My oldest wanted a one piece swimsuit for her lifeguard certification class and around that time Shelley made one for her daughter. It was a Jalie pattern that I had been eyeing and seeing it made up by someone I know was all the incentive I needed to purchase it. (I sewed this swimsuit 2 months ago but didn't have a chance to get photos until we were on vacation this past week.)
pattern: Jalie 3134
size: O at top, Q at bottom, and U for length
fabric: Peacock Blue Tricot Satin Matte Nylon Spandex Knit Fabric from Girl Charlee (this color is no longer available)
I screwed up a little when tracing the pattern. There was quite a bit going on around me at the time and I kept losing track of what size I tracing! No fault of the pattern...next time I'm blending between sizes I'll wait until the little girls are in bed or at school;)
Per K's instructions, I kept the swimsuit all one color and didn't add any piping.
The back pattern pieces are where I messed up while blending sizes. Luckily, despite my blending blunders, the swimsuit stays in place while swimming laps and practicing rescues! K wore it for all 5 of her classes and reported that it was comfortable to wear. While it won't get much wear this summer at the beach, it'll come in handy when she swims laps as part of her cross training during track season.
I also made myself a new swimsuit...well, bottoms at least...for our recent vacation in Florida. I only have this one picture that K snapped before trying out our Go Pro camera underwater. Sadly, I seem to have left the bottoms some where in the Florida Keys as I couldn't find them when we were back in Kissimmee and I had K all ready to take some pictures.
pattern: Barrie Boy Cut Briefs from Kitschy Coo*
size: 4, mid rise
fabric: Black Tricot Satin Matte Nylon Spandex Knit Fabric from Girl Charlee
mods: I fully lined the bottoms and skipped the gusset.
*Full disclosure: I tested the pattern so I received a copy for free.
After numerous swims in the pool and several beach outings, I have found my new favorite swim bottoms! The key difference from all my other (6!) bottoms are the bands at the waist and leg openings. They hold the bottoms in place but don't dig in to my skin like elastic has a tendency to do. I promise that I will be sewing more for the summer and I'll make sure I get photos.;) I basically lived in these while we were on vacation (until I lost them). Bonus: the Barrie Briefs are a really quick sew since you don't have to fiddle with elastic.
We had a wonderful time in Florida and got to spend a few days in the Florida Keys which was a new experience for everyone but my husband. I even got to meet up with Alisa from Making More With Less who was in Orlando with her husband. This vacation was just the break the entire family needed after a very busy past 7 months. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from our time in Florida...
Kissimmee, FL l resident gator in the lake behind the house we stayed at
sunset in Key West
