On Boiling Bras and Blisters...

Never fear faithful readers of the male variety, this is not an ode to feminist issues (you know, the iconic bra burning images from the 1960s Women's Equality movement).... but rather 'Nat's Handy Guide to Decorating A Bra'.

In a week's time, I will be taking part in the London Moon Walk, along with thousands of other women and quite a few men, with the goal of raising funds and awareness of breast cancer issues. One of the trademarks of the Walk The Walk challenges is that all participants (men and women!) do so wearing a decorated bra.

Now I'm not the most crafty, but I do like to give things a go, and here's what I learnt in the process....


Start with the bra that Walk The Walk provide... a very nice, shiny white bra from Wonderbra and Playtex...

Attempt to dye the nice shiny white bra indigo.... following the dye manufacturers instructions to use a teaspoon of dye, a tablespoon of salt, and simmer for 20 minutes over a medium heat.

Panic when the bra turns out a blotchy, grubby-greenish-grey!

Have another go at dying the now blotchy, grubby-greenish-grey bra... this time with about one kilogram of indigo dye powder and half a tonne of salt.

Boil and boil and boil that bra! Then boil it a bit more, and add some more dye, just in case....

Realise that a lovely shade of teal is the only colour that stubborn bra is going to be! Decide that uniform teal is far better than blotchy, grubby-greenish-grey..... and that it is safest to leave boiled bras be, otherwise you run the risk of said bra disintegrating around the 10-mile mark on The Night.

Leave to dry overnight.

Convince your darling husband that he posses far better ironing skills that you do, and thereby get him to iron on fiddly, faddly little stars... reminding your darling husband that you will be modelling the bra when it is finished can work wonders!

Now for the tricky part.... sew a tassled fringe along the bottom of the bra - but not the elasticated bit as that will stop it stretching - making sure you don't sew it to your funky PJ bottoms at the same time (did I mention that funky PJ's are compulsory attire when performing any type of crafty schmafty task?)...

Et voila! Here's the finished bra.... all ready for action next Saturday night!

Hot tip from Walk The Walk: Slick a layer of Vaseline under your bra straps to prevent rubbing on The Night. Smothering your feet with Vaseline is also a great way to avoid blisters!

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I'll be sure to keep you all posted with how I get on next Saturday. In the meantime, I still have loads of photos from my recent trips to share with you....