Thursday, June 27, 2013

Sewing on a Budget - Swimsuits for Mother & Daughter

Swimwear has been on my 'to sew' list for a while, and I've always admired how Cindy manages to sew lots of great swimsuits for her family.
Last year I got as far as buying and tracing patterns. So when I found this lilac Lycra fabric from Abakhan Fabrics and this really sweet stretch gingham trim, I decided to try sewing swimwear on a budget.
In the last few months, the push to sew swimwear came in the form of a 'Swimalong' This is where bloggers and sewists support each other while sewing swimwear under the guidance of Lelia and Katie. These generous bloggers have produced really excellent & helpful posts all about sewing swimwear. So any information you could need about fabric, patterns, sewing techniques, finishing seams can all be found on their swim along posts.


The details of the fabric and haberdashery for these two swimsuits are:
Nylon/Lycra swimsuit fabric 150cm x 1metre =£10.25
Stretch gingham with double frill edge x 2metres = £1.40
Swimwear elastic = £2.99
(Patterns, button and cotton lining from my stash)
Total = £14.64 for 2 swimsuits. Considering that the adult swimsuit was fully self-lined, this represents excellent value, as a similar RTW version could cost from £50 upwards.





I started with a swimsuit for my daughter. A child's swimsuit is more straightforward as it doesn't need lining or support and provides a perfect opportunity to practice techniques. This pattern is from Ottobre magazine 3/2009#38
I used a coverstitch to sew this swimsuit, which is a stretch stitch that looks a little like how a serger sews.





Then I progressed to sewing my own. I had the KwikSew 3416 swimwear pattern that I bought a few years ago but changed View B up by adding a ruched panel in front and adding lining and support.
This suit was sewn completely with a small zig-zag stitch which is on almost every sewing machine.

This was much more work than the child's version, but mostly because of the changes I made.
One part I was particularly pleased with were the straps which I wanted to be narrow, unlike the wider straps of my daughters swimsuit.
 Hers were sewn by folding them in three and zig-zagging the length.
Generally turning narrow straps is awkward, so I found an easy way that involves using a drinking straw. This makes sewing narrow straps much simpler and works for jersey, cotton and other lightweight fabrics.












The trim wasn't meant to be 'matchy' with my daughter, but added to cover some of the uneven zig-zag stitching.



My favourite part of sewing the swimsuits, was the seahorse appliqué on my daughters suit. This was remarkably easy, and is sewn with a straight stretch stitch unlike appliqué for woven fabric which is often sewn with a satin stitch. The outline for the seahorse is provided in the pattern magazine and the instructions suggest Bondaweb to attach the seahorse to the swimsuit, and then to sew around the outline.




(The fabric and notions for these swimsuits were chosen by me and supplied by Abakhan Fabrics, free, as part of their challenge to sew on a budget)












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13 comments:

  1. Great swimsuits! I also used the Ottobre swimsuit pattern, but a made a change to the top edge and straps. It is a great pattern.

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    1. Thanks Laura, I was very impressed with the pattern too. I must have a look at yours, thanks for dropping by :-)

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  2. The swimsuits look great, Angela! I love yours! How did you add the ruched panel in front? I have yet to tackle a swimsuit for myself...though I did buy a pattern and fabric for me. Perhaps this summer!

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    1. Thanks, Cindy! You really must try one for you. I really like the ruched panel on mine as it makes me less conscious of the lumps&bumps. I cut a rectangle of fabric as wide as the widest part of the front and 1& 1/2 times as long (if I was sewing it again, I would go twice as long). I shaped the top and bottom as per pattern. Gather the sides, pin to one side first & sew as per curved outline, then pin to other side and sew. When you finish it will look very 'baggy' but once you try it on the gathers will stretch & you get your ruched look. Hope that helps!

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  3. Your swimsuits are gorgeous! Love the pattern and the ribbon details. So cute that they match!

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    1. Thank you :-) I didn't really mean to go matchy, especially on with the trim too, but I like how they turned out.

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  4. These are so cute!! I love the ruffled gingham trim. I hope you'll add them to the linky party on my blog! I'd love for everyone to see them!

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    1. Thank you Katie :-) I fell in love with that trim too, though I ordered it not even knowing what it was really like! I have added them to the links party!
      Thank you for all the great swimalong posts - and all the time they must have taken you, they were so helpful!

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  5. They look brilliant Angela. I haven't attempted sewing with lycra yet but you've made it look easy. Now you have just the weather to wear them too :-)

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    1. Fiona, thank you! I was so surprised that the Lycra sewed up that easily too, and we got the weather too!!!

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  6. I love these Angela! I lost your blog, in the change from google reader to bloglovin, but I found you again! Yay!

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  7. Ah, thanks Kathy. It's such a pain when that happens! Glad you found me again :-)

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