Sunday, June 10, 2012

I sewed my first Swimsuit!!! Kwik Sew 2690

I sewed my first swimsuit! I'm so happy! It's one of those milestones for us sewist, please understand. I have been reading blogs about sewists who had made their own swimsuits and I had been doing a lot of thinking and fantasizing and now I have done it!

I have never liked the RTW swimsuits. They never fit me properly because of my unusually shaped body. And now after 2 kids, there are many lumpy bits in the middle front as well as back fat. RTW are usually quite expensive and I haven't seen any that are fully lined front and back. The sewing on the RTW suits are usually quite sloppy. If I want sloppy sewing, I can do that myself!! LOL!

I used Kwik Sew 2690, a pattern that I bought a couple of years back. I used a basic black swimwear fabric that has 20% spandex in it. I didn't have any Powernet lining or anything like that so I lined it with the same swimsuit fabric. I wanted it to be snug and sturdy to hold back my lumpy bits. If I had used my body measurements, the pattern envelope would have had me make a size M. However when I compared my RTW swimsuit to the pattern pieces I found that it was more a size S. So I just made a size S to assess the fit. Good thing it's a wearable muslin.

The instructions are very good (Kwik Sew patterns are known for that). The adjustments I made include:
1. I didn't use the pattern to make a swim dress. Instead, I used the pattern pieces for the lining to make the actual body of the swimsuit.
2. I didn't gather the front tie all the way. I wanted more fabric to cover my chest area.
3. I didn't gather the straps in the front. I also cut off at least 2 inches of the length of the straps because I found them to be too long for my body. I also positioned the straps in different positions than what was suggested in the pattern.

If I were to make this suit again, I will make sure that I add more fabric to the chest area as my boobs are a bit squished. I will also add foam cups to the bodice. I messed up the elastics for the leg openings so I hope next time I will do a better job at it.

All in all I'm very happy with the fit of this suit. I will sew a few more swimsuits in the future. I don't think I'll want to buy another RTW swimsuit again!

5 comments:

  1. It looks great, and congratulations on your success with this swimsuit!

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  2. I agree with the milestone bit !!
    I have made two swimsuits now,one for myself and one for my daughter,and they both seem to be holding up alright.I was really afraid that my stitching would disintegrate as soon as it touched chlorine! I am quite flat chested so any swimsuit off the peg for my chest size is for young girls so they are then just not long enough in the body for me.I lined mine with the same fabric too and it works quite well.Problem over here is finding nice swim wear fabric though.
    Well done...if I get to model mine for MMM'13 I will let you know!!

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    1. Thanks Urban Rustic for your comment! I have problems finding nice swimwear fabrics too. The ones in my local fabric store are either plain colours (like what I have chosen) or with really big loud prints that probably would not be flattering for a lot of people. I can't wait to see yours for MMM'13!!

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  3. where did you buy your pattern? it's out of stock

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    1. I bought it in an independent fabric store in the next town 30 km away. Have you checked eBay for this pattern?

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