I know that some ladies intentionally show their bra straps for some garments they wear, but it’s very annoying to me when my bra straps peep out of my clothes without my approval. One way to combat this disobedient behavior is to sew on a bra strap holder.

There are actually no-sew solutions out there such as these Strap Tamers (aff.), but making your own is a way more economical solution. And you are making your clothes anyway, why not make that little part too when you are fully capable to do so?

Let me show you the way that I’d like to do it. Some people like to use ribbons, but I use French tack. The French tack method only involves:

• Thread (I use all-purpose polyester thread)
• Needle (hand sewing variety)
• A set of snap (or two sets, since you have 2 shoulders)

I also pretreat my thread using beeswax because tangling thread is no fun. Pull the thread through the beeswax and iron the thread between paper towel to remove the excess.

Let’s begin. Here is the shoulder that I’d like to put the holder on. Of course, we are putting the holder on the inside, not the outside.

First sew the female half of the snap onto one side of the shoulder seam. Most people would choose to sew this half on the side that is closest to the neck. The rationale is that your bra strap will tend to slide down the shoulder, so the part that catches it will be the side with no snap. I, on the other hand, like to sew it to the side away from the neck. This is because when I look toward my shoulder, I can see the snap better. In reality though, I don’t think it makes a huge difference. The choice is yours.

Not much drama here. It’s just like you always sew a snap. Make sure that you don’t sew through and make the thread visible on the public side.

Next, anchor your thread on the other end by making a couple of stitches. I use double strand, which add a bit of thickness. It should be far enough to accommodate the bra strap.

Take another stitch, but this time, do not pull all the way through, leaving a loop.

Forget about your needle for the moment, we are going to hand crochet using the thread. Put your thumb and index finger through the loop.

Grab the tail of the thread.

Pull through.

And tighten. You’ve made the second loop.

Keep on going – reach through the loop, pull the thread and tighten – to make the crochet longer.

Does this look familiar? We’ve used the same French tack for anchoring the skirt lining.

Once you are using to the motion, it goes very fast. You want to see how long you’ve crocheted. Once it’s long enough to reach the snap, then you are done.

Put the needle through the loop and tighten. It is now closed.

Now it’s time to sew the male half of the snap. Put the needle through one hole.

Put the needle through the end of the crochet.

Go through the hole and same spot on the crochet several times. Put a knot.

Cut the tail and that’s it!

Snapped!

This is how it looks from outside – Can’t see the holder!

This is how it looks from inside.

You can now put on your top (dress), then trap your bra strap inside the holder. Just remember to unsnap before you take off your garment.

Until next time, keep stitching!