Centauree~Ava Swimsuit

Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

This week’s contest for The Monthly Stitch is Franken-Indie!  This is the challenge I’ve been most excited for Indie pattern month.  I originally ordered Deer & Doe’s Robe Centauree pattern for the New to Me challenge but quickly realized it wouldn’t get here in time for me to do the dress justice.  Instead I started thinking up ways I could hack the pattern.  I had just ordered some lovely swimsuit material from The Fabric Fairy so a new swimsuit would be perfect.

Since my fav part of the Centauree Dress is the bodice-the design and cut is perfection- I thought I’d mix that with a bottom to make a one piece swimsuit.  The Ava high waist panties from Ohhh Lulu Sews were a perfect match.  I’ve been an admirer of Ohhh Lulu on Etsy for some time now but hadn’t tried out any of the patterns yet.  I love the almost boy cut of the panties and the high waist meant it would be easy to attach to my bodice.

Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

I started my dress version of the Centauree first- which is almost done now!- to make sure I had the fit of the bodice down before I tried to make this in a stretch material.  I cut the top in a size 40 and the fit was spot on. I decided to make the same size in my swim nylon/lycra blend since it would be easy to take in the sides to adjust the fit if needed.   This bodice was a dream to sew up.  The way the pattern shapes are drawn makes it so easy to match up all the lines and fit the piece together.  It’s really a well thought out and designed pattern.  Plus the packaging for Deer & Doe patterns is so lovely.  Beautiful envelope and two booklets inside with instructions in French & English plus links to the sew along on the blog!  The pattern itself is on a nice heavy weight paper as well making tracing easy.

Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

Materials and Notions:

Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

The Ava high waist panties are a PDF pattern with fabulous instructions and tons of pictures, perfect for me since I’m a visual learner.  The pattern was super simple to put together and a nice easy make, even if it’s your first time making lingerie.  For construction I used black thread in my machine with a zigzag stitch, I ended up doubling it around all the edged since i thought it looked nicer and was a bit more secure.  I attached my elastic first with the serger and then folded it over for topstitching.  My double needle broke right before I started on this so I went with the zigzag and like the effect close up

.  The straps are a folded over edge of the fabric cut slightly wider then my .elastic and then serged right sides together and then turned.  I used the idea of the bias edge from the dress pattern straps but needed the strength of the elastic.  The strap goes all the way around the back up the side bodice and then crosses to the back.  I played around with the strap placement quite a bit and really liked this position since it made the suit feel a bit more secure for swimming.  I also used a narrow zigzag stitch to top stitch the bodice and waist as well.Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

Here are some more images of the interior and construction:

Centauree ava Swimsuit Interior   Centauree Ava Swim, Franken Indie, TMS- Detail Interior

Centauree ava Swimsuit Interior

I LOVE this suit.  So glad I live in Florida so I have a great excuse to make up a ton of swimwear- it’s just so fun to put together!  This suit also performed great in the water.  Nice and supportive and I love how the silhouette looks a bit modern but also a bit retro.Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

I have some more swimsuits to show soon.  My makes from Me Made May are almost all fixed up and I have a new suit in the works with this awesome paisley print here so I’ll have another swim post up soon.  I love summer!  Happy sewing!Centauree~Ava swimsuit, Franken-Indie TMS

P.S.:  Thanks so much to everyone who voted!  I was one of the four lucky winners winning the Lekala prize pack-can’t wait to try my new patterns out!  Thanks again!

21 responses to “Centauree~Ava Swimsuit”

  1. […] I LOVE this suit.  So glad I live in Florida so I have a great excuse to make up a ton of swimwear- it’s just so fun to put together!  This suit also performed great in the water.  Nice and supportive and I love how the silhouette looks a bit modern but also a bit retro.  To see more check out my blog Sew Pomona and read the full post here! […]

  2. rebeccadoe Avatar

    Wow … a swimsuit. That’s on my list out some where :-)
    Very nice fit and very nice look. It suits you.
    And it looks like a lot of work.
    I think I might try the bombshell swimsuit … hopefully this summer …

    Herzliche Grüße,
    rebecca

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thank you Rebecca! It was actually a pretty quick sew, but only because I’ve made a few suits now. I just haven’t blogged about the earlier ones yet as this one really turned out the best so far! Slowly getting better! The bombshell does look really nice :)

  3. nishi Avatar

    Wow! This is an awesome swimming costume! I love the way you mixed these two patterns up & the fabric is a perfect match!

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thanks so much Nishi! I love this patten mix and the fabric is fabulous!

  4. morningstardesigns Avatar

    This is gorgeous! The lines are so flattering on you. Really nice mix up!

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thank you!! :)

  5. crab&bee Avatar

    So cool!! I wouldn’t have thought of mixing a dress bodice and undies pattern to make a swimsuit. I like how you worked with the fabric pattern on the bodice.

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thanks so much Morgan! This was such a happy accident-So glad I thought of combining these two patterns! :)

  6. […] can read more about my my Centauree~Ava swimsuit here!  One of my favorite makes-I’m so proud of this creation!  There are some awesome […]

  7. […] haven’t voted yet in the Franken Indie Contest please head over here and give my make, the Centauree~Ava swimsuit, your vote.  You get 3 votes this time around, and there are some amazing looks this week over at […]

  8. Sylvie Avatar

    What a fantastic swimsuit!!! Thank you for the inspiration.

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thank you so much Sylvie! I really love this swimsuit :)

  9. katie Avatar

    I had the exact same idea that the Centauree would make an amazing swimsuit – thanks for proving me right! I might have to have a go myself :) You did a fantastic job. Great fabric too!

    1. Rebecca Avatar

      Thanks so much Katie! It really worked perfectly! Because the bodice is quite fitted and then has side seams it was super easy to take them in as needed. I just finished my dress version in a lovely madder dyed cotton but am thinking ahead to make a knit version as well! :)

  10. […] to the French Version!) at the beginning of the month to test the fit for my swimsuit version, my Centauree-Ava, then took a break and came back to making the dress last week.  I originally was going to go for […]

  11. […] to the French Version!) at the beginning of the month to test the fit for my swimsuit version, my Centauree-Ava, then took a break and came back to making the dress last week.  I originally was going to go for […]

  12. […]  I used the bias technique from Deer & Doe’s Centauree dress (my previous makes, a swimsuit  and dress ) for attaching the straps.  My top is lined, in grey, by just cutting two pattern […]

  13. […] to view my earlier makes, a Deer & Doe Centauree Ava one piece Swimsuit and […]

  14. […] car drive to Mankato. I’m taking this newest skater dress, my earlier skater dress and my Centauree Ava Swimsuit(for the hotel pool), my indigo dyed jeans, My Shell Shibori Jacket, Marcy Tilton Pants, plus a new […]

  15. […] many swimsuits I made this year!  I think my fav is still my Centauree Ava One piece (second pic).  I love the tie dye fabric and the bodice piecing is so lovely.  This […]

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