French Terry Swimsuit Cover

I have been living in Perth for nearly a year now.  This year I'm going to be a bit more prepared for the weather and dress accordingly.  I have learnt that Perth can be cold, even in summer.    I swim early in the morning, and not only can summer mornings be cool, but the wind is often blasting across the ocean. 

This week I dug into my winter clothing to pull out a long sleeved knit dress to throw on to get to the pool.  This gave me the idea to use some French Terry from my stash, previously earmarked for a winter sweater, for a swimsuit cover up. 

I used Simplicity 8790, which is a Sew House Seven pattern.  I modified the pattern to use ribbing on the neckline, cuffs and pocket openings  I cut a size M, grading out to an L.  I ended up taking the side seams in a little, which reduced the pocket opening, but because of the stretchy ribbing, I can still easily get my hand in.  I didn't have enough fabric to make the kangaroo style pocket, so made my own pattern piece for individual pockets on each side.  They are just one layer, top-stitched to the dress, which both reduces bulk and drying time for the terry.  The rib on the neckline has a cross-over detail, similar to the original hood, but this detail doesn't show up well in the photo.

Side photo to show pocket openings.

See below photo for stripe matching.  I didn't get too obsessive about stripe matching; just enough so that it doesn't jar the eyes.  This requires fudging the raglan seams on the front and back, easing in as required and then stretching as required, which is okay in a stretchy knit.  I bought this See You At Six fabric from Maaidesign (still available).  It has stretch in both directions, which is good because I cut this dress across the fabric to get the stripes horizontal.

These photos were taken at the beach, but I actually swim in a heated pool next to the beach...I haven't acclimatised enough to swim regularly in the ocean yet!