Galina Bra for H+ Cups

Standing near our rack at CURVE NY, the leading lingerie trade show, I heard the show’s rep mention my name in the distant. I walked over and in her sweet voice, she said, “Here’s the designer herself – Maddie Kulig.” A blonde bombshell stood by her – Saterra St. Jean. She was wearing white shorts and a half-buttoned down shirt that exposed her bra and N cup chest. I love someone who flaunts what they have! YOU GO GIRL! Saterra and I instantly connected. She was immediately drawn to the Galina and asked if it was available in her size. Straight out of the pattern, the Galina bra + panty is available in band sizes 26-44 and cup sizes A-H. At that time, the Galina had only been out a month, and what we were seeing from people who were making/buying it was that it was fitting beyond our size range. I expressed to Saterra that I would love to work with her on that project – seeing how we could fit the Galina on H+ cup sizes.

It’s been a few months since then, and we’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting how to make the Galina fit people who measure larger than a H cup. Our first attempt, we altered the G/H cups on a 28 band by adding length and width to the bra cups. For reference, the measurements she gave to us were 29″ underbust and 39″ full bust. The problem with this is that the the monowire was too small and not sitting on her breast root. Also, there’s only so much you can alter a pattern, and even after increased the cups, they were still too small, as you can see in the photos below. So what did we do?

A trick, or hack, that we use on the bralette that are only alpha sizes and don’t have cup sizes (Barrett, Tonika, and sometimes Maris) is to combine a bigger front with a smaller back band. For example, if someone measures larger than a D cup, we cut the front bralette cups the size they measure for the full bust and cut the back band the size they measure for their ribcage. So, we could combine a 3X front with an X-small back band for someone who is very full busted. You can learn more about this technique in this blog post.

We applied this same trick and combined the 40 G/H bra cups and frame with the 28 back band. We had to increase the length of the back band at the side seam to be the same length of the 40 G/H frame at the side seam. Using this combination, Saterra’s Galina had a wide enough monowire that sat on her breast root and not on her breast tissue. Also, using a small back band ensured that the band was snug, which is key to providing support.

So, if you are an H+ cup and want to make the Galina, I recommend to use the same technique – cut the bra cups and front frame the size you measure for your full bust, and cut the band band the size you measure for your ribcage. You will have to make an adjustment to the length of the side seam, but that is easy peasy!

If you still have doubts, please watch this IG reel. If Saterra can pass the jump test, it’s a sure fire supportive bra!