Underwires that poke the sternum is a common problem that can often be easily fixed. I have written a post on several ways of dealing with this. The most common way of fixing this problem is bending the underwires. When I was at the Brafitteria in Krakow, the bra-fitting lady showed me the right way to do this. She bent away the poking underwires of my Weismann Tamara so beautifully that they are amazingly comfortable now. (On that note, I added "where to buy" resources to that post, so go take a look!)
With the other hand, bend the tip of the underwide away (towards the outside of the bra). Bend very lightly, then try the bra on. You might have to bend and then try on several times before you get it right. Resist the urge to bend strongly the first time, since it is easy to overdo it and distort the fit of the entire length of the underwire and very hard to bend back.
You also need to watch out for the flexibility of the underwire. Underwires are made of different mixes of metals, some might be flexible and some not, some might bend easily while others bounce back. That is why you need to bend very lightly, then try on, rinse and repeat as needed.
If the underwire is really stubborn, you might have to use the edge of the table: place the inner end of the underwire flat on the table and push down with the thumb. With the other hand (that would be the right one if you are holding the bra like in this photo) lift the rest of the underwire up. Obviously this is just one way of doing it, many of you might have developed your own techniques.
Have you ever tried bending the underwires of your bras? How do you do it? Do let me know on which bras did it work and with which it didn`t.
How to bend away underwires
With one hand hold the bottom of the underwire to stabilise it, because you only want to bend the inner to and not the whole length. You can hold the underwire a bit closer to the center than I did on the photo (I was holding the camera between my knees to take this, and was paying not enough attention to proper hand placement. Yes, I know I need a proper tripod).With the other hand, bend the tip of the underwide away (towards the outside of the bra). Bend very lightly, then try the bra on. You might have to bend and then try on several times before you get it right. Resist the urge to bend strongly the first time, since it is easy to overdo it and distort the fit of the entire length of the underwire and very hard to bend back.
You also need to watch out for the flexibility of the underwire. Underwires are made of different mixes of metals, some might be flexible and some not, some might bend easily while others bounce back. That is why you need to bend very lightly, then try on, rinse and repeat as needed.
If the underwire is really stubborn, you might have to use the edge of the table: place the inner end of the underwire flat on the table and push down with the thumb. With the other hand (that would be the right one if you are holding the bra like in this photo) lift the rest of the underwire up. Obviously this is just one way of doing it, many of you might have developed your own techniques.
Have you ever tried bending the underwires of your bras? How do you do it? Do let me know on which bras did it work and with which it didn`t.
