Have you gone through the pain of having a relatively new bra and having underwires that poke out of their channeling?
There are several factors that may contribute to this — manufacturing, how you get into your bra, how well the wire fits, how well the bra fits, what you do or how you move during the day, and even your washing routine. The constant wear and stress of our daily activities can often cause the casing to rip open and poking wires can become quite uncomfortable.
If you enjoy the support underwires provide, and you invested a considerable amount of money in your bra, you might want to put a little time in repairing it. The repair method I am sharing with you today provides very good protection, and will hopefully allow you to wear your bra for many more years to come.
My wire is out, what should I do now?
You will need:
- Your bra
- The underwire(s)
- If you feel like the wires are out of shape or not fitting properly, you might want to consider this as an opportunity to get new or the right size of wires. LizSews has shared a great video on how to find the right underwire size for you here. If you change the underwires, just make sure that they will fit lengthwise in the channeling with about 0.5” of ease, so they can move a little in the channeling.
- A piece of elastic 0.5” wide by 2” long
- You will use 2” of elastic to cover each hole where the wire poked out. In this tutorial, I will enclose both ends of each wire, so I’ll be using 8” of elastic.
- Needle and thread and/or fabric glue
- Sewing machine and sewing supplies.
Elastic Needle and thread Glue A pair of underwires Right-side view of the bra
Let’s get started!
For this demonstration I will insert both wires (left and right) and secure all 4 ends of the channeling.
Step 1
Find or clip the holes where the underwires will be inserted in the channeling.
Place your bra on the table as if you were going to wear it.
Examine your underwires and place them in the position in which they will be inserted in the channeling.
Insert the underwires in each of the channels. Clip the channeling close to the top if you can’t find where the wire originally came out.

Step 2
Place a 2” piece of elastic on top of the channel, and align the top of the elastic with the top of the underarm elastic. Pin the elastic in place as shown in the image below. You may alternatively or additionally decide to spread a dab of fabric glue on the elastic before placing it on the channeling.


Hold the bra in such a way that will expose the side of the elastic and the channeling.
Close up of elastic being slip stitched in place. Slip stitching the elastic in place.
Slip stitch along one side of the elastic upwards (towards the underarm elastic) catching a tiny bit of the channeling with each stitch. As you reach the top of the elastic, fold ⅛” of the end in, towards the channeling to finish it neatly. Slip stitch along the top end of the elastic and then downwards to secure the other side of the elastic.

Step 3
Turn the bra right side up and use a pin to mark the bottom end of the elastic you placed on the end of the channeling. This pin will be the reference point that indicates the beginning and the end of your stitches.

Place the bra in the machine with the right side up. Stitch a line along the outside of the elastic that we just handstitched following the same path.
You may decide to repeat this process for the four ends of the channeling where the wires may poke out, even if they haven’t already done so.



You are finished!
Enjoy your bra with no more poking wires!
Share pictures of your process and tag me @monserratt_l ! !
Monserratt is a past life scientist and founder of Enfance Durable currently living in Montreal. She loves experimenting, learning and sharing all things sewing. If you are looking to learn more about her, you can read her latest interview here.
OMG thank you. I have tried various methods to sew up the hole caused by escaping wires, but never thought of this one.
Yess this is so great!!!
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I’m glad you found it useful! 😉