Every now and then someone brings in foam cups from a ready to wear swimsuit for us to match up to what we have. Most often we have something very similar if not identical. However recently someone brought in a swimsuit top that had triangle cups but they weren’t like ours. How can that be? Aren’t all triangles the same? Let me tell you the tale of two triangles…
When we looked at the triangle top we could see that these ones weren’t shaped like theirs at all. Ours are taller than they are wide, with the sizing notches along the outer edge.
Theirs, on the other hand were wider than they are tall. They looked good on, and I could see they would cover up the side boob (the side boob is a very real issue for some women).
To bring in another line of triangle cups is very expensive, not to mention takes up a lot of space, which we don’t have. As you can see every bin is full! Each bin has to hold all the available colours the foam such as white, beige or black. Each foam cup has multiple sizes too. We can run out of space very quickly!
Upon a closer look, I realised that their cups were the same as our cups, but they had been rotated so that the tallest dimension was actually the base of the cup, like this.. The edge of the cup with the sizing notches is now the base of the cup.
Now I thought…why can’t we use cups this way if we need them? So I did! To compare, here is the finished swim top with the cups in the tall version (the way the foam company suggests)
And the finished top in the “new” version. How’s the fit, you ask? The fit was great in either orientation. (that’s why I made two suits – so we could try them out both ways.
That’s my tale of two triangles. Which version do you like better? Let us know in the comments. We always appreciate what you have to say.
In the next post, I will share with you the whole construction process of making this ruched triangle bikini top.
I bought a ready to wear (made in Canada) with these cups inside sleeves making them removable which I’d never seen before. I guess if someone didn’t want cups for some reason? I don’t know whether I should just go ahead and sew these in permanently but that would alter the appearance of the suit on the outside (it’s a one piece boyshort style) which is maybe why they constructed it as they did. The problem is that they get all bunched up inside the sleeves and must be removed after every swim and placed back in when dry. Have you ever seen this before? Do you have any suggestions about how to manage this issue without having to remove and replace them every time? It IS a pain 🙂 I am totally getting why people make their own bathing suits!!
Can you tack them by hand at the three corners to the lining? That would keep them from bunching up….
Don’t you love the “aha!” moment when suddenly you are seeing things with fresh eyes? I really like the “new” triangle. I tend to be fairly wide set, I think. Side coverage really appeals to me. Love the fabric and the ruched cups. I think I need to try that for my next bra. I haven’t ventured into foam cups yet. Maybe it’s time….