Wednesday, June 27, 2012

New Swimsuit

I'm not sure how I feel about sewing swimsuits.  The suit I used to have (store bought) lasted a long time.  Last spring (2011) I bought a new one since the old one was worn out and I was cutting it up to make a pattern and I wasn't sure how that would work.  That store bought suit lasted only about six months!  The one I made at that time, with fabric from FabricLand, is still going strong, although I didn't wear it a whole lot.  Then I sewed two suits in October.  One has worn out!  It was fabric I bought at Value Village, so I guess I can't complain too much.  And it's too big now. 

Meg needed a new suit, since she's in the hot tub a lot and her old suits were hand me downs that were really worn out.  She wanted a tankini, and I used the same Kwik Sew pattern that I used for Lucy's suit (I don't think I've used it as intended yet).  Her measurements are all over the chart though.  I had to lengthen, widen some, narrow the shoulders....when it came time for adding elastic to the arm and necklines...I had no idea what to do.  I compared the original amount to the original pattern, and it used about 1 1/2" less elastic then the measurement.  That did not work.  I took elastic out.  I added elastic. I ripped and re-sewed.  Finally, it seemed okay.  I hope no one ever unpicks it and sees how I added in and cut out bits of the elastic!  LOL.



Another big issue I had...when I cut the front, I added two inches to the length...but I didn't mark it on the pattern.  When I cut the back...I forgot to add that extra....yeah.  I've done that before, and still haven't learned.  So, I ended up cutting a strip to make a ruffle.  The length wasn't bad before, but she did want it to cover her belly completely.

The fabric was from Spandex World, last summer.  I ordered two yards, and was very disappointed when it came and there was a white line between each yard.   But it was cheap, compared to what I can buy here (and they don't have the swim suit material "mill ends" bin anymore!).

5 comments:

Sheryl Evans said...

That suit looks really cute!! & so does she wearing it!! I love the ruffle.

Marg Coe said...

Meg looks smashing in her new swimsuit - I think it really suits her to a "T". Well done. I have never used spandex so I envy you challenging yourself to make bathing suits at all. Way to go.

Anonymous said...

That is just so cute!!!

TracyKM said...

Thanks! Her friends liked it too when she wore it for the end of school party to the splash pad. The bum is a little droopy though when it's wet, LOL.

TracyKM said...

Oh, and you can't see it in the photos, but some of the print is in a metallic ink. Just a little bit of glimmer :)