Girls bathers, part 2

  I'm on a roll using up this swimsuit fabric. I have already posted the suits I made for myself and Althea.  Of course Fern got one too.

   I love seeing the girls in things that coordinate but aren't exactly the same. That is part of the beauty of buying a couple yards of different fabrics and mixing and matching them together in different ways.

      Fern's number one request was that she wanted her belly button to show when she wore her bathing suit. Her father heard this and bellowed (partly joking with the seriousness of his tone- but mostly not) "What?! Are you making her a bikini?!!"

     She loved this but didn't quite understand what he said, & began begging for me to make her a peony. I love the types of conversations that this type of confusion leads to with a child; the unraveling of the meaning of their words and subsequent giggles and clarifications.

      I was able to satisfy her appeal for a glimpse of bellybutton and also maintain a good deal of modesty, I believe. The bottom was the same underwear pattern from my Ottobre magazine that I used for the trunks of Althea's. For the top, I used the bodice from the alley cat romper by Lil Luxe Collection & added a high/ low skirt to it. I used the body of the alleycat as a base for this, but ended up cutting it off and removing about 5 inches of width from each side because it was creating too much bulk where it met the bodice.

    She and I are both happy with the result, and I think her father is ok with it as well (although he may be right to be worried about how much more she wanted a "peony" after he expressed his feelings against the idea). 

    Up next …a round of rash guards. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Girls' bathers, part 1

   Of course I couldn't make a bathing suit for myself without putting all my new tricks to work on suits for the girls as well.

    I love red, white and blue on them all summer long. Between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, it feels like we are always just a few weeks away from honoring the country in some way or another. And we can love America every day of the year right? (I hope I don't have to re-evaluate that comment in November, but I won't get into politics here.) In any case- picking out our own bathing suit fabric from Spandex house was way more fun then choosing from premade suits on a rack. 

      I gave them some options with their suits (bottoms like shorts, undies or skirts?; criss cross straps on top or tie around the neck?). When they choose design aspects, they always seem to feel invested and enjoy the finished garment more. Some features I decided myself. (I think two pieces are easier for bathrooming purposes & I don't like them to be showing too much skin.)

     Althea said she wanted a skirt and cross straps. I turned, where else?, to my trusty Ottobre 6/2013. I need to count how many patterns I have used out of that magazine-at least 10, and they never disappoint. There was an underwear pattern along with a camisole that worked perfectly for this. 

      For the bottom I used the underwear pattern, lined the entire front piece instead of just the crotch area & added a self drafted layered skirt (just two gathered rectangles).

      The pattern I used for the top had a full back, so I used two of the bottom front pieces and extended the straps of the top pieces several inches so I could cross them and attach to the back bodice bottom. I lined only the striped part of the top. 

       I used swim elastic in the leg holes, waist of the bottom and along the top edge of the top. It gives structure where it needs it. I used tips from the bombshell pattern when installing the swim elastic, but essentially followed the Ottobre patterns otherwise. 

       It worked great! It fits her so well and she loves it. She wore it all day the day I finished it & has already worn it for 3 beach days- score!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Sewing for Summer

       I have been really stretching myself in my sewing lately. Free motion quilting, serging up a storm,  and now.....bathing suits! I picked up the Bombshell sewing pattern by Closet Case Files along with several other patterns when I purchased a Perfect Pattern Parcel a couple years ago. It looks like the pattern parcel's are not being offered anymore, but it was a fun site that would sell bundles of patterns at discount prices while promoting indie pattern designers. They would also show lots of examples of these patterns being sewn for inspiration. The Bombshell was the pattern that I really wanted when I scored this parcel, but I think I knew it wasn't going to happen right away. I am so happy I finally tackled this!

      The pattern is awesome. Very easy to follow, and full of good tips for sewing bathing suits. This is the first bathing suit I have ever sewed, and it came out great.  Following along with the tutorial as well as all of her sewalong posts on her blog was a full sewing lesson. She even answered questions I posted to her blog within a day of my asking, even though my questions were written over a year after her original post. I have sewn suits for each of the girls since finishing this, and applied tips from this pattern to each of those projects.
 

  It is also super flattering. I really feel great when I put this bathing suit on. It helps that I chose this gorgeous red / orange rose on black print fabric from Spandex House to use for it. I also feel covered up enough while feeling sexy at the same time. I like the lower cut legs and the faux skirt front that provides a little more coverage in front without all the extra fabric of a full skirt hovering around you when you are in the water. I chose the maillot top option, and am happy about the cleavage coverage. I spend a lot of time in a bathing suit running after kids, playing with them and holding them in the water and I like to know my suit is going to stay in place.

Dave took these pictures for me, and he was running around yelling ridiculous things pretending to be a cheesy professional photographer. He had me laughing the whole time. He also took some borderline obscene pictures of me in the garden encouraging the cucs to climb. I guess that's what I get when I hand him the camera then mill about in a bathing suit. Love that guy. And my new suit!! Just in time for summer. 

Happy Solstice and thanks for stopping by!