After that's finished, I'm going to attempt something pretty ambitious: swimwear. I'm not sure if this is crazy or not, but I'm going for it. We're planning a trip somewhere warm at the end of the month (thank you, tax returns!) and I've had to admit that my favourite suit is really past its prime. I've bought another one in the meantime, but I'd really love to be able to recreate my old one. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm for this project I neglected to take a "before" photo, so I can't really show you what I'm going for. This is where it's at, currently:
I've never cared much for the colours or print, but the fit was beyond perfect. It was the first time I discovered a "D-cup" top in a swimwear store that didn't obviously look like a D-cup top, if you know what I mean. (Don't get me started ranting about how things start to look different in larger sizes. Maybe I'm a rarity in that I have a large bust - F-cup - but need relatively little in the way of "support". That's not to say that my bust is enviously perky; it must just be rather light, as I definitely don't require extra-wide bands/straps, "full coverage," or any of the other modifications that bra companies seem to make for every style of bra above a C-cup.)
It's a triangle top, but the triangles were fixed together and to the string, rather than moving freely. Upon ripping it apart I discovered that the elastic is actually in perfect shape with great recovery, so I'm going to re-use it. I just so happened to have some swimsuit fabric lying around in a pretty awesome shade of blue, plus some white athletic fabric for the lining:
And, I have enough of both to screw this project up about ten times. Win!
My other plan is to take a stab at testing the new Suzy Patterns design. I'm not going to be overly ambitious and buy fabric; instead, I'm going to commit the cardinal sin of garment sewing and dive into my Mom's quilting cotton stash. I'm not 100% sure I have enough, but I think I'll be able to squeeze it out of this white floral (I'm going to go sleeveless, so that will help):
Compared to some of the other quilting cottons in my stash, it actually has a relatively nice hand. Hopefully it'll be a wearable muslin in the end!
So, that's where I'm at.
As an aside, I recently discovered I was kindly nominated - twice! - for the Liebster blog award:
For anyone who hasn't yet seen it, it's an award for relatively new bloggers with less than 200 followers. I'm so honoured that my peers would pick me! Particularly these two lovely ladies. After hemming and hawing about it, I've decided I don't want to nominate five others as per the rules (I'm such a rebel...), but instead I'd just like to implore you to go visit the talented sewists who nominated me:
Amy at Sew Well
Andrea at Four Square Walls
Seriously, go! They're two of my favourite bloggers, you won't regret it. (If you're not already a big fan like me!)
Yay, I look forward to seeing your Lonsdale dress and also how you get on with swimwear :)
ReplyDeleteAnd you know, any questions on my pattern let me know. From feedback I received it seems it runs small so worth doing a muslin or measuring well. Also, I have been told that at 100% printing the square is not 7cm so worth testing on first page only with diferent ratios. 105% seem to be good. Look forward to see how you get on.
I've made a couple of bathing suits, some worked better than others. Kwik Sew 3779 was fantastic for me, the ones that didn't work were a poor choice in pattern for me. I forgot how halter necklines often give me headaches. Starting with an old bathing suit you know fits well is a good plan.
ReplyDeleteI haven't sewn swimwear but I did recently make Syo a leotard out of swimsuit fabric, and it was much nicer to sew with than I feared! Good luck, that perfect suit is *definitely* worth trying to replicate. :D
ReplyDeleteAw, shucks, you're so darn sweet. Thanks for the mention. Can't wait to see your finished projects!
ReplyDeleteOoh, your Lonsdale is looking good! Good luck with the swimsuit! I'm so scared to try one, but my favorite swimsuit has finally bitten the dust (I've had it since high school!) and I'd love to try to recreate it!
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