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    • Lace Braider Lessons
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    • Pattern Drawings
  • Innovations
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spa 2way bra  

Comfortable because it's fully INTEGRATED -- providing a balanced, no-pressure-point, overall stimulating feel."
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Hugs you like your mama. 
~Mary 2018 TENSENGRAL Contributor

spa 2way bra prototypes

TENSENGRAL's 2WAY SPA is made from one piece of patterned fabric with sewn, soft elastic band.  Either side can be worn in the front or back. Both the "SPORTS" and "LACEY" sides provide a 360 degree, gently compressive hug.  The yarns that are the SPA mold to your natural shape.
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SPA 2WAY - LACEY PATTERNED Front with Colored Yarn and Band [2020.7.15]
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SPA 2WAY - SPORTS PATTERNED Front with Colored Yarn and Band [2020.7.15]
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SPA 2WAY - LACEY PATTERNED Side with Colored Yarn and Band [2020.7.15]

"Our bodywear is one and two pieces of patterned fabric - made from interconnected yarns that cradle weight and shift their shape, akin to a lying in a hammock. Tension and weight have 360 degree distribution - so no one, isolated element, such as traditionally sewn straps or bands, has to carry the weight alone.  That's what we mean by equally distributing the tensions." 
~Terri
2020 - Shared Owner TEF & TENSENGRAL


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Born out of necessity at a time in history when we seek to reduce our global footprint, TENSENGRAL's SPA provides for UNIFIED  INTEGRATED  TENSIONALLY  BALANCED bodywear that can be EFFICIENTLY MANUFACTURED. The non-elastized body of the SPA is produced using our patented linked and interlaced fabric that characteristically molds to shapes.   As you move the filaments in the SPA move with you - SHOWING YOU  - a physical representation of the distribution of your tensions.
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SPA 2WAY - LACEY PATTERNED Front with Colored Yarn and Band [03]
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SPA 2WAY - LACEY PATTERNED Front [2020.04]
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SPA 2WAY - SPORTS PATTERNED Front with Colored Yarn and Band [03]
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SPA 2WAY - SPORTS PATTERNED Front [2020.04]

spa bra pattern development

 The SPA goal was to make a ONE piece bra (no sewing individual pieces together) that provided subtle support and every day comfort.  A one piece bra is possible because function is integrated into the fabric by different patterns that have varying qualities.  The single piece bra comes off of the machine ready to be laced at the sides - the yarn IS the BRA.  This no waste method of manufacturing produces a product and material that you've never seen or felt.
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how does it feel?

Remember when you were a kid and wanted to understand everything? We can explain TEF Braids technology by recounting your childhood explorations. Have you ever sat in a hammock? Not the cloth ones... a straight up net hammock.
 
Mine was at my grandparent’s house, summer evenings, waiting for adults to stop chatting so we could leave. I would lounge sideways, swinging my dirt crusted feet and marveling at all of the earthy colors my toenails had adopted. My attention would shift to the hammock, noticing the netting was tighter along my hindquarters than my back. I would follow the pattern with my eyes and watch it scrunched further together the closer it got to the weight. Weight stretched it lengthwise, pull it together widthwise, keeping the weight supported. I would switch positions, experimenting, laying down on my side with my legs stretched. The pattern was tighter now on my shoulders and hips. The braiding changed shape to support weight. TEF  and TENSENGRAL decided the potential of this technology could be expanded into form fitting bodywear. ~ Sarah

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how's it made?

Tensengral's SPA BRA is made by TEF Braids of New York, USA, using a new manufacturing process that uses refurbished lace making textile machines.  Tensengral is the only company in the world offering bodywear using this technology.
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hybrid yarns

The raw materials that comprise Tensengral bodywear are derived from natural plant sources such as cotton, flax, silk wool and rayon. Chosen filaments are braided together to create hybrid yarns that resist stretching, provide a soft texture and exhibit time tested longevity.
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production using lace braiding machines

Hybrid yarns are loaded onto 96 or 128 spindle lace braiding machines - ready to perform their pattering dance.  The lace braiding machine is the only circular braiding machine wherein the spindles can move forward, back and around each other in countless pattern combinations.  It is this "dance" that allows for the creation of zonally patterned products with built in function.
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The dancing spindles intertwine yarns in a series of interconnected patterns that produce fabric that is the bodywear.  The spindle's path is controlled by a computer program that was digitally created by way of imagination.
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computer aided design

Tensengral manufacturing is powered by the creation of digital patterns that describe the patterning dance of spindles on a braiding machine.  Historically braiding machines had pattern control using punch cards similar to a player piano.  Today we can design the pattern using a computer program that speaks to the machine.
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one step bodywear fabric production

Tensengral's automated new technology allows for the manufacture of apparel with virtually no waste, having as few as one ingredient and providing structure that perpetually re-shapes by way of unbound patterned filaments that shift in response to movement and changing tensions. 
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lacing

The fabric that is the apparel is laced at the sides or front to create the garment.  Lacing vs. sewing allows for the uninterrupted connection of yarn linkages throughout the whole structure.  Such integration facilitates the fluid shaping of the garment in response to movement.
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elastic bands & integrated elastic

The limited use of elastane in bands and integrated into straps provides just enough stretch for fit variations. In 2019 we began production of our own custom elastic bands using yarns that match the bodywear.  Our mesh patterned bands are softer than traditional elastic bands and stretch in longitude and latitude directions.
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next generation bodywear

It has taken over a decade to develop Tensengral's patterned, intermeshed fabrics and manufacturing technologies.  We've prioritized manufacturing efficiency, comfort and aesthetic intrigue to produce next generation apparel where feel is proof of function. 
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Copyright © 2020
  • TENSENGRAL
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Bodywear Manufacture
    • Lace Braider Lessons
    • Journal Entries
    • Pattern Drawings
  • Innovations
    • BRVE Bra
    • SPA Bra
    • Dresses
    • Sports & Compression Shirts
    • Shorts & Underpants
    • Body & Bathing Suits
  • Contact
  • Category