Building bridges

Bra bridges, that is.  Both Beverley Johnson and Norma Loehr recommend starting with the bridge.

So of course I followed their instructions, sort of.  In fact I did dutifully make the cardboard bridge they both talk about, but then I kind of did my own thing with my fitting bra which involved starting with the bridge pattern from my pink bra that doesn't really fit properly (top), narrowing it at the top for better fit and lengthening it (I forget why - middle), and finally accepting reality and also widening the base of the bridge substantially for better fit (bottom).

Guess what?  The last bridge is extremely close to my cardboard version.

Since swapping out these bridges involves unpicking the channel for the wires and the stitching that attaches the bridge to the cups, and taking out the line of stitches above the channeling at the CF that prevents the wires from poking out in the wrong place, and reinserting the wires, making the new bridge, sewing it in, re-sewing the channels, and trying the whole thing on again (times three), it would have been quite a bit faster to just follow the learned authors' instructions.

So here is my fitting bra.  It's single layer, made out of some lycra fabric I have a lot of, and basted together in pretty rudimentary fashion.

It fits me a lot better than my DTD, but this is all I'm willing to show the world.

In the next picture, I've highlighted some of the haute couture construction information, but also the problems that also appear when I put this beauty on. I've not highlighted the problems, such as the rippling cup seam, that disappear when it's me wearing it.

Questions for you experienced bra makers (or others with opinions):

• Should I be worried about the fact that there is a flattish area of the lower cup near the bridge, below the pink dotted lines?  It is less pronounced on me than on the DTD, which is why I'm even asking this question instead of being sure that the answer is to change something to fix this.  My logic for doing nothing is that angling the lower bridge so it is even wider will just push the wires up into my under arm area.  Further, the bra looks good and on a try on it feels pretty comfortable.  The wires are sitting nicely where they are supposed to. 
• If I was going to fix this, what should I do?  It occurs to me that maybe the wires I have are too long and/or too small, and the cup is too deep?  But I'd also have to make the bridge wider at the base, right?  The bra might look pretty wonky if I did that...
• Should I be worried about the vertical wrinkles below where the strap attaches?  There is no elastic at the arm edge of the cup, and my thinking is that if that was stabilized and snugged in somewhat, these wrinkles may go away.  
• If I was going to fix this, what should I do?  

I am already very grateful for the advice in the comments on my last post!  I have taken Liana's advice and for now I'm working on a mashup of my pink bra (which was already a mashup of an ancient Burda WOF (as it then was) swimsuit pattern and a PinUp Girls bra pattern...).  So weigh in and give me your best ideas and advice!