Swimsuit Progress

Well things are going nicely so far. Got all of my pieces cut without a hitch and started pinning and sewing things according to directions. Mostly.




My first change in the project was to the lining along the upper back inside the swimsuit. Original directions said to top stitch the folded edge to the back. I didn't want this seam showing on the outside, so I edge stitched the fold under and then hand stitched it.

The only other outright change made was to my bodice side seams. During the initial measurement process, I made adjustments for the waist to be let out about 2 sizes. Once my shoulder seams were in place, I did drape the bodice over myself. Thank goodness to because I ended up taking the bust area in just a little.

Angling the seam allowance from 1/2" to 3/4" to allow for drape adjustment.

The bottom half - the bloomers - went together without a hitch as well. Made minor adjustments along the pleats to match my adjusted waist, then moved forward with getting the top and bottom attached to each other. This was done by stitch the bodice and bloomer edges together on the correct side. Since this seam would eventually end up under the waistband, I didn't have to worry about how it would look. However I was worried about how it would lay.

To keep the seam flat, I added an additional seam along the joining stitch then pinked the edges to reduce bulk from overlock stitching.

Everything was starting to look good, so I did slip it on momentarily.

Meh, sort of. On to the waistband. This was originally cut in the green, but after reviewing my references on my pinterest board, I recut the waistband in cream. