Last week I shared my favorite make of the year, my embroidered seahorse beach jacket. If you haven’t seen that post be sure to go back and read it! Here’s the bikini and short I made to coordinate with that look. I used two different vintage patterns to make this look, a Vogue (5257) bikini from 1961 and a flared bias cut short from 1979, McCall’s 6634. I was hoping to find the matching bikini set to go with my original pattern, but it seems to be very rare and quite pricey. The patterns are all from different era’s but I think they all work quite well together.
The trick to making these all work was using the same fabric throughout- my favorite french twill from Orgganic cotton Plus- I have yards of this stuff! When you find a fabric you really love I’m all for buying as much yardage as you can afford. Bonus this is all in cream and I can easily dye it to change it up. I also used matching buttons and an opalescent belt buckle to tie the looks together.
All the Details
Patterns:
RoxyLynn2 on Etsy
Vogue 5257 circa 1961
Two Piece Swimsuit and Overblouse Vintage Sewing Pattern, Bra Top and Shorts, Size 16, Bust 36, Cut
Fabric and Notions:
Organic French Twill-59/60″ Organic Cotton Plus
My very favorite fabric to work with! I love this twill weave and have used it for a ton of projects. It’s lightweight but sturdy with a very light twill weave that is very smooth to the touch. This fabric was wonderful for embroidery and easy to work with
This fabric is combed cotton that is micro sanded for a luxurious feel. The end use for this fabric includes general apparel such as pants, shorts, skirts, and shirts.
Width: 59/60″ Wide Content: 100% Organic GOTS Certified Cotton Weight: 4.5 oz Weight Care: Preshrunk 5% maximum Made In: India
Ivory Rectangular Plastic Buckle – 2″ Mood Fabrics
Vintage Buttons – Lot of 12 medium size 11/16″ natural mother of pearl , fish eye design
Construction:
Bikini-
I cut this pattern and made no adjustments other than inserting bra cups in between my layers before I sewed them together. This bikini top had lovely drafting. The interior is a different set of lining pattern pieces which makes for a nice clean finish. I love the gathers under the bust and the button details. I did have to adjust the back to fit as I’m quite narrow there usually. Next time I might adjust the draft to make the strap attach to the bra cup. It always tends to pull for me in wovens when attached this way. Truthfully I don’t know how much I’ll wear this top, but it’s super cute and it was fun to sew.
Shorts-
I love the bias cut of these shorts, so pretty. I like the button detail closure and the belt loops, my belt is self drafted to fit my buckle. I really like the curved pockets though I’ll make them a bit deeper next time. I’ve worn these shorts quite a bit this summer. They’re a bit more elevated then a basic short and oh so comfy. It was nice to just work from a vintage pattern that I know will fit for a change. Vintage patterns tend to fit me almost perfectly so I rarely need to fuss with them. It’s a nice break from drafting all my patterns myself. I love drafting my own, but sometimes it’s really relaxing to just cut something out and go.
I’m working on my embroidery pattern designs for my new business and have designed quite a few templates for different styles of clothing. I have a bunch of patterns cut out and ready to be embroidered before I construct the clothing. I redrafted my jean block and if you follow me on insta you can see the gorgeous recycled denim I bought from Core Fabrics. I’m planning on embroidering the jeans on the pockets, pocket openings, and item pocket and can’t wait to share my process!
Back soon with my end of summer makes before I move on to my fall sewing! Happy sewing!
