practical swimwear

Warm weather and sewing with lycra... It would have been weird if I hadn't thought about swimwear last week. And sure I did. I've been thinking about making a new 1950's style bathing suit but I decided to make something more practical first: A sporty type of bikini top to go with my existing set. It's something I already blogged about a year ago.
I'm not much of a beach or pool person but if I go near one of those things, I like to be able to swim. I didn't miss a practical swimsuit in the past year but I know I would on my next holiday or if I decided to go to the beach after all...

This new top is a simple racerback style, drafted from a dartless bodysuit block. It's basically shaped like a sport bra although it doesn't compress the chest quite as much (I wanted that. It's not like I'll be doing heavy exercise in this thing and this way it doesn't completely flatten my breasts).
If I make a top like this again, I would make the racerback piece a bit narrower at center back. It works well like this, but it would look better if it were narrower. 

Now, I have a practical bikini. I may go on to make the pretty one as well but for now, I'm returning to my 1930's dress plan.