7. note, binders
this is not the most updated version of this post go to my masterlist to find the most updated version
whats this post for? its notes to my masterlist of recommendations
this is going to bit a complicated one
i want to start with saying binders compress your chest but, in doing so they compress your lungs and ribs too. they take all that weight putting it on your shoulders and back, this could be a problem.
if you have shoulder and back pain, or if your chest is already giving you back problems because of its weight. if your chest is big, you might not be able to really compress it with a binder safely too. or you might live in a humid or hot climate so compressing your chest just isn't a option, it's a risk for passing out of getting heat stroke. if any of those are the case, i would recommend taping instead of binding. here is the link where i go into detail about that, and while there is a weight limit with binding there isn't a weight or size limit with tape, so don't worry about that. if you are in a hotter climate or going through hot summers and springs remember, to stay hydrated, stay under shade, and check in with yourself every now and then. if youre feeling tired take a break and go inside, heat stroke can really sneak up on you. heres more tips on that.
one last thing, i know someone who tapes and binds, while that is absolute hell in any hot climate, and probably blows sensory wise, if you still want to bind but don't want that weight on your shoulders there might be a way to make this work. Do not use the tape normally how you would to bind, just use one strip for each side enough to keep your chest up and apart in place before putting on the binder, again i don't recommend this, but it's a second option. if you're wearing gc2b you can do this to keep your chest from sliding around and pressing in the middle of your torso(that's why that guy did it) it's basically how you would usually tape but way loser and only using one piece per side.
at the top of the market theres a handful of different binders, i wouldnt say theres a perfect one they all have pros and cons and ill go over them all and explain them and then explain why i chose my recommendations. also if theres a binder company you know and want to know about or suggest let me know and ill add it to my list.
the one thing i do want to say before i get into what binders i recommend is i want to say what binders you should not use under any circumstances. binders with cilps in the sides are not safe because theyre not made of material that rises with your chest when you breathe. if youre panting or gasping for air you wont be able to get enough air in, and thats incredibly dangerous, do not wear binders with clips in them. you see these alot being sold as cosplay binders on amazon, be careful dont get anything with clips.
if you do get a binder off amazon be aware that's a very 50/50 option when it comes to safety. i really don't want people picking binders from a site you can't trust with safety like amazon, because theyre not checking if the things they sell are safe or even from the right company. even if it is a binder on amazon that's being sold as a binder from one of the big sites like gc2b or outfitters, it might not be the company. there's a issue where people on there sell fake versions of products, so you really don't know if what you're getting is actually from that company. and you really shouldn't gamble with something like this when your safety is on the line, if the binder isnt from the company it says its from it might not be made right. the people selling fake products cut corners they make something cheap on purpose, you dont want a cheaply made binder, it could hurt your chest by not compressing correctly.
first off is the classic gc2b this one used to be what everyone recommended but in about 2019-2020 they had a drop in quality and then the fabric wasn't as comfortable and the stitching would unravel overtime, and they'd stretch out too. But since then gc2b has made new lines with better quality, back to how the quality used to be before they dipped, the only difference is this new line is more expensive. getting into the fit and feel gc2b is low under the armpits and lets the fat under there spill out. gc2b also doesnt have a natural looking compression over a certain chest size, if you have more fat the binder squishes your pecs into one mass in the middle of your chest. theres also the fact this binder rolls up and presses on your lower ribs too worse then other binders do, ive heard thats the most painful thing. because of those issues id really only recommend gc2b to people who dont have a lot of fat on their chests and sides under their armpits. last thing gc2b is about average with the fabric texture it could be better but it could also be worse.
next is underworks, underworks is a binder company made for intersex people to bind and because of that and the brans quality sometimes there'll be intersexism in the reviews saying the quality is bad because the binders weren't made for trans people they were just made for men. which isn't how that works, and is also really rude. in reality trans men are men, and intersex people can be trans and or men and or women and or neither and or really anything, there are lots of genders someone could be including intersex people. and the quality of underworks has nothing to do with the fact it was made for intersex people because chest tissue is still just chest tissue at the end of the day. anyone can end up with any chest size thats just based on genetics and either way, it still needs to be binded with care and comfort no matter who its on, its simply not relevant who the company was made for or by. before spectrum outfitters got big underworks was generally considered second place to gc2b until gc2bs quality drop. now onto quality, underworks is known to have the stiffest and scratchiest binders these binders really hurt and mess with people who are sensitive to fabric. underworks also causes the most injuries because its the most restricting out of all the binders. some people like how restricting underworks is because it binds more, just be careful and understand if youre wearing underworks that binder will not expand with you when youre gasping for air, or if theres accident. the armholes are smaller then gc2bs so you dont have the underarm fat bulging out and because its tighter you dont need to worry about your chest bulging in it or it not looking right like with gc2b. so i wouldnt recommend this but if i did it would be to someone with a flat or medium chest who can handle scratchy fabric and lots of compression.
lastly spectrum outfitters, this one is usually most peoples favorite. this binder has the most comfortable texture fabric and the smallest armholes so there isnt the issue of fat bulging out the armholes like with gc2b. this one compresses nicely and looks the most realistic but it doesnt hurt or compress to tight like with underworks, these ones arent as restricting and even are less restricting then gc2b. some people like that and some people dont. but out of all three this one compresses the most realistically and looks the most right under a shirt. thats why most people like it so much.
