It all started at the end of last summer (2018) when I decided I needed new swimmers and found some really cool poly lycra fabric at the store. It's multi coloured, geometric patterned - all the things I love in a print - so I had to have it.
At that time I had been playing around with a new bra pattern and wanted to try a swimsuit with that bra.
The bottoms I made using the same pattern as I used on my last swimmers. They are fully lined in yellow swimsuit fabric - it's probably a bit thick for lining material but on the plus side it keeps all the jiggly bits in place. The legs are finished with a small casing with 3/8"elastic threaded through it and the top has a waistband with 1.5"elastic in it.
To make the top I used the pattern that I created for these bras with the exception that I left off the top piece of the cup and instead just used a thin rouleau strap to replace this place - I was just looking for a bit more of a strappy look for the swimsuit.
I then decided to try and use foam in the cups. I didn't have any bra foam, but what I did have was a whole bunch of ready to wear bras that I could cut up and use the foam from. The only issue with doing this was that the foam was not of even thickness. I tried to use just the parts with the same thickness and it worked quite well but if I were to try making a foam bra again I would buy proper foam.
Again the top is fully lined. The cups in self fabric, the bridge in tricot and the back band in powermesh. For the bottom band I used 1.5"wide elastic and I crossed the straps over at the back. Three snaps close the bottom band and 3/8"elastic was used to finish the underarm and around the back.
The swimsuit then sat over the winter - it got used a couple of times in hotel pools etc and it worked quite well but I did have a few issues with the top. The main one being that with the foam in the cups takes forever to dry. I also found that the wide band just keeps rolling up.
Then in March of this year (2019) I was headed out to an outdoor pool for the first swim of the season and wanted a rash vest to go over my swim suit - it's just so much easier to wear a rash vest than it is to put on sunscreen and so at the last minute I made a rash vest out of the same material (I had always planned on doing this so had plenty of fabric left over).
I used the same pattern that I've used for all my rash vest - it fits nicely so why change what ain't broke.
However, as I was making this at the last minute, I did not have an appropriate zipper and no time to go buy one - so I used what I had. A zipper that was perfect in colour and length and weight, but that wasn't an opening zipper so I can't open the front of this shirt all the way.
But that's OK. It works fine as it is. I had planned to change it out when I had the chance but now I can't be bothered I'm going to keep it as is.
I now had full swimsuit but I wasn't 100% happy. The bra just had a few too many niggling issues and after my last round of bra making I decided I wanted to try the top again.
So I made a new top using the new pattern. The only changes I made to the bra pattern was to use two small rouleau straps on each shoulder rather than the big shoulder strap from the bra and I covered the bottom elastic in fabric. I fully lined this top in the same yellow swimsuit fabric I used on the bottoms. This top is definitely more comfortable than the original.
And I think now I am happy (Plus I'm all out of this fabric).
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