Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: A Pin-Up Style Bathing Suit

It's only days into Spring and I'm ready for my beach vacation, guys!  I've had this two-piece swimsuit pattern combo on my mind for well over a year.  I'm a curvy gal, so I thought I'd play it up with this retro pin-up style two-piece with a bold tropical floral print.  This is a nylon/spandex swimwear fabric with a four-way stretch.  I've lined it with a solid black swimwear knit.  There is a growing list of really nice fabrics here on Fabric Mart perfect for bathing suits... and it's perfect for other activewear-- I've made numerous running leggings with fabric labeled for swimwear.




For my top I used Simplicity 1374, View B.  I cut and sewed a straight size 16 with zero alterations... besides the addition of cups (more on those in a moment).  It's a great little pattern that took me just over two hours to sew up.  I picked up my swimwear elastic and cups from the local big box fabric store.  I used 3/8" wide elastic for the edges-- if you happen to sew up this pattern, the back of the envelope says to use 1/4", it should read 3/8" since the seam allowances are 3/8".  I stay away from regular elastics because they will deteriorate quicker in salt water and chlorine.  But I must confess I will likely not actually swim in this bathing suit, it's a sitting on the beach under an umbrella one... so I whipped out some regular 1" wide elastic for the underbust because I didn't buy any swimwear stuff this size. Aww geeeez!


These are the rock hard cups 
I used, they aren't THAT bad


This bikini top provides medium support between the wide underbust elastic and with the cups I've added.  Read: I'm not jogging along the beach with this on, just sitting and sipping on an umbrella'd beverage. Bra cups give me more modesty as well.  For the cups, I simply slid them between the main and lining fabrics before sewing the two parts together. I would normally zig zag sew them in place on the lining but these particular cups are freakishly firm and a sewing machine wouldn't approve sewing through them.  You can see how I sewed in bra cups on another bathing suit right here a couple years back... those cups were soft and flexible making them easy to sew in.




Here are photos of both the inside and outside of my bikini top.  I tried to make the cup easy to see. It's not uncommon to have cups not sewn in ready-to-wear bathing suits because they are often removable.  Mine are permanently inside there, I'd absolutely lose them if I could take them out.



I wanted a tad more support for the top so I took the neck straps and sewed them in a criss-cross style.  This helps hold the whole thing in position a little better, plus it just looks cute!  Now let's talk about those high-waisted bikini bottoms.  I prefer a bit more modesty on my lower half so the Closet Case Files Bombshell Bathing Suit is exactly what I need.  I've made the full length swimsuit from that pattern two times already, so my pattern was cut and ready to rock for this ensemble.  My waist is halfway between a 12 and 14 and my lower hip, rear, thigh region a 16.  I lengthened it by 1 1/2" overall (the main fabric is lengthened by about 2 1/2" because it's ruched, the lining is 1 1/2" only.)  


I sew a lot with 4-way stretch knits for activewear and sewing bras & lingerie.  Whenever I need to baste I will use a medium to small zig zag stitch (above-left pic).  Patterns often don't mention this and show a straight basting stitch.  When I go to put on a close fitting garment like this, I will here popping stitches and the seams will be restricted with a straight basting stitch... zig zag basting solves that problem for me.  The above -right pic shows both the inside and outside of my 3/8" elastic stitch on the finished edges.  Notice on the inside (with the black lining showing) there are 3 lines of zig zags-- one is the basting, one is the initial zig zag stitch attaching the elastic and the last one is the final zig zag stitch.  All you see is the one line of stitches on the correct side of the finished garment.

This is a great technique if you only have a regular sewing machine or don't feel like breaking out the serger.  Otherwise I will often use my serger to attach the elastic followed by a either a zig zag stitch or a twin needle to finish.  I like to disengage my serger blade, dropping it down in the lowest position, while attaching the elastic--- this will prevent the elastic from getting cut if I get too close.

If you're new to sewing knits or four-way stretch stuff like this, I cannot stress how wonderful a walking foot is when using a regular sewing machine.  It's on my machine almost all the time, along with my ball point or stretch needles.  It evens out the pressure placed on the fabric as it runs under through the machine, preventing nasty puckering and stretching.    


Anyone else sewing up a bathing suit this season?!  I want a sporty one with a rash guard and swim shorts for splashing in the blow-up kiddie pool in the yard with my son... and will likely get one made up in the coming weeks.  Just need some warm days and sunshine now.

Happy Sewing!!
~Kathy
Kathy Sews

Comments

  1. This is adorable. Great job, Kathy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like the workmanship with this swimsuit Kathy!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You look great in the suit! I love the high waist on this pattern-- not too much midriff showing. Modest yet stylish! Perfect for a fun day at the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Kathy. Great job on the suit!
    I have the pattern too. How did you keep the fabric from puckering when you sewed the elastic the second time in between the cups on the outside of the top? I hope that makes sense to you.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Workwear Ready

I'm excited for my first post in 2023! At the beginning of the year, I recently went back to working in person so now I am looking to make and wear pieces that I can wear to work.  The goal is to be functional but also very fashionable since I am a fashion design professor. I saw this blue denim fabric and knew I wanted to make some pants; I just wasn’t sure what kind.  I decided to make Mimi G x Simplicity S8985 View B pants.  I liked the oversized flare look, I just made one slight modification to them by adding a pintuck along the front.  This was easy to add since the waistline was called to be slightly gathered to fit.  The fabric had a hand closer to linen and was very lightweight which was great and very satisfying to sew.  I lengthened the pants by 3” and finished with a 2” hem. The top I used Simplicity S9707.  It’s an oversized partial button down top.  I decided to create a high low hem by combining two different views.   I loved the print of the fabric but honestly as s

Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn ! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts. With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still ha

Made By A Fabricista: A Denim Set for Spring

Happy Friday All! I am ecstatic to share my latest make that I had on my to make list for a while.  My goal for the month of February was to sew a mini vacation capsule for a trip, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to. I was able to make 3 of the 6 pieces including this denim set. When this beautiful denim fabric arrived, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been wanting to recreate a linen look I made a few years ago using the Montoya coat pattern with a few adjustments.  I created VIEW A without the peplum and lengthened it by 6 inches. Instead of sewing the tie inside the seam of the top like I did here, I wanted to make it separate so that it looks like a jumpsuit. (Read the blogpost here ). Moreover, my body has changed and I needed to cut a size larger so that I can rock it as an open vest or a top tucked in. I love the way it turned out but wish I had extended it by 8 inches instead of 6. For the pants, I went to my tried and true simplicity 8605 pants pattern and