Sarah and Ava Swimsuit

I love sewing swimwear!   Here’s my latest suit using two fabulous patterns from Ohhh Lulu , the Sarah Longline Bralette and the Ava Highwaist Panties.  This suit is so comfortable and supportive! Perfect since I’m always swimming with the kids who are usually hanging all over me in the water.  Also super easy to breastfeed in this top.  One of the reasons I wanted this pattern was for a nighttime nursing bra.  I just finished off a new rashguard using a Lekala dress pattern that is just awesome-stay tuned for that!

This was a pretty easy sew with easy to follow instructions.  Changes I made:  I used fabric cased elastic that I made for the straps instead of foldover elastic.  When I make this again as a bra I can see how fast this will be using the foldover.  My straps cross the back and then wrap around the side arm and up the front.  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 sets before sewing them together with cups inserted between the two layers (from an old swimsuit).  The bottoms were shortened at the waist by a good inch or two and then I added a foldover band with elastic to the top.

This is my most successful bathing suit so far.  Comfortable, supportive and pretty!  The fabric is an antique paisley swim print from The Fabric Fairy that I just love.  I cut all my pieces really carefully to match the paisley and take the suit from light to dark.  I focused on keeping the lightest colors in the center shading to dark on the sides and under the bust for a slimming effect.  My only complaint came from my son who doesn’t like that my swimsuits are so grey, he wants to see me in more color :)  It’s been hard to match my taste in prints with the colors they’re offered in.

Here in Florida we’re at the beach almost year round so I’m so happy I can sew my own suits now.  I can make my self a swimsuit for a fraction of the cost of the suits I was purchasing before.  My husband is so thrilled that my sewing has helped us save so much money already, even with  the occasional fabric splurges this past year.  We’re saving up for a much-needed house (we’re in a small condo that my husband bought before we met) and are almost at our down payment goal!!!  Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!