The Sew and Tell Project

Welcome to The Swimsuit Edition Tour hosted by Lulu and Celeste and Sprouting Jube Jube Productions!  I LOVE sewing swimsuits and today I’m sharing something that I made for myself for a change!  My daughter’s swimsuits were finished last month, and so this month I decided it was time to attempt something totally different – a maternity swimsuit! I knew when I saw this striped pineapple swim fabric from Peekaboo Fabric Shop that it would be perfect for something for me – although I totally should have ordered more because my daughter fell in love with it after she saw my swimsuit and it looks like it is currently sold out already!

Now anyone knows it can be hard to find a swimsuit that fits perfectly in the store and it is definitely harder with the limited maternity options available.  Last year I made a Journey Top from 5 out of 4 Patterns and LOVED it. It was truly one of the best tankini tops I had ever owned. Once I got a few weeks past the halfway point of this pregnancy though, it started getting a little tight and short, so I knew it was time to sew up the maternity version. I just love how 5oo4 includes maternity and nursing mods for many of their patterns! The Journey Tank is a top favorite here at the Sew and Tell Project – so much so that it earned a spot on our Best PDF Patterns Page!

The bra portion of the tankini is the same for both maternity and non-maternity versions. In between the swim fabric on the outside and the swim fabric lining is a layer of power mesh as well as sewn-in foam cups. Combined with elastic in the band underneath and power mesh and clear elastic sandwiched in the straps, it provides excellent comfortable support – very much like a favorite sports bra.

The bottom portion of the tankini took a bit more effort to get the perfect fit after I discovered that I was much shorter than the average height that the top was drafted for and that my baby bump is all out in front and so a flared out bottom, even when banded, was just too baggy for my figure.  I’m super excited about my simple fix. I left the back as is, with the exception of shortening it by a few stripes. I then borrowed the Layer Me Up Maternity Add-On from Patterns for Pirates which I had just used for my patriotic Essential Tee that I blogged about yesterday, and used it to re-cut the front into a shorter, more fitted style with ruching. I ruched the front piece with 3/8″ swimsuit elastic and then stretched it slightly while sewing it to the back piece to give the back piece a bit of a ruched look. I then added a band, which is an option on the Journey Tank pattern, as a final touch to keep the swimsuit from floating up while I’m swimming.  The tankini top fits perfectly now and has just enough growing room to fit until baby comes in a few months… or less!

The swim bottoms are made out of solid black swim fabric using the sporty spice version of the Shenanigans Skort also from 5 out of 4 Patterns. Once again, this pattern has a maternity mod, which is the low rise version.  Instead of 2″ elastic encased in a waistband which I would normally use for these if they were for non-maternity wear, I added a tall, double layered, yoga-style waistband out of swim fabric that can be pulled up partially over the belly or folded down underneath. Best of all? They have sewn-in swim shorts with a 3″ inseam. Perfect coverage for playing on the beach while still working well for leisurely swimming. I’m hoping, since the waistband is comfortably snug, that I’ll be able to wear these for a while after baby comes as well.

Finally, the super fun thing about this blog tour is that we have amazing daily prizes as well as an awesome grand prize!  The giveaway for today, Tuesday, closes at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday so get your entries in now! You could win 1 pattern of choice from 5 out of 4 plus a  $30 (USD) gift card from the Fabric Fairy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are two ways to enter for the Grand Prize: Enter the Grand Prize Rafflecopter, and/or post a swimwear item you’ve sewn on Instagram. Readers can enter more than once on Instagram but must use a different photo/different sewn swim item per entry. (Ie. multiple photos of the same outfit only count as one entry). Items allowed: swimsuits and swim coverups for the entire family (women, men, children). To enter on IG: Post your photo and use the hashtag #TheSwimsuitEditionTour and tag @luluandceleste and @debzaleski in your post. Items can only have been sewn since the beginning of June 2017. Closes July 2nd 11:59pm EDT.

Prize: Phat Quarters $25(USD) gift card + Boo Designs $100(AUD) gift card + Sewing by Ti -$20(USD) gift card + Made by Jack’s Mum – swim pdf pattern bundle

Grand prize Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour and enter all the daily giveaways!

Monday, June 26

Sprouting JubeJube – Call Ajaire – Kutti Couture – Tales of A Tester – Bellevi

Tuesday, June 27

Sprouting JubeJube – FABulous Home Sewn – Sew and Tell Project – Tales From A Southern Mom – My Heart Will Sew On

Wednesday, June 28

Lulu & Celeste – Adventures With Bubba and Bug – Momma You Can Make It – Marvelous Auntie M – Phat Quarters

Thursday, June 29

Lulu & Celeste – Filles à Maman & Jalie – Crazy Crafty Haute Mama – MeMade – 5 out of 4 Patterns – RikiPrints Custom Knit Fabrics

Friday, June 30

Lulu & Celeste – Little Heart Threads – Ronda B. Handmade – Bellevi – sewingbyti

FINALLY, we want to give a huge thank you to all our sponsors for this blog tour, especially to 5 out of 4 Patterns who graciously provided me with a copy of the Shenanigans Skort pattern!