DIY A Nursing/Pumping Bra That Actually Fits AND Makes You Feel Beautiful

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Step 7: Cut the Flange Slits

You now have a fully-functional nursing bra! Awesome, right? Now let’s make it a hands-free pumping bra by cutting some slits.

Try your bra on and situate your nipples in a natural position within each cup. VERY CAREFULLY mark the center-point of each nipple with a pin. Don’t poke your nipple! If you don’t want to risk the pinprick, you can mark the location with chalk or washable marker. Once you have the locations marked, take the bra off again.

Now measure and mark an inch to the left and an inch to the right of the mark you made. These will be the borders of the 2-inch slit we’re about to cut.

Remove your original mark (if you used a pin). Use your sharp scissors to cut a slit between your two border marks. This can be kind of tricky. Do it however you feel comfortable. Here’s what I do: I fold the cup so that the two border pins are pinched together and I make a perpendicular cut through the crease of the fold. Then, I unfold and individually extend each end of the cut all the way to the border pin. When I’m satisfied with my cut, I remove the pins.

If you are using all-in-one style flanges (e.g. Spectra flanges), you may need a bigger slit, depending on the stretchiness of the bra you picked. Try inserting your flange into the slit. If it doesn’t fit, extend the slit by a few millimeters on either side. Repeat until the flanges fit through the slit. You want the slit to be as small as possible, so extend by very small amounts at a time until you’re satisfied.

Step 8: Finish the Raw Edges of the Slit

This is the last step, and I’ll admit that it isn’t 100% necessary. Most bras, foam bras at least, won’t incur much damage from use if you choose not to stitch it closed. However, all of the bras that I have converted using this method include a piece of stretchy fabric above the foam. Sometimes it’s a cotton knit, sometimes a satiny knit, sometimes a lace. All of these fabrics will stretch, roll, and/or unravel if their edges are left raw and unfinished. This damage won’t affect the integrity or functionality of the bra, but it will prevent clothes from lying flat atop it. Therefore, I highly recommend that you finish the raw edges!

To “finish” the edges, I use a whipstitch. This particular stitch is good for finishing edges that need to remain stretchy. Basically, a whipstitch is a type of hand-stitching that makes a swirl of thread around the edge of the fabric. You insert the needle on one side of the fabric, pull it through, then insert the needle again on the same side you inserted from previously. The name comes from the “whipping” action done between two stitches. Put the needle through, whip the thread back to where you started. Put the needle through, whip the thread back to where you started.

If you’re not familiar with this stitch, I recommend you practice a bit on a scrap of fabric before you start on the slit. It’s not difficult at all, but it can be difficult to wrap your mind around. (Get it?)

Once you are ready, start whipstitching the edges of your slits. You want the stitches fairly close together to ensure that the fabric lays smooth. I used about 10 stitches per inch, here, but you could probably get away with 6 or 7. I reinforced each of the corners of the slits with a few extra “regular” stitches (imagine the top and bottom of a shirt buttonhole). This is to prevent the foam/fabric from ripping a wider slit after extensive use.

Once you’ve whipstitched both slits, you’re done! You now have a fully-functional, supportive and sexy, convenient nursing/pumping bra that is totally customized to your body. Cue the happy dance!

No more steps! We’re Done!

A few notes:

I feel most comfortable if I wear reusable nursing pads or bra inserts under this bra, so my nipples don’t slip through the slits. Flat nursing pads make the cups look smoother. I have some nursing pads that are pointy; the points tend to poke through the slit, making it look like my nipples are poking out.
In terms of bra selection, you should definitely choose one with some degree of elasticity. I tried this process on some unlined lace bras that didn’t stretch at all, and they got really uncomfortable when my breasts were full of milk. I never wear them anymore. (In fact, I cut them apart so I could use their nursing clips for the two bras in this post!)
I have heard that underwires cause clogged ducts in some women. I only experienced this once, when I got a really minor clog after falling asleep on my side with the bra on. The vast majority of the time, I’m clog-free, but I can’t guarantee the same results. Again, choose a bra that fits YOU.
Because I won’t wear underwires to sleep, I’ve tried various underwire-free bras (semi-annual clearance sales in December and June are my jam!) so I don’t have to do the whole get-undressed-and-put-a-bra-on song and dance for my middle of the night/early morning pumps. I don’t really like the underwire-free bras that I’ve tried, but I’ve had moderate success with buying an underwire bra, then cutting out the underwire. The bra no longer separates my boobs, but it still shapes and functions fairly well.

Forgive the boob-shots below, but I wanted to provide some proof that bras modified in this way look pretty normal under clothing. The baby blue tank in the photo below is my least-flattering top. The light color shows all my curves, and not always in a good way. I’m including a photo of it here because, in this tank, you can vaguely see the outline of the slits through the fabric. I think this is an inconsequential price to pay for the confidence boost and the functionality provided by this bra. Most of the time, the slits are invisible under my clothes. The picture in the red and floral is what the modified bra looks like under my clothes normally. Would you ever guess I was wearing a pumping bra?