Swimwear help!

G'day Kate

I swim twice a week and soon found that a purchased swimsuit didn't last too long....10 weeks to be exact! Now I make my own but only buy chlorine resistant cotton lycra. I'm just about to try a Knitwit pattern #5800 that I bought on eBay, have used others over the years and one of my favourite styles is a two piece....NOT a bikini as I'm not

When buying elastic etc, make sure they are chlorine resistant. I like to use swimsuit lining and a plain colour outer shell.....printed lycra designs (eg flowers etc) will be distorted when being worn. Light colours can become see-through when wet, for this reason I usually select a plain, dark colour and add trim/bindings in a co-ordinating colour.

LeeAnne Burgess has a great book 'Making Beautiful Swimwear' which is a companion to 'Making Beautiful Bras' both have lots of good information and teach you how to draft a pattern from your most comfortable bra.

I have no affiliation with LeeAnne other than buying both of the above books, the video and bra making supplies from her.

H> I'm getting fed up with the hunt for a swimsuit that fits, covers me

I'm with you on all of that! I have the pearls and the smile - will they do? ;) Of course, if I had my own private pool, a cozzy wouldn't matter as I probably wouldn't bother!

The only blokes who look good in skimpy Speedo slips are the beautifully proportioned Olympic swimmers with nice tans... ;D

Oh, no - every little tip and every comment helps. Sometimes someone with very little experience and a good eye will see something one of us more practiced folk miss, and swimwear and undies are a new area for me.

I have a customer to make a silver sequined bikini style costume for, and need all the swimwear type experience anyone ever has! The sequined stuff is not as stretchy as swimsuit fabric, so fitting may be... hm... 'interesting'!

Learn to love it, darling! Making your own kit can be a seriously creative and joyful experience. Oh, and throw out the stuff that works: it's the mistakes you learn from! ;) 40 odd years of sewing have taught me that!

Actually, just wear the stuff that works, but keep and analyse your errors: see what when wrong, where, and why. Use that analysis to help with the next one. For things like seams the only way forward is a hell of a lot of practice! The more seams you do, the better they will be.

When I was in college first time round, I made most of my own stuff. I still have the old hand crank Singer sewing machine I bought then, and it has made stretchy slinky knit panne velvet things, stage props and costumes, curtains, spray decks for kayaks, a tarp for a Land Rover (!), quilt blocks, put curtain fabric wedges in straight jeans to make flares (we are talking mid seventies here, you know!), and a host of other stuff. Never give up! (Never surrender!)

That's what's in all my Fantasy bras, dear! And they fit a treat. Well, all but the oldest, and the band is a bit slack on that one as the elastic is dying... Maybe I should just give in and do it up on the tightest hooks!

I still have about a stone to lose, so I may deflate a bit, but as I've gone down steadily from a 38F to a 32F so far, I don't hold out much hope! And I always have my bras fitted professionally. The trick is knowing how to dress so your largest feature isn't shoved to the fore until and unless you want it to be! Also, the newest pix of me are several months old now, and I've lost a little more off the waist and hips (another inch off each) but nothing off the bust!

I'm going to take a good look at that book, and will probably order it. I'm looking for a UK supplier of the fabric, as I'd like to pick up the phone and natter to them about it before buying.

I've tried Lands' End and sent them back. They fit perfectly up to the bust line, and then there's just not enough there! But that *is* the style I'd like.

Kate, have you looked at

When I was knee high on a duck, I had an all-wool bathing suit I really loved. Wool is stretchy, but not *too* stretchy, honestly opaque, and feels the same wet or dry.

Finding wool jersey that's made to last could be a real bummer. Mostly you have to buy dry-clean-only and wash it in hot water, and the maker figures dry-clean-only won't be used hard, so it's all right to spin it out of dryer lint. But the lint felts when you shrink it, which helps to hold it together.

