Swim Wear





After seeing Gabrielle's gorgeous lycra, I used the fact my son is a swimmer and always needed new swim shorts as justification to buy more Lycra.  I admit to buying the exact same fabric from Spandex House.





I have been tempted to buy Jalie 3350 since it was released and this fabric was the enabler.  I cut the pattern out to size R but a one piece was not part of the plan.  I envisiaged a tankini and it was a simple process to convert it from a one piece to a tankini.  I lengthened the body of the suit and simply cut the pant section off.

The cross over top had me stumped briefly but was actually quite simple to construct.  I did line the front of the top which was not part of the pattern and added a piece of elastic under the bust.  Rather than get my coverstitch machine out I decided to twin needle the hem.  I also made the straps thicker than the pattern dictated.




For the pants I used my trusty McCall's 5400 but instead of adding narrow elastic to the top I added a large coloured band and threaded through a piece of 2cm wide elastic before topstitching it in place.  Unlike previous pairs, this time I fully lined them with swimsuit lining.





I think this is perhaps my favourite swim suit yet and I really like the pattern.  I like that it is designed to contain removeable swim suit cups and also like the support the design gives without being frumpy.  Beware though to those intending to make this suit, that this suit is more designed for a A or B cup and anyone larger may find it a bit skimpy.




Just looking at these photos after the fact, apart from the very strange tan lines going on, I can see that my top would actually benefit from being longer.  Because I have quite a large waist to hip ratio, I find that a two piece tends to ride up which is extremely annoying.  The answer may well be to add ease below the waist instead of the negative ease that rtw suits tend to have.

Comments

  1. It is a pretty simple but striking style.

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  2. These look great. I have never tried making a swim suit but yours look fabulous and very RTW.

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    1. Thank you! The actual sewing us not that complicated. Getting the fit right, is a whole other story!

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  3. I've been meaning to make swimwear for years. I've even accumulated all the necessary bits and pieces. Yours looks lovely. The fabric is very striking. I really like your use of the solid against the print.

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    1. Thank you! A lot of my knit inspiration comes from your Katherine so she would be of help I am sure!

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  4. Your bathers look fabulous! I really like the use of black with that bright eye catching print.

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    1. Thank you! That fabric is quite wild which is why I tried to tone it down a bit.

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  5. Wow! I am always amazed at the sewing antics you get up to. Your swim suit looks fantastic and the colours are so much fun :-)

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    1. The colours are fun aren't they? I think that is the attraction because fun and the beach are perfect partners.

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  6. I love your swimmers - well done! The swimmers I made from this fabric for myself were a compete failure; I only managed something decent for my daughter - grownup swimmers seem a tad harder to fit!!! I know what you mean about the waist to hip ratio problem with swim tops, but your swimmers really do look terrific and no one else on the beach will have swimmers like them!

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    1. That is what draws me to Jalie patterns. They look and fit like rtw!

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  7. Great work. I may have to invest in this pattern as my bombshell swimsuit was a total fail - not helped by the fact that I forgot to set the printer to A4 and didn't test measure after printing. The whole thing was ridiculously short in the body. Luckily it was only test fabric.

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    1. What a shame about the bombshell. I haven't tried that pattern so can't comment but it has been immensely popular.

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  8. I love your Jalie swim top!!!!!!

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  9. Hello,
    You did a wonderful job on your swimsuit, my sister wants one, but she's between size size 12th snd 13th,
    Which letter size do I choose?

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