#watson bra

[coffeeandcafts]

Made a thing

Pattern is Watson from Cloth Habit, lace fabric is upcycled from a shirt i never wore and black lining bit is from leftovers

[sewuniversebacktogether]

new underwear...

[whennnow]

Floral Rib Knit Pt 2 - That's Doctored Watson to You

September 25, 2025

[Image ID: a cream floral printed bra with coordinating elastics laid out flat. /end ID]

Yes, I do think I'm funny.

Anyway, I've seen a few people do version of the Watson Bra that are pull-ons instead of having a back closure. That really appealed to me because as much as I love the Watson bras I've made, bra closures aren't super comfy to sleep in and they're another finding to buy to match your fabric.

Unfortunately, none of the people who have made this closure-less adaptation have written up their process (that I can find), so I was starting from scratch.

My Theory

Using a medium-stretch fabric in the cradle gives you a bit of wiggle room already to get a closure-less bra over your head and shoulders, so the only alteration should be the back band (which is already made of a medium-stretch fabric).

In theory, you should just need to measure how much length the closed closure adds between the band on either side, add that amount of fabric to what would be the center back of the band piece, and cut your new pattern piece as one piece on the fold.

My Method

All the Watsons I've made so far fit best on the loosest hook (that means I'll be able to hook it tighter as the elastic starts to wear out).

To give myself a bit more ease, I measured the total width of the closure on the middle hook instead. That came to a nice even 2 inches.

See that crossed-out paragraph? That makes no sense. How would making the closure length smaller give me more room in the band??? [Spoiler alert: It turned out fine. It's less than half and inch difference. But it was still nonsense.]

I traced the band pattern piece onto paper, then marked out the seam allowance at the center back (1/4 inch) and "removed" it (aka erased that part of the tracing.

Where I removed the seam allowance, I added half of the bra closure width (half of 2in is 1in) leaving the addition the same height as the height of the band where it was attached. There's no need to add the seam allowance back, since I'll be cutting this pattern piece on the fold of the fabric.

I made sure to note on my new pattern piece where the fold would be and that was it! (I hoped.)

Construction

I used the same floral rib knit as the underwear I just posted for my main fabric. The whole thing was lined in powernet (a mix of leftover terracotta powernet and new white powernet which turned out way cuter than I expected). The elastics were all left over from the terracotta kit as well.

Assembly of the Watson bralette was exactly the same as usual except for the back closure and the straps.

Obviously there is no back closure, which eliminates the last step of the usual process. The strap attachment needs to be adjusted, though.

I attached the straps right before bed on the Monday of Labor Day weekend and made a bunch of dumb mistakes because I was tired and running out of thread, so I won't tell you how I did it. Sorry.

[Image ID: the same bra as the above picture, turned inside out and laid flat to show the mismatched lining. /end ID]

Final Thoughts

By some minor miracle, this method of converting the Watson bra to a closure-less bralette worked really well!

It fits, it's comfy, and I still absolutely adore this fabric/elastic combo.

I'll definitely be making closure-less Watson bralettes in the future, but there's one last adjustment I'd like to make - keeping the center back band the same height as where it attaches to the cradle, instead of narrowing where the straps would be attached on the original. I think that might make it feel... sturdier somehow. More supportive.

Maybe next time I'll attach the straps in a sensible way and tell you how I did it.

I'm thrilled with how this turned out, though!

I have a few more (non-lingerie) pieces to make out of this fabric, and I have some in reserve for an underwire bra. The bra is probably a next year thing, though. I have historical projects that need my attention.

[ummx2intimates]

Making The Watson Bra

I made two versions one with mesh band and 2nd version with lace band. both in size 12B.

I used up left over lace & mesh fabric from my Sierra Bra. (Some lace was even still stuck to mesh lol) I wanted to have a lacy neckline so I lined up neck edge of inner cup pattern to scallop edge of galloon lace. I spent a lot of time figuring out placement and made sure scallop edge of left and right inner cup pieces were symmetrical. I also factored in seam allowance as I didn’t want neckline to finish mid scallop at CF. This was something I didn’t think about beforehand and realised as I was laying out pattern pieces. 

I also used adhesive spray to glue together mesh band and stabilizer lining and cut them out together. I followed the sewing instructions that came with the pattern but did some things finishings differently. I lined cups with mesh and bagged out(concealed) cup seams. Then zig zagged edge of lace. I attached underwire casing even though I’m not using an underwire. I thought it would be more comfortable, hide seam and have slightly more underbust support. I top stitched underwire casing from the right side. I tried from the inside first at it looked too wide and messy. Looked a lot better when I redid (yes I unpicked it) this from the right side. I bagged out side seams of mesh band so they don’t irritate (and just looks nice). On 2nd version I added wirecasing at side seams of lace band.

Trouble Shooting

I stupidly ironed a seam and melted a hole in fabric(and it stuck to iron, making it a sticky mess). Had to cut out pieces and start again. The thing I like about making bras is that the pieces are small and don’t take that long to cut out. So I was back on track within 15min. So yeah, I learned my lesson and will never again will try and iron seams.  

As you can see mesh band finishing is a lot smoother. Lace band has excess outer fabric that would need to be removed through pattern. Wirecasing at side seams wasn't a great idea and just folded when you sat down. Inserting boning would have fixed this problem. 

Handy tip

When you’re bagging out(concealing) cup seams, keep inner cup panel pieces in lace and mesh lining adhered together. Don’t pull these pieces apart. Then wedge these adhered pieces in between outer cup pieces (right sides against each other) Sorry should have taken a photo of this

Supplies

- Watson Pattern http://shop.clothhabit.com/products/watson-bra-bikini

- 5.5inch(14cm) width stretch lace galloon – Arte Crafts Bra Making Supplies. http://bramaking.supplies/

- Mesh – spandex house NYC  http://spandexhouse.com/ I’ve never seen so much stretch fabrics in my life. It was overwhelming. They have a website and ship internationally which is good!

- Stabiliser – Arte Crafts Bra Making Supplies http://bramaking.supplies/

- Picot elastics – Arte Crafts Bra Making Supplies

 - Gold rings & sliders – Arte Crafts Bra Making Supplies 

- Hook & eye – Arte Crafts Bra Making Supplies 

-  10mm strap elastic – Pacific trims. Again never seen so many trims in my life. They also have an online store

- X-press it adhesive spray – Art Shop

[ummx2intimates]

I told her i would happily take the blame!! So nice of her to mention me, it's only been my first bra post on the Bra Making Forum! I luv this forum, everyone is so nice and encouraging. I wish i knew them irl. She's inspired me to keep up with my bra posts!! Hopefully i'll have another one up this weekend. Funnily enough, on The Watson Bra!! Molly's Watson bra looked very cute btw. It was in a pale pink micro with cream binding. Like strawberries and cream

[spinstitcherr]

wasted like, an hour and a half wandering about in joann’s trying to find all the bits and bobs for the watson bra, found 1 part (the strap rings/sliders, which weren’t even the right size) and some fabric (which was on sale but not that great on sale) and so I ditched it and bought some quilting fabric and a zip instead to finish two other projects, then came home and spent about another hour trying to figure out where to buy all said bits and bobs for reasonable prices on the internet.

(seriously. it takes 3 kinds of elastic, 3 different fabrics, a hook and eye set and rings/sliders. SO MANY BITS) 

And then broke and just bought the damn kit I was looking at, which wasn’t as much as I thought due to exchange rates being in my favour. so it was $33 instead of $41 shipped.