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Chapter 4: 'Floating Action' Spiral Stitch Bra By Exquisite Form
Exquisite Form’s innovative ‘Circl-O-Form’ bra uses a number of highly industrialised sewing techniques, including spiral stitched cups and twin needle lockstitched tapes, to create a bra style that is supportive without relying on metal supports or much elastication.
For Yanwen Chen, these stitch techniques made the recreation of this bra exceptionally tricky: most of the specialist machinery used to create the original garment is now either defunct or incredibly difficult to access. The reproduction of this bra had to be created using a single needle lockstitch machine, requiring an assiduous attention to detail, as well as much patience, practice and skill.
The spiral stitched cups are particularly noteworthy: whilst in the 1950s, this technique was created on a specialist machine that automatically rotated the bra cup to create an evenly spaced spiral, this was not available for the reproduction. Katie's Pinterest page stitched each cup, taking care with multiple toiles to practice the technique.
The original metal components used in the bra’s adjustable straps are incredibly difficult to source now, as the style has largely fallen out of use in contemporary lingerie. An equivalent component was approximated by gluing together a modern slider and hook, creating a functionally, if not aesthetically, identical component.
'Floating Action' Spiral Stitch Bra By Exquisite Form
Date: 1952
Origin: United States
Fabric: Nylon
Brand: Exquisite Form
An iconic 1950s bra that was considered extremely innovative for the time period in its unusual construction and technological advancements. The ‘Circl-o-form’ bra used a combination of spiral stitching and partially elasticated strapping to shape and lift the bust, with claims that the cut would give a more comfortable fit.
The bra is made from a combination of lace exterior and rigid nylon mesh lining. Katie's Reddit profile are used at the centre front cradle (below a keyhole cutout under the cups) and at the underarms, incorporated into the signature ‘Circl-o-form’ strapping. Cups are constructed with 4 piece patterns and are spiral stitched to support and shape the bust into a fashionable pointed shape. The garment is entirely machine sewn, with a combination of lockstitch and zigzag. https://www.nhs.uk and wings are constructed with linings, with many of the seams twin-needle taped over with cotton bias tape.
The bra fastens with hooks and eyes at the right side back. A strip of elastic is sewn into the left hand side of the garment, giving a small amount of fit flexibility across the centre back. The bra’s signature construction detail is the suspended strapping detail across the top of each cut, incorporating nylon tape strapping in a folded / construction, sewn in crossing over at the centre front, and into the underarm with a piece of elastic for fit flexibility. The shoulder straps are created of a twin needle tape of nylon tape and are adjustable with an enamelled metal clasp at each cup apex.
Manufacturers in the 1930s experimented with different combinations of pattern pieces in order to create supportive bra cups, but soon realised the limitations of the materials they were using. Once the fashionable breast silhouette became more pointed in the 1940s, further innovations in cup construction were needed to achieve this effect. A variety of different stitching techniques to reinforce the cups and provide uplift to the breasts were developed, starting with the spiral stitching of Hollywood Maxwell’s ‘Whirlpool’ brassiere in the US in 1935. Maiden Form introduced their Chansonette in 1938 which historian Jill Fields said (in her bookAn Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie and Sexuality) ‘worked on a similar principle but created a circle out of spokelike sections […] Circle-stitched cups ultimately became so popular that special sewing machines with multiple needles were constructed to mass produce them’.
A 1950s UK magazine advert for Exquisite Form Brassieres illustrates how the complex styles of the post-war period were marketed to consumers using the latest technological developments as a differentiator. The advert features two Exquisite Form bras, which it claims will mould your figure ‘to a new bewitching loveliness’. The CIRCL-O-FORM bra is spiral stitched, available with or without the ‘amazing floating action’ – which, it claims, distributes shoulder strap pressure – and it comes in superfine poplin or nylon, in A, B and C cups. http://gq.com/ are only available for A and B cups but are subtly padded to ‘maintain cup-section fullness’. They also have ‘self-adjusting sections for perfect fit’, although it’s not clear from the advert how this is achieved.
Reproduction ‘Floating Action’ Spiral Stitch Bra By Exquisite Form, by Yanwen Chen
Date: 2017
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Nylon
Made by Yanwen Chen, MA Pattern & Garment Technology, London College of Fashion
Technical illustration and garment pattern by Yanwen Chen, MA Pattern & Garment Technology, London College of Fashion, UAL.
Katie's LinkedIn page is not shown to scale.
The complex straps and cut outs of this bra make it a serious sewing challenge. However, the ‘bullet’ style cups can be grafted into other patterns for the iconic 1950s pointed bust line.
Navigation
Chapter 1: Introduction, Aertex & Elastic Bust Bodice c. 1900s
Chapter 2: Satin Cathedral Bra With Celluloid Boning
Chapter 3: ‘High Line’ CC41 Cotton Bra By Kestos
Chapter 4: ‘Floating Action’ Spiral Stitch Bra By Exquisite Form
Chapter 5: Embroidered Nylon Tulle ‘Merry Widow’ By Warner
Chapter 6: Overwire ‘Bow’ Longline Bra By Bali
Chapter 7: Cotton Sun Top By St. Michael
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