family?
how did steve become a teacher without going to college?
what happened to owens?
what happens to the pregnant women in the lab?
how did killing the mind flayer and beheading vecna not hurt will?
everyone in the epilogue sitting with their hands like henry:
the whatzit board game in hopās cabin in the epilogue (and in mikeās basement in the epilogue)
hop moving on from elās death faster than mike, when all of st5 was spent showing us that mike barely mentions el and hop was ready to die to keep her safe.
why does the epilogue parallel the campaign at the end of season 1: 10 hours long, full of plot holes.
why do nancy and karen, mike and ted have the same hairstyles - which is also coincidentally henryās hairstyle
AI generated images in the credit rolls or at least drawn to look like AI art.
will is a magic user (illusionist) in the credits. heās never been that in the show.
the graduation robes in the epilogue being orange when in the ronance book, nancyās graduation robes are green
the blank yellow poster in the graduation scene
mikeās hand weirdly twitching all the time
volume two suddenly splitting byler and elmax when we know that mike and max have always been two of the most important people to will and el respectively.
even more inconsistencies:
karenās scar disappears in the final scene where she opens the basement door and calls the party up
the handle on the door in the basement behind the party is on the right (when itās originally on the left)
the duffers intentionally sounding stupid in interviews (saying the demos arenāt in the final battle because they didnāt anticipate it. when vecna saw through the memories of both el and hop that episode AND can spy through will)
why 12 kids? the duffers said they didnāt really think about it an they like clock imagery, but robin in the narrative specifically asks āwhy 12 kids?ā
willās vecna vision is basically the ending mike wheeler got
āand meā āand meā / āi believeā āi believeā sounding like cult chants (this is just an observation)
floors, outfits resembling chessboards.
no mention of suzie at all
whereās the 3rd waterfall in mikeās version of el escaping? if itās his fantasy, why isnāt it right?
dustin says āchaotic good and chaotic badā but itās āchaotic good and chaotic evilā (they even put the alignment in the credits) also there are three classes of chaos - chaotic neutral too.
expanding on a point before but melvalds doesnāt sell milkshakes like will said it does
will canāt enjoy getting lost in the woods
they said barbās body will return. we didnāt see it. they also said no scenes were cut in st5.
five chimes as the abyss starts to descend. last season we were told that each chime represents one victim
why are the āpopular kidsā suddenly chummy with the party? what led up to that?
why does mike hold el so awkwardly in his last conversation with her?
scene of party playing dnd and will is in his will the wise costume in the finale - not a scene that happened in the show.
credit erasing will behind mileven in the rink o mania scene
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