a bathing suit!

Of course, this is a garment which belongs in a different setting than my house. I opted for taking pictures in front of that bit of white wall in the living room because the other usual angles would just look more out of place. Obviously, it would have been better to take the trouble of going to the beach and really show this thing off in its natural habitat.
However, I didn't have a lot of time and I had several things to take pictures of. And although it is a bit too warm for that dress in the previous post, it's not exactly beach weather either. So for now, pictures in the living room will have to do.

I made a bathing suit again! Many years ago, I tried that for the first time. Back then, I had just started to draft lingerie patterns and this was my first attempt at swimwear. I was really ambitious and wanted to make a 1950's suit with a skirt front and bra-style cups. I had never successfully made a bra before, so I chickened out of inserting underwires. I still think it looks nice in the pictures but it had issues, some of which seriously compromised wearing comfort. 
Then, years later, I made some much simpler pieces. The bandeau top and high-waisted panties can still be used, the other top has always had issues. 
To those, I added a highly utilitarian, but not so good-looking, sporty bikini-top a year later. 

The truth is, I don't actually need a lot of swimwear. I've never enjoyed sun bathing (which is likely a reason why my very pale skin is quite healthy...) and I'm not a huge fan of swimming either. I do like the occasional spa day (for which you don't always need a bathing suit) and, when on holiday, I love water-y pursuits like rafting and, especially, canyoning. So, to be honest, I only really need a simple piece of swimwear which doesn't cause issues when you have to put on a wetsuit over it. But where's the fun in just making useful things?

I thought it was high time to try my hand at swimwear again. And I would start of with what would just be my second-ever one-piece. Of course, the bodysuits I made last year really helped to fine-tune the fit of my sloper-for-lycra. 

For the design, I took inspiration from a RTW swimsuit I tried on years ago (and didn't buy, because of a fit issue). I went for asymmetry: One shoulder, and a big cut-out at that side. In retrospect, I guess the cut-out on the RTW suit was probably smaller but I like how this turned out.
The leg-shape is the one I also used for the bodysuit and some of my retro-style panties.

I was planning to use black lycra, but ended up going for this dark red-brown from my stash instead. I'm glad I did, this colour really suits me.

All in all, it's certainly not your average bathing suit but can function as one. It can be pulled on like most other bathing suits and it stays put. Although the cut-out is not revealing anything you wouldn't see in a bikini, I still think it looks kind of sexy. 
I think I'm going to enjoy this thing but it whet my appetite to sew more swimwear and different styles and methods of construction.

  

A wet issue

As I've mentioned before, I'm usually not much of a swimmer. I really need my glasses, chlorine gives me headaches and I get sun burned easily. Those things conspire to make me neither a keen visitor of the swimming pool nor the beach. 
And as a result of that, me making swimwear has been as much about pattern making and sewing exercise as about the result. 

My retro bathing suit is the prime example of that. It looks great but I only really wore it once, and then I found out the leg elastic was really a bit too tight. Not very surprising considering that I made that thing after only a couple of lingerie muslins...

I made these bikini's two years ago, with the intention to use them. I wore the one with the bandeau top under my wetsuit when we went rafting last year.

And then, a week before my holiday this year, I dug it out again. The weather was warm and I needed a break from work. And I had decided that a bit of swimming in the sea would be just the thing.
It was only then that I discovered the weakness of this bikini: That strapless body doesn't stay up when you're moving against the current. After every stroke, I had to pull up. 

For our holiday, I tried on the other bikini, hoping it would perform better... Well, not so much. Remember that breast growth thing? That was after I made these bikini's. I had noticed the bandeau didn't fit that great anymore. I should have remembered that other bikini was a bit tighter to start with... I couldn't maneuver that drawstring front in anything near to a decent position anymore.
Fortunately, I was in a wetsuit again for this holiday's water activities, so I could still wear the bandeau bikini. 

I'll have to address the situation though. I'd like to have a swimsuit I can actually use for swimming. I tried some on in a store to get a bit of an idea. RTW bikini bottoms still have that very low rise, tops and one pieces come in endless variety.
And then I realized: there are bathing suits for beach beauties and there are swimsuits for sports swimmers. And the latter and basically only sold in sports stores and the sports departments of department stores while the former are sold by lingerie stores and some fashion chains. 
Beach beauty suits often have foam cups and regularly lack proper shoulder straps, while the sports suits tend to be cut high on the chest and have compression shelf bra constructions (if they have any special bust treatment at all) 
Again, the world of RTW doesn't look very appealing to me. I has opened my eyes though.
I may not be a sportswoman, I'm even less of a beach beauty. If I want to be able to go for a swim, I'll have to think about functionality. Both bikini bottoms are still perfectly fine but I will have to make a top which is the right size, has a stable closure (not just ties) and real shoulder straps. I may just make a triangle bikini top which sticks to those rules and see from there (unfortunately, the 'bikini tops' page of Pattern School doesn't load, I hope it will again later).
Another item for my to-sew list...

What surprises me, is that, despite the amount of swimwear sewing I've seen on sewing blogs, I haven't read anything about functionality vs. looks issues. I wonder why. 
Is this something regular swimwear wearers are aware of, so they pick the right styles for their use without the need to think or talk about it? Or am I just a bit over-sensitive about the issues with my swimwear?
I'd like to know what you think about making and wearing different styles swimwear...

Bikini after all

For most of the year, I don't even think about swimwear. I'm not a regular swimmer and I prefer the beach for long walks on windy autumn days... But a bikini would come handy for my (late) summer holiday.

