How To Make A Binder What I used to use before surgery was a home made undershirt that worked very well and could be worn under a regular t-shirt. It looked best if the T-shirt was colored one and a little lose. If you sew or know anyone who can make them for you, you might want to try this. The fabric is a heavy spandex nylon mesh that most yardage stores have. I have forgotten the name of the fabric but can find out if anyone wants it. I always used white so it would not show under a T-shirt. Then use a tight tank top shirt cut up the sides under the arms for the pattern. It works best if the tank top has wide shoulder straps, small arm holes and a long tail. Or modify the final version so that you binder has these features. Allow a couple of inches extra fabric on the sides under your arms to allow the fabric to be over lapped for sewing to give extra strength and support across your chest. Cut the pattern length wise so that the straps across the top of the shoulders is as wide as possible and has no seam for comfort. Fold the sides down and stitch the sides together. I would do just enough to hold the first time so that you can get the right tightness . It has to be just loose enough to allow you to pull over your head and struggle into it but tight enough to breath, hold you flat and allow you to pull it off. Don't laugh there is nothing like being stuck in your shirt with no one home to help pull it off to make this part important :-) Getting the fit right is the hardest part. After the fit is right you can cut the arm holes bigger for comfort but remember the material under your arms is what does the binding so if you cut too much away you lose some support there. I found this worked very well. It was comfortable fairly cool and very easy to wash. Of course if you are real good at sewing you can add all the nice stuff like finishing the edges ect but this material is so thin that it can not really been seen under a t-shirt and its even very hard to feel if someone puts their hand on your back since the seams are under your arms but it does make you flat. This seems to have enough give to it that I never worried about wearing it for extended periods of time. The long tail keeps tucked in your pants so you can do physical labor without it rolling up or sliding around. This also works pretty well after surgery to help hold with or without an ace bandage to help support and bind you. After surgery you can use them to start a nice fire in your fire place or destroy them in some equally satisfying manner. :-) I know its hard to picture this from my words but if anyone is interested I can make a rough drawing of the pattern and send it to you on e-mail. JR
	Thank you, JR, for sharing your information with the rest of us !!!
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