Two things. Firstly, I must explain, I find it difficult and a bit uncomfortable to refer to a swimming costume as a 'swimsuit', even though I'll be the first to admit that the latter is much quicker to type. Secondly, no, neither do I feel entirely comfortable posing in the aforementioned garment and publishing those pictures on my blog. However, in the spirit of body positivity, I've done it anyway.
I've been sewing for a long time now, but there are still a few types of garments I have yet to try to make for myself. Swimming costumes are one of those garments because I rarely go swimming, and, therefore, the hand-me-down costume my best friend gave me about ten years ago is still fine. However, earlier this year we had a holiday booked to visit a friend who lives in Madrid, along with other old school friends and their families. During that holiday, we planned a trip for all the laydeez to visit these amazing Hamman Arab baths, and I just didn't fancy going to them in my old, rather sporty-looking costume.
Pattern:
I decided to opt for the Closet Case Pattern Bombshell Swimsuit pattern because, A) I liked the coverage the retro cut gave around the lower part (including the front 'skirt' section), B) I already owned it, and C) with both thorough-looking instructions AND a series of helpful sewalong blogposts, I knew my hand would be sufficiently held throughout the preparation and construction. I already owned this pattern because it came as part of a Perfect Pattern Parcel I was sent to review years ago, and although I didn't choose this particular pattern to make from the parcel at that time, I'd kept it in mind as a potential future project.
Truth be told, I made this swimming costume many months ago now, so this isn't going to be the most detailed review I've ever written. However, I do recall being surprised in a number of ways; by how much fabric this pattern required, by how many pattern pieces there were, by how many construction steps were involved, and in the end, by how much the finished thing weighed! I really like how this pattern offers different design options. As you can see, I opted for the gathered bust top and decided to include the option of adding foam cups to (hopefully) give a smooth line over the bust. Instead of buying special swimwear compatible cups, I unpicked a bra that I decommissioned around the same time.
(image source: Closet Case Patterns)
Size-wise, I attempted to blend between the size 8 for the top part, and the size 10 for the waist and hip area. This was a tricky task because of how the sizes were grouped, and sadly wasn't as simple as blending between sizes at the side seams. I also folded out a bit of length from the front and back lining pieces to account for my short-waistedness. I didn't attempt any kind of toile/muslin to determine this, I just went for it and hoped for the best.
I found the gathering of the side and centre back seams of the front and back pieces my least favourite part of the construction process. Gathering up all that fabric on both sides was tricky, and then I decided to add rows of basting stitches to keep the gather in place. Then I thought that the basting stitches were messing with the measurements and stretchiness of the side seams, so I attempted to remove them. Then I realised that taking them out had stretched the gathered sections so I needed to redo all the freaking gathering again. In the end, the side and back seams are pretty ridged with no stretch, but thankfully it doesn't seem to be an issue or affect the fit.
I also recall having trouble inserting and working around the foam cups. The top edge is not very neat because of that and my topstitching is pretty shocking. A fact that I mentioned several times to my friends, none of whom gave a shit, and rightly so.
Fabric:
After seeing the name 'Funki Fabrics' popping up on blogs as a source of swimwear fabric, I lost many happy hours combing their site. I was sorely tempted by this amazing, solid jade green, semi-eco fabric, but in the end, for my first attempt at making swimwear, I decided to find a cheaper alternative (as you can imagine, the ruching on this swimming costume makes it fairly fabric-hungry). Whilst doing more research into my options, Helen from Helen's Closet's stunning solid black version inspired me to opt for something darker, and I ended up finding some inexpensive solid navy swim/dancewear fabric and matching navy net lining on eBay.
Thoughts:
When I first put this swimming costume on, I felt sexy and sophisicated. I LOVE the coverage and how held-in I feel around my lower half. I also love its structure in general that's created from all that ruching (my version is more ruched than most, probably because I shortened the lining pieces but didn't alter the outer pattern pieces, resulting in more gathering of the outer fabric to match up with the lining). However, the top half doesn't feel so secure. The bra cups have been added in (thankfully) roughly the correct position for my boobs, but without the back band that holds a bra in place, the cups are not supportive and the top edge doesn't always remain against my skin when I'm splashing about in the water. I considered removing the cups altogther, but I can't face that faff, nor am I sure my droopy ol' post-breastfeeding bust look very nice without them.
If we're nit-picking here, I may as well also highlight the side seam's weird wibble. I've figured out that that's been created by the tension of the leg hole elastic where it joins the side seams. I've noticed this wibble on some other people's bombshells, and general I'm able to overlook it on my own.
Even though my feelings about this particular swimming costume are mixed, it was a fun and engaging (read: lengthy) process and a great introduction to making swimwear: to the needles, fabric and elastic that's involved. Eventually, I'd love to have another whirl at making a swimming costume, although most likely one that's a far simpler style and corresponding construction, and with a bust area that definitely won't flap about!
What about you? Have you made swimwear? What do you like about it? Or what has put you off from trying?
