The Scoop and Swoop Method

Why it is needed

Breast tissue does not stop neatly at the front of the chest. It extends round towards the armpit. When you put a bra on by simply fastening it and pulling up the straps, some of that tissue is left outside the cup, under or behind the wire at the side.

That causes two problems. The wire rests on breast tissue, which is uncomfortable and is not what it is designed to do. And the cup looks as though it fits when it is only holding part of the breast, so you end up choosing a cup that is too small.

How to do it, step by step

1. Fasten the band and slip the straps onto your shoulders.
2. Lean forward slightly so your breasts fall into the cups.
3. Scoop. Hold the wire or the bottom of the right cup steady with your right hand. Reach your left hand into the cup from the top, round to the side near your armpit.
4. Swoop. With a flat hand, gather the tissue from the side and underneath and draw it forward and up into the cup, towards the centre of your chest.
5. Settle the wire. Give the wire a small wiggle so it drops into the crease beneath the breast and sits on your ribs at the side.
6. Repeat on the other side, then stand up straight and adjust the straps.

It should not hurt, and you are not forcing anything. You are putting the tissue where the cup was built to hold it.

What you might notice afterwards

Everything sits smoothly

The cup edge lies flat against you, the wire rests on ribcage, and nothing bulges. Your cup size is right.

You are now spilling over the top or sides

This is very common, and it is useful information. With all the tissue in the cup, the cup turns out to be too small. Go up a cup size on the same band and repeat. Some people need to go up two or three before the overflow stops. More on that in spilling out of your bra cups.

The band suddenly feels tight

If the cups are too small, your breasts push the front of the bra away from your body, and that uses up band length. The band feels tighter although it has not changed. Fix the cups first and then judge the band again.

The centre of the bra lifts off your chest

Another sign of cups that are too small. Once the cup is big enough, the centre panel should rest against your breastbone.

Why it can change your measured size

People who have never scooped and swooped are often wearing a cup one to three sizes smaller than the one that properly contains them. The tissue the cup could not hold has been sitting at the side, sometimes for years, and is easily mistaken for part of the underarm or back.

If your calculated size has a bigger cup letter than you are used to, this is frequently the explanation. Try the new size on, scoop and swoop, and judge it then.

Common mistakes

• Only lifting from the front. The tissue that gets left behind is at the side and underneath. Start your scoop from near the armpit.
• Doing it once in the fitting room and never again. A bra chosen with scoop and swoop needs it every time, or it will seem too big.
• Skipping it in soft or moulded cups. It matters in any bra with separate cups, wired or not.
• Judging fit before doing it. The fit check only means something once all your tissue is in the cups.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to scoop and swoop every time I put a bra on?

Yes. It takes a few seconds and it is part of putting the bra on, in the same way as fastening the hooks. Tissue shifts back towards the underarm whenever the bra comes off.

Why does my bra feel too small after I scoop and swoop?

Because the cup now has to hold all of your breast tissue, where before some of it was sitting outside the wire. If you spill over the top afterwards, the cup was too small all along. Try one or two cup sizes up on the same band.

Does scoop and swoop make your breasts bigger?

No. It changes where existing tissue sits inside the bra. It can make you look fuller and rounder at the front, because tissue that was flattened at the side is now in the cup.

Should I scoop and swoop in a sports bra or bralette?

In any bra with separate cups or an underwire, yes. In a pull-on compression top there are no cups to settle into, but it is still worth lifting each breast into place so the band sits underneath the tissue.