there were other binder companies i looked into that i didnt put on this list. tomboyx misgenders people alot and their binders arent actually binders theyre more compression bras. ive seen people say for them just doesnt compress much either but is still way better them tomboyx.
lastly altering and problem solving with binders, i already mentioned using tape to keep your chest from squishing to the middle and forming that bump on your sternum that gc2b causes. but i didnt mention that with alot of binders theyre meant to be long enough to cover everything which is good but sometimes they come in too long and the fabric rolls up at the bottom putting pressure on your rib cage that can really hurt, that and the issue with the side fat spilling out is alterations. make sure you have a good needle and strong thread if you don’t have good thread you can use floss
you can alter binder by taking the shoulder straps in. to do this flip your binder inside out and pinch about half a inch of fabric, pin it and sew make sure the extra fabric you pinched is on the inside, and do not cut or sew into the front fabric panel you should sew behind it not through it because it breaks and frays really easily. now i wouldn't cut this unless youre willing to hem it but thats that. and a warning this will also make the neckline higher on your binder so make sure youre not taking to much and you only take one half inch at a time you can always go back and change it as long as you didnt cut and hem your alterations. I have images for this!! Scroll down to the bottom for them! another alteration you could make would be if the binder isnt tight enough. you could take in fabric from the sides (basically the same thing you just read about with the shoulder straps except its from the sides instead), flip the binder inside out, pinch and sew, i wouldn't cut off the excess. last alteration, hemming the binder to make it shorter and get rid of the band that rolls up. this is the only alteration that should cut into the panel of fabric on the front of your binder, that panel frays easily so you will need to hem it or get fray away for the edges, id only do this if you really knew what you were doing and youre good at sewing. im not really good at sewing, and you need to hem stretchy and or thicker fabrics differently its a whole process. heres a video to explain it better.
almost completely forgot i need to talk about how to wash binders ok so everyone does this differently but generally the two best ways are by hand in a sink or in a machine, some people say not to wash your binder in a machine but other people say its ok. its that classic argument of is it ok to wash delicate/hand washed stuff in the machine, is the hand wash or delicate cycle good enough? for some people it is they throw their binder in there and it does the job, other people say you want to put it in on delicate or in a mesh bag or pillowcase first as if you were washing a stuffed animal, but some people say you should only wash by hand, with warm water and detergent in a sink or bucket, let it sit a couple hours rinse out with cold water hang to dry overnight. id say this sort of thing depends on how careful you want to be with your binder, if you put it through the machine its going to be rougher on it then if you hand washed it. it also comes down to if you can afford to wash your binder in the washer vs the sink, if someone you live with goes through your laundry dont use the machine, and if someone goes through your bathroom dont use the sink/bucket. lastly if youre using a gc2b binder i would recommend only washing it by hand because the fabric and thread on those deteriorate over time, even the good old ones or the super new lines. Theyre just really more delicate then other binders. and underworks specifically is really really tough material so thats the only one id say for sure youd be fine machine washing. no matter how you wash it you never want to put it in the dryer thatll make it shrink. what id recommend is hanging it in your shower on the showerhead, or if you have shelves or something like that it works too, so youre not dripping water on the floor. if you have a dehumidifier you can use that stick it next to where you hung your binder and turn it on itll dry it way faster so you wont have to wait a whole night. heres how someone else does all this.
firstly i made seprate post going over these same things but I’m fixing up a friends old gc2b I asked permission to take pictures for this blog here’s what I was talking about with the thread deteriorating over time this is a 2.0 btw but it’s been through the washing machine consistently for about maybe three years
after a while gc2bs thread will disintegrate like this if you’re putting your binder through the wash it’ll happen faster but it will happen eventually that’s why it’s important to know how to fix this again I’d use this video and then make sure the thread that’s sticking out and unraveling is tied to the thread you use for the repair. This is difficult to explain what I do is I cut the disintegrated ends off and then when I’m done with the repair I sew and then tie through the ends that are sticking out from what we cut off the og thread that way it doesn’t keep unraveling (the two common problem spots for deterioration is at the bottom side where the two different fabrics meat each other and the bottom of the armholes) mine last thing on the outside you see two lines those are two different threads and there’s another on the inside so three different threads in total so don’t miss any when you tie them off
For the alterations this one is what taking in the shoulder straps looks like you can see the patern of the binder goes at a diagonal but you don’t want to follow that you want to take in fabric in a straight line so it’s even and it still fits the form of your shoulder I usually take out half a inch at a time you can always go back and take more and like I said before I wouldn’t recommend cutting off what you take in and for here you don’t need to use the video this is just a basic stitch pretty sure it’s called a running stitch just in and out make sure you go through both sides good luck pick a good thread you can also use floss
theres more!!! i have a post explaining this in detail but if you find hemming and finished edges that arent done correctly or arent actually on and fixing the edges they should(a common issue in gc2b binders) theres a way to fix that the hemming tutorial is here and the finishing tutorial is here
for refrence youd be using the catch stith and blanket stitch