So, I decided to leave the wacky world of underwiring for now (no doubt I will return there later) and concentrate on making something (relatively) quick and wearable. I had some nice quality black lycra in my stash (bought for my retro swim suit but there was plenty left) and bought more new elastic. The lycra actually matched my old H&M hipster bikini bottom, so if all else failed, I'd be fine if I just made one OK top.

I planned on making a very simple longline bandeau top (a.k.a. a boob tube) to match the old hipster, and a high-waisted bikini bottom with a gathered bandeau top. The longer top and the bottom were drafted based on my lingerie slopers and for the last piece, I used this tutorial from pattern school. I really recommend that site: lots and lots of information about 'close-fit stretch-wear patterns' i.e. swim, dance and exercise wear. Just no real sewing instructions, so only easy to use if you sort of know what you're doing. My bikini top was drafted completely according to the instructions for the gathered bandeau, just with a smaller hole at center front and with the strap knotted at the top of the bandeau.

I'm very happy to report that this time, it all worked out.
I even had the audacity to try that blind finish again on the high waisted briefs and the gathered top. This time, I found a better lining, calculated the turn of the cloth better and it worked like a charm.

Here you can see the top edges of the longline bandeau, with a conventional finish.

And here are the top edges of the gathered bandeau, smooth on the outside and with the seam and a zigzag on the inside. 
You may notice some waving in the elastic (especially in the top picture). Although with the tops flat on the table, this may look like a problem, it is a solution. This stuff, Gold-Zack 1 cm wide transparant elastic, was the only thing remotely like swimwear elastic I could find. It looks the part but I found out in my attempts with the grey bikini just how sturdy this stuff is... So I decided to stretch it slightly less than the lycra to prevent uncomfortable and unsightly cutting. 

By now, you may wonder what these bikini's actually look like... Well, here we go:

RTW bottoms, longer top.

High waisted bottoms, gathered top (by the way, this thing is surprisingly supportive)  

Oh lala, let's go to the beach!

It's done! I have finally made that bathing suit I have been thinking about for two summers!

After my first attempt with the bad fabric, I didn't have the guts to cut into the new stuff straight away. This weekend, I turned to it again.

I could list quite a lot of flaws about it, but lets start with the positives:

First of all it's pin-up-tastic (there's a very interesting discussion over at Gertie's blog about whether men find vintage sexy and whether any girl should care about that. However, for a bathing suit, I think a fairly modest pin-up look is good). I just love how the skirt-bit over longish shorts turned out. And how curvy it looks. It would have been good without the waist belt as well, but it is an extra accent.

What I don't like is how the ruching on the cups ended up looking. It's just to baggy and sagging (that's the strange bulge you can see at my side in the back view). There's a fitted bust lining underneath, so it won't create trouble in wearing it, but it's not a look I was going for. I tried out the shape on my bad-fabric bathing suit and it seemed Ok but then again, that fabric behaved quite differently and I didn't have any of the edge elastic in. I guess the cups were a bit of an afterthought to me, I was focussing mainly on the bottom and waist treatment.

There are more flaws which can be blamed on making assumptions about an unreliable muslin. Like the hole in the back. It's fine, but actually a bit lower than I thought it would be. I lowered it after the first try because it looked so high there. In the end, that fabric was just way stretchier (although, of course, it didn't stretch back).

There's one last thing which annoys me a bit: the first attempt taught me I would need elastic at the top edge of the front shorts to keep it in place. I put elastic in, and it fits fine but it pulls at the side seam. I can't think of any way I could have avoided that, so I'm not going to worry about it.

Despite all the comments I made above: this is my first ever piece of swimwear, I know I didn't make things easy for myself with drafting my own pattern and coming up with a design like this and I'm very pleased with it!

Proof of concept

Right now, it's that particular sticky summer weather, which seems to leach away all your energy. Of course, it doesn't get to really impressive temperatures here in the Netherlands, but other people, who have reasons to know, have ensured me that the humidity makes both heat and cold have more impact.

Why am I complaining about the weather yet again? Well, I need a bit of an excuse for slacking on the pinstripe project, don't I? At least you guys have almost brought me around to the idea of making a dress out of it... Goodbye practicality, hello fabric origami/tetris!

So, this weekend, I started work on another project which has been on my mind and planning for a long time: a retro bathing suit! I think I have wanted to make something like this (please excuse me for the very rough little sketch) for about two years now, being held back first by a lack of proper machinery and later by a lack of time.

I made the pattern (based on a stretch body sloper made last year), cut out the pieces, some in the lining and all in black lycra, planning to use both the matt and the glossy side. Today, I started assembling, only to be disappointed almost straight away.

As it turns out, this lycra, which has been in my stash for at least a year, is of a particularly nasty quality. Its worst feature just has to be that of 'recovery', or, more to the point, the lack of it. What I mean by this is the ability of the fabric to resume its former shape and look after having been stretched out. A quality one would look for in a fabric for a bathing suit, I would say. A quality which this particular piece of lycra sadly lacks... It already showed some odd bulges just from holding it, so you can imagine what happened when I tried on my half assembled bathing suit.

This is it, so far. I think the fit is basically OK, but I will need to tweek it a bit. The inseams on the panty bit need to be shortened, so they won't show under the skirt bit. The whole bottom, panty and skirt front, should be lengthened by about 2 cm because I like the length the way it is now, but I haven't hemmed anything yet. I'm not so sure about the cut-out at the back. It seems too wide, but it's really hard to judge it without assembling the rest of the top and applying all the needed elastic edging. And I'm certainly not going to waste more time, energy and supplies on an item which I'll never wear.

Last Friday, I was given a gift certificate for the local fabric store. So it shouldn't surprise you that right now, I'm feeling really tempted to grab it and run to the store for some proper lycra (I may have to go with a two colour look though, most lycras don't have a matt reverse side)