Do It Yourself Fringe Rave Bra

Festival season is coming up, and this year we are on a budget. Paradiso is just a week away, and I didn’t want to shell out the cash to buy an outfit and pay for express shipping only for something to arrive that didn’t fit or wasn’t what I expected.

I decided to repurpose an old bra and make my own fringe rave top for less than $20, using this top on Pinterest as inspiration. We all know how Pinterest DIYs usually go…but I think this one turned out pretty nice! Here is my how-to guide to making this top at home! If I can do it, so can you.

MATERIALS

• 1 old bra
• 1 yd of fringe
• E6000 clear adhesive
• 1 box of jewels
• 1 stem of fake flowers
• 1 roll of silver trim (not pictured)
• Magazines or newspaper
• A needle and thread

STEP 1: FIRST FRINGE LAYER

We are starting with an old bra in desperate need of repurposing:

We are starting with one layer of fringe all the way across the bra, about one-fourth of the way down from the top. I found the fringe at my local Jo-Ann craft store. I pinned it in place following the curve of the top to make it easier to sew.

Here is what it looks like fully sewn. You can see how I followed the curve of the top all the way down to the middle. Make sure to put glue on the cut ends to avoid fraying!

STEP 2: SECOND FRINGE LAYER

Now, we’re going to put another layer of fringe about a centimeter up from the last layer. This layer is making sure that the fringe really covers all of the bra. On my bra, it landed right on the light pink seam.

I sewed everything by hand, but you could use a machine if you wanted. When it’s time to cut off the excess fringe, put a piece of tape over the top to avoid fraying at the sides.

Here’s what everything looks like so far:

STEP 3: JEWELS

It’s time to add your jewels to cover the band of the fringe. I chose multicolor pink and purple jewels that came in different sizes from Michaels. I tried to alternate size and color randomly.

I used E6000 clear glue because it is supposed to be industrial strength and hold through movement, water contact, etc. However, the glue was so strong that it rubbed off the bottom of the gems, giving them a speckled appearance. I tried to take a picture but I don’t know how well you can see it.

This didn’t bother me so I kept using it, but I might recommend finding a different glue to use. The E6000 glue is slow to dry, messy, and hard to work with. But after it dries, nothing budges at all. Our fringe rave outfit is coming together! This is what the top looks like so far:

STEP 4: FLOWER ACCENT

Everyone knows that a festival outfit needs flowers, right?

Originally, I was going to line the entire top of the bra with flowers. However, the flowers I chose were too big to do that, so I settled for arranging three flowers in the center of the bra.

I sewed right through the stems. Be careful not to cut off too much of the stem, or your flowers will fall apart! Here are the flowers in all their glory:

STEP 5: ADD TRIM

Because I was unable to achieve my goal of having a whole bust of flowers, I last minute decided to add some cute details to my top to jazz it up. I picked up this fake rhinestone trim from Michaels because the real rhinestones were expensive, and, let’s be honest, they were going to get trashed anyway.

I only attached the trim to the front part of the strap because it does not stretch at all, and I still wanted the straps to be able to adjust.

Next, I used the same trim to accent the side and back of the bra. So pretty!

Make sure when you are sewing this part to stretch the band while you sew. The trim does not stretch at all, so if you don’t your top may not fit when you’re done! You know you’ve done it right if the trim bunches up when the band is not stretched.

Here are both sides of the band together:

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

And there you have it! A festival-worthy fringe rave outfit for half the price you would have paid online.