Blah, blah, blah, and what happened next? Well, sewing inspiration, of course!
I went looking at swimmers in one of the local department stores, and I found this swimsuit from Seafolly that I loved. It comes with a halter strap too, not shown in these photos:
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| source: Seafolly |
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| source: Seafolly |
Amazing print, isn't it! There's an unhemmed, deep ruffle on the bust, and the bodice has cups as well as boning at the sides (!!). There are gathers on one side of the front, and the whole thing is lined. But - $250. Woah!
My daughter wore this swimsuit till it disintegrated :).
To save $250 I am definitely prepared to make another effort at fitting though. I searched for similar fabric online - and hooray! found these two close cousins over in the printed lycra section at Spandex House:
I'm currently close to finishing a swimsuit for my daughter from that upper fabric (yes, I bought some of both) but there will be enough left for me too. Time is short though (ah, we love a sleep deprivation challenge, don't we?) as I'm heading off on a big trip soon, so I'm not likely to make a swimsuit with boning channels, though I'd love to make something with a bust ruffle! And I'm hopeful the crazy print will be tummy camo, even if it makes me stand out like a galah. So the big question: what pattern(s)?
Any suggestions gratefully received :).
Thank you, and see you soon
- Gabrielle x
If you run short of time, use one or two layers of powermesh to line your swimmers with. Powermesh keeps 'everything' in place.
ReplyDeleteI am going to try power mesh as well. Love the fabric btw!
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see how you go, because every second summer I cough up about $200 for a swimsuit from Seafolly. They are gorgeous, and well made, but as I know how cheap lycra is and how small the meterage required is, it does give me great irritation to hand over that money. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHow about starting with the Bombshell Swimsuit by Closet Case patterns, you could easily add the frill and the gathering hides a lot. Great reviews on Pattern Review. This fabric would look amazing with this pattern.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Maria, I'll have to see who stocks it! I tried lincraft today (after reading your comment) and they said they didn't have it. I'm not sure I would have recognized it though - is it like regular swimsuit lining, or firmer?
ReplyDeleteYay, it sounds like good stuff, doesn't it! Thanks - it's wild, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteHa! I came very close to justifying buying that cossie, but $250 is just too much. Thanks, I hope I can make something that fits well enough - and doesn't look too home made - that I'll wear it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon, I will have to have a good look at the Bombshell pattern. Those gathers do look like they could do a lot of camouflaging :).
ReplyDeleteThanks Katherine, I have a few Kwiksew patterns but unfortunately not 3779... I picked up Kwiksew 3780c today, it's one shouldered with a ruffle (and a shelf bra) so maybe I can morph it with another pattern to get a bit of gathering?
ReplyDeleteGabrielle, it's firmer and the one I have is not so fine a knit... I have never seen it at Spotlight or Lincraft but I'd imagine Maria would know where to buy it in Sydney.
ReplyDeleteHi, just going through my pattern stash looking for something else and I found Kwik Sew 1431 (really old) and I have 3779 also so if you'd like to borrow them, I;m happy to send them down. Email me at sofiem@internode.on.net if you'd like them. Of course I didn't find what I was looking for ...
ReplyDeleteHow ridiculously expensive are RTW cozzies?? It boggles the mind it really does, but that Seafolly suit is a wonder to behold. You are gonna totally rock your own version, especially with a bust ruffle. No help on the pattern I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteYep! I can neither confirm or deny whether there is now some very similar winging its way to me!
ReplyDeleteIt's firmer. If you can't find any, I'll have some waiting for you when you get home.
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd know where to get it!
ReplyDelete