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 :-)