New Swimmers: Inspiration

Getting ready to go to the beach several months back (summer - I MISS you!) I realised that I had only one weary old one-piece to wear. A very nice cossie in its day, but as it still had sand in it from the last beach visit, I had to resort to a mismatched bikini, and that made me feel like very self-conscious of my lingering mummy tummy. I chucked a t-shirt on top (I didn't have my rash top back then), and the t-shirt got cold and heavy in the surf but I couldn't take it off because I was wearing a bikini, and the whole experience was just irritating.

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:

source: Seafolly

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! 

I've sewn swimmers before for my daughter (this swimsuit and an earlier one, unblogged) so I know the sewing part of making a swimsuit isn't hard and doesn't require perfection:

 

My daughter wore this swimsuit till it disintegrated :).

I've had a stab at sewing one for myself before, so I also know the fitting part is a challenge, as is the turn-this-mummy-tummy-into-something-flat illusion (please share if you have sewing tips on that topic!):

 

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