But you have to rinse the chlorine out after every wearing. (Sodium hypoclorite dissolves wool.) The hand-cranked wringer that swimming pools used to supply helped a lot with that. This amenity appears to be extinct, and one has to bring one's suit home dripping -- but I haven't set foot in a pool for at least ten years; that may have changed.

I was the third little girl to wear that suit, and it was in good condition when I passed it on, so pool water probably doesn't work very fast. (On the other hand, using a pool meant an all-day trip to the city, so you might wear your suit more in a summer than that suit was worn in its lifetime.)

Joy Beeson

And I'm highly allergic to it! I remember my dad having wool bathing trunks back when I was a tiddler, in the late 50's/early 60's...

There are modern spinners about which spin your suit almost dry, but the only place I've seen one installed was at a private pool in a holiday cottage complex in Northumberland!

As a kid I used to wear two swimsuits out a year, playing on the beach, in and out of the sea round Malta. These days I sped up to three hours a week in the water. Six months is GOOD for a swimsuit in those conditions!

Ah yes, I'd forgotten that issue for you. If you like the high neck of the endurance tanks, an X back works well for me with that. Stays in place well but pretty easy on/off.

Kay

thak you kate for the kind words. and sorry to flame anyone, i was just a little taken aback by some of the comments. my apologies.

kate, i might like sewing more if i had any free time. i am in school full time and work over half time, so sewing is only a necessity for me, not yet a luxury. i do swim every morning for an hour or more, and am trying to get into triathalon, but its hard for me right now with no time. anyway, i have been very frustrated with swimsuit fit, with my short waist and big hips the suit is in a continual wedgie. two piece suits work better, but not great.

oh, and congrats on the weight loss!!

I'd want the two to overlap and button in place!

Another reason I like navy blue, dark red, maroon, black, chocolate brown... :) And thanks for reminding me about the elastic!

I'll try to get a look at that one to.. At the moment just the Kwick-Sew book will set me back £35, and I'm not sure I want to pay out that much if I only ever make one! I think I may get one of their patterns and give it a go, and if that is reasonably successful and I like the process, I shall get the book and get busy! Looks like the fabrics and findings will set me back more than my last bought swimsuit. I won't mind if it fits and lasts better than six months!

I've seen a lot of different folk say good things about her work, so I shall certainly investigate.

Indeed it does!

Wait a minute, in your previous post you described yourself as long-waisted. Which is it?

Kathleen

ooops...sorry. i meant to say that the swimsuit is too short waisted. if i were short waisted then the wedgie would not be a problem. i only wish...

G'day again Kate

Was thinking last night about the different swimsuits I've made over many years and one came to mind that might suit you better? I based it on the teddy pattern in the KwikSew Lingerie book...it is a princess style and this would allow you to alter in the areas you needed. Of course I didn't use the teddy closure at the crotch....that could be disastrous!!! ROFLMHO

One time I used the princess line teddy pattern and at hip height added a 10cm (4 inch) pleated skirt...the fabric used was a very fine knit and I steamed the pleats with a very hot iron over a damp cloth. The pleats were permanently set and it was a nice touch to the swimsuit. I then, made pants in the same fabric and while this was a two piece, it didn't look like one. This style is much simpler for an all-day outing when loo stops might be more common.

I'm trying to find a fine knit fabric similar to make another of the same style for myself....it was a bit thicker than tricot but had a paisley design. Last week I could only find cotton lycra as I need a swimsuit in a big hurry, due to deterioration of my current one by the heated pool.

Bronwyn ;-)

The lingerie and swimwear books are definitely on my list! :) Your solution sounds good.

I just LOVE making lingerie.......also love wearing it, even though nobody knows what I have underneath my clothes.

Just yesterday I received some lovely deep red lace and ribbon that I mail ordered to match some deep red tricot I bought a couple of weeks ago. Got some navy during the week too, both colours are great under denim.

With an overlocker you have a full set of lingerie ready to wear in an hour or so, it's really quick and oh so pretty. Makes a lovely gift too!

Bronwyn ;-)

Kate Dicey wrote: