Swimmers, 2014 version

These are the swimmers that I have made myself this summer.

 

 

This first pair were made by morphing my self-drafted halter top onto Jalie 2447 and, after reading reviews for the Jalie pattern, adding 3 inches of length.  It is a while since I made these, so I am a bit hazy on the construction, but I remember being pleasantly surprised by how easily the 2 patterns morphed together.   The bottoms are my basic self-drafted pattern.  The fabric was from The Fabric Store.  These swimmers have good coverage, so I felt quite comfortable wearing them to social occasions  that involved hanging about in swimmers with other people, say sipping champagne by the pool.

The next pair are not so suitable for public wearing, being on the skimpy side, but are my favourite.  They are very comfy, so great if I am going to be wearing them for a long time.  The pattern is from Patrones Extra No. 29 (5 Sujetador Halter & 6 Braguita Baja).  There are quite a few bikini patterns in this magazine and I was curious to see how they compared to my self-drafted patterns.

The top ended up a bit of a mess.  The edges are all self bound, as per the pattern, but there is no elastic in the straps, and the fabric is not what I call a strong lycra, so the top is not very supportive.  I think I'll steer clear of bound edges for bikini tops in the future, and stick to elasticated edges.  I changed it from a neck tie to a cross-over back, so that I don't have ties at my neck (no headaches!) or ties at my back (comfort sitting in the car).  I wore these to the beach a lot, with a swim shirt over the top.  The fabric is the same fabric that I used to make a bikini for my niece, so we were a little matchy-matchy on the holidays.

The popularity of the bombshell swimsuit pattern would suggest that sewing bloggers prefer good bottom coverage, but I subscribe to the theory that skimpier bikinis make your backside appear smaller.  If I have to cover my whole bottom, it takes a whole lotta fabric, and everyone can see how much fabric is needed.  If I sew a skimpier style, in a fabric that contrasts with my skin, if has a colour-blocking effect.  Try it!  You just might be surprised.

The last pair I made today, so I haven't tested them yet, but I am pretty happy with the fit.  The pattern is Jalie 3134.  I bought this pattern for my daughter, but have decided to give it a go for myself, although using fabric from my stash that I don't really love, in case it didn't work out.  I made a size W at the hips and slimmed to a size T at the top.    This was a little tricky to do, with the multiple pieces, so I kept my basic block beside me to help with the process.  After reading reviews, I also lowered the leg-line by 5cm.  I was worried about the length, as many reviewers seemed to need to add length to the pattern.  I thought I had a long torso, but my measurements compared well with the Jalie measurements and the length seems just right.  These are for swimming laps, now that my sporty bikini from last year is starting to perish.

This photo was taken at Memorial, a camping spot near here.  We know locals who jump off the cliffs into the water-hole below, but we also know people who have seen crocs there, so we didn't brave the pools.

We only sat in the waterfall at the top of the pool.  Some of the pools were quite deep, and now and then I got a scare when something did bite me....but only yabbies (I assume??) that didn't like us sharing their pools.