The following is a guest post by Anne Bertha.  Anne's root shape was different enough to require more shaping to her wires than most people, so she worked, ever so diligently, to sort out what she needed to make her bras work for her. 

Root Trace Methods

by Anne Bertha 

While some people find their wire shape and size easily, it can prove to be a real

challenge for others. There are some ways you can make this process easier

however. All the methods have one idea in common: to make a mould of your

ribcage so you can decide which wires are the best fit. There’s always a compromise

to be made between ease, cost and accuracy.

I will be discussing the pros and cons of three methods: using masking tape, tin foil

and making a plaster cast. Finally, I’m showing you my root trace on paper.

First up: masking tape mould.

The idea behind this one is quite simple: by sticking layers of masking tape to your

body and carefully peeling it off, you’re able to replicate your wire root shape on

paper in 2D.

Notes: You want to make a construction in which your breasts are encased, with kind

of like anchor points. Otherwise, when you peel your tape construction off, it will lose

its shape.

Pros: Easy and cheap way to get a rough idea of your root shape.

Cons: Can be painful to peel off, depending on the masking tape itself. Because you

mould it to your body (3D) and try sticking it to paper (2D) afterwards, it’s not that

accurate. It can be quite tricky to figure out how to stick it to paper without distorting

the shape.

Second: tin foil mould.

Tin foil has an interesting property: it’s malleable and will hold its shape quite well. I

made this one by moulding pieces of tin foil to my body and sticking them together

as well as to my body using masking tape.

Notes: Try and keep the mould quite flat. I folded some tin foil, shaped it, but in some

places I got a little overexcited and the tin foil piled up. It won’t stick to the masking

tape as well then.

Pros: Easy and cheap way. A bit more expensive than the tape mould, but also

much more accurate.

Cons: There is a hint of a 3D shape there, but it’s still much more of a 2D shape. You

don’t get a clear idea if your ribcage is particularly cylindrical and you might need to

bend your wires or not.

Third: plaster cast

For a how-to, read the separate blog post. Because this shape is very 3D, it can be

tricky to translate it to paper to get an idea of your wire size and shape. I suggest

taking a flexible wire, moulding it to the cast and then scanning that wire.

Pros: Very accurate method to get a 3D mould of your ribcage.

Cons: You need specific materials and, preferably, a second person to make the

mould on you. It takes a while to dry so for the impatient ones amongst you, you’ll

have to wait at least a day to start working with it.

The result

This root trace on paper is made using the tin foil mould, which was quite easy to

translate to paper. Not only does this root trace allow for an accurate way to

determine wire size and shape, it also makes it possible to make a custom bridge

pattern. After I shape wires after my root trace (more on this in another blog post), I

use the plaster cast to bent them so they follow my body as best as possible.

Which method you choose is up to you, they all have their pros and cons and will all

help you towards a better wire (and thus bra) fit. If you have additional ideas,

suggestions, or want to share how yours turned out, feel free to do so in the

comments!