The Sew and Tell Project

The Suit Up for Summer Blog Tour is the perfect way to kick off the unofficial start of summer! A big thanks goes to Tami at Sew Sophie Lynn  and Karly at Paisley Roots for organizing all of this! Be sure to head over to one of their blogs to enter a giveaway and link up your own swimsuit projects  – there are two fantastic prize packages to win!

It’s no secret that I LOVE sewing swimwear, so I decided to make two very different styles to suit the different kinds of water fun that we’ll hopefully be enjoying this summer!  I’ve had my eye on this Marilyn Vintage Swimsuit pattern from Peekaboo Pattern Shop ever since it released earlier this year. Such a fun classic style! I opted to make the ruched tankini version with cross back straps. The bottoms have a wide, comfy banded waist. My little girl’s chest measurement was smaller than a 6, but otherwise she needs a 6, so it was a simple matter to tighten the chest elastic so that it wasn’t sagging open in the back like so many swimsuits that she has tried on from the stores. This is one reason I love sewing – custom fitted swimsuits are SO much more comfortable!

Although it wasn’t really necessary, I lined both top and bottoms completely for added coverage and comfort. The fit is perfect and she loves it! This suit will be ideal for swimming lessons and family vacations — for those times when she is primarily swimming and not exploring and getting dirty.  I used my all time favorite Paradise Floral swim fabric from Peekaboo Fabric Shop plus a solid black and this lining.

I highly recommend the Marilyn Vintage Swimsuit pattern and I feel like this would be a great pattern for someone who is just starting out sewing swimsuits because you don’t have to sew the elastic directly to the swimsuit because of the casings which really simplifies things!   Although a lot of individual fabric pieces are involved for this fully-lined version — 20 in all for this option — it is a fairly quick sew. I’m pretty sure it took me longer to trace and cut out the pieces than it did to sew them together!

Now, as much as we all love swimming in pools, a huge amount of our summer water fun happens in the back yard — playing in the sprinkler, splashing around in the wading pool, and having water fights with the hose. We also enjoy exploring our local state parks, most of which have lakes. I wanted to make a set that was perfect for that sort of lifestyle – going straight from the nature center to the playground to the beach and back again.

The Hang Ten Rash Guard from Peekaboo Pattern Shop and the Swim & Surf Shorts from Gracious Threads were perfect for this athletic ensemble! The rash guard is a fast and easy sew! This is a straight size 6 with just a bit of length added. The fabrics are from last year’s prints at Peekaboo Pattern Shop. I just love how this fabric is so easy to work with and UV 50+.  The added coverage of a rash guard combined with the UV 50+ sun protection means so much less time is spent applying sunscreen!

The Swim & Surf Shorts are made from matching pink board short fabric and I love them especially for two reasons. The FIRST is that they are the only PDF board short pattern that I know of that is designed specifically for GIRLS. Nice board shorts for little girls can be hard to come by. We’ve ordered some in the past from Lands End, but their selection can be slim and the designs aren’t always our favorite. No more! This pattern goes up to a size 12 and there is even a women’s version so we’re all set. There will be many more pairs of board shorts in our future!  The SECOND reason I love them is because there is an integrated, lined swim bottom inside. This means no worrying about layering over a one-piece swimsuit or adding separate bikini bottoms – one less thing to worry about!  They are ideal for both water play and swimming… she THOROUGHLY tested all this out!  These shorts are a size 6 with no modifications. I did however substitute swim fabric for the binding on the shorts instead of bias tape because I had some extra on hand.

There are so many lovely, talented bloggers involved in this blog tour so be sure to click around and visit their sites. Get inspired, sew up some swimwear of your own, and link up for some fantastic prizes. And, once again, don’t forget to visit our hosts at Sew Sophie Lynn & Paisley Roots in order to enter our giveaway!  Happy Sewing!

Pear Berry Lane / Inspinration / It’s Liesel / Sewing For Four
Harper Lu / Call Ajaire / Stylin Stacy / Skirt Fixation
Sewing By Ti / Sewing With Sarah / Sew & Tell /  Me Made
Made By Melli / Life Sew Savory / That’s What She Crafted / Auschick
Rebel & Malice / EYMM / Stitching & Making / Lilliepawillie

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