Flora Girl’s Skirted Swimsuit

I’ve been slowly improving my swimwear sewing and drafting skills this past year and here are the results.  The perfect little swimsuit for my daughter Amelie!  Ami just turned 4 last month and has been growing like a weed!  She’s been obsessed with wearing the same outfit lately, her purple sparkly swimsuit- plus leggings – almost every day.  I’m thrilled that she loves the swimsuit I made her last year but it’s starting to get thread bear and a bit too tight.  Time for new swimwear to get her wearing something different.

My goal with this swimsuit was to make it easy to wear with a rashguard for extra sun coverage but a little more durable for my active little girl.  She’s always running, jumping and dancing so this swimsuit gives a bit of added coverage but is still super cute!  A skirt is a must since swimwear always doubles as dress up wear for my Ami. :)  

Shown here layered over a rashguard for sun protection:

The suit slips on at the waist with boy shorts under an a-line skirt with an elasticized waist and ties in a bow at the back neck.  The skirt and shorts can be hemmed like the bumblebee version or serged for finishing like the paisley one.  I love the cutout back- so cute and girly but still really sturdy and easy to play in.

Both fabrics used for this suit are from The Fabric Fairy.  Ami’s picks.  I love the bumblebee honeycomb print– so fun and graphic- and the paisley is so pretty.  The material itself was a dream to work with, soft with a really nice hand.  I really love the quality of the prints I’ve ordered from this site.  They’re nice and opaque and just feel great. I used about 1/2 yd of fabric for each suit.

UPDATE:  I’ve just released the Flora Swimsuit (One-size 4/5T) plus tutorial for FREE download! Here’s the link to the pattern! :)

Happy Summer!