Homemade Swimsuit Top

Since I got pregnant, have been nursing for almost a year, and lost 20 lbs (not counting the baby weight), my boobs just aren't what and where they used to be! But, perky or not, it is that time of year again--swimsuit season! (Here's where I give a shreek that would wake the dead!) I searched high and low for a top that would put the girls back where they should be, but nothing would work. I have spent hours pouring over Victoria Secret catalogs and quite a while in WM trying on every different style imaginable with no success. So I went with my first instinct--I'll make one!

I had a bra that I never wear anymore b/c the nipples started poking out, and to alter it would make it ugly. So it's been in my drawer for a few years, waiting for... I don't know... a miracle, I guess. But since I was going to put a new face on it, it didn't matter how ugly or rough the cups would be. So I nixed the cone look by redoing the darts and cut out two pieces of fabric. The first was shaped to cover the sides and in between the cups. I stitched it onto the bra around the cups and sides. The second piece was a rectangle, which I gathered in the middle and on the sides. I pulled the middle gather tight, and the end gathers to fit the sides of the bra. I stictched it all together, and here it is! My very own, super cheap, push-up swim suit top! (Not a great pic, I know, but I wasn't going to make you suffer thru a picture of my modeling it!)

The other thing I think I'm going to do to it is make it into a convertible tankini by making the bottom part of a tank top and adding hooks to it, and thread loops to the inside of the top to attach it. This way, I can be covered on my fat days and bikini-clad on my confident days (the days when the pool is empty!).

I don't know what to put the cost of the bra at--I think it was about $12 new, but that was a long time ago. The material was WM clearance $1/yd, and I used less than 1/4 yd. But let's call it $.25. And that's it!