Friday, October 9, 2015

simple swimsuits



Just in time for our impromptu beach vacation,
I made the girls each a swimsuit.


Then wondered why on earth I hadn't made them at the beginning of summer, 
instead of the end.



Swimsuits are so much fun to make,
only use a tiny bit of fabric,
and are quite fast!



I started by slashing and spreading the largest size panty pattern I had,
made one pair of panties,
made a few more (minor) adjustments
and made another pair of panties.
(It's so nice that the girls are similarly sized!)


When I was happy with the fit of the panties,
I took Lily's upper body measurements
(measuring front and back separately, like when I made my skirts)


Using those measurements
and the perfected panty pattern,
I made a basic swimsuit pattern
and made Lily's suit.


Since Lexi is a bit shorter than Lily,
I had her try on the suit too, 
so I could note where I needed to shorten things
to best fit her.  


I was able to just fold out the excess length on the pattern
so I didn't have to bother with making a second one :-)


When Lexi tried on her suit, 
she said she could "see it with a skirt"
so I quickly whipped one up for her
by using the waist of the panty pattern, then flaring out the sides
and measuring 9" (I think it was 9?) from the waist to get the length.
I didn't bother making a pattern, 
but just drew it right on the fabric with a washable marker.



I'll be able to change up the style 
and mix and match fabrics
to make lots of different suits using this base pattern :-)




Provided they don't grow too much 
too fast...



(I never make a swimsuit that I don't think of Renae. 
She taught me everything I know about sewing suits. 
Thank-you, Renae!!
Come to think of it, 
I'm pretty sure I bought both of these fabric remnants from her!)

Linking up with Ladder Leaping Amanda Jean :-)

11 comments:

  1. The family beach pictures and swim suits turned out great. I've never made a swimsuit before and you make it sound so easy. Maybe, just maybe, I'll give it a try... next year.

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  2. Those swim suits are stunningly beautiful!

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  3. They look as if they fit perfectly. Colour me impressed!

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  4. Thanks :-)
    Debora ~ they really are surprisingly easy - go for it!!

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  5. Beautiful job as always! I love the fun colors! Great job on the contrasting binding too!

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  6. Clever you! What lovely swimsuits. Your duaghters look like they are having fun at the beach! Popping in from Crazy Mom Quilts as part of my blog comment challenge 300 in 30 days!

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  7. Okay, I am beyond impressed. Swimsuits? And you just whipped them up? On a whim? Girl - you got some skills!!

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  8. Um, you MADE swimsuits?! And your own pattern to boot! Total genius. They turned out darling! My mom l, who was an accomplished seamstress, tried to make me a swimsuit once. Total and complete failure from what I recall. I don't think the fabric was right. I'm sure the options back then weren't as good. Anyway, NICE JOB!

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  9. There are so many comfortable swimsuits on sale at the store www.hot166.com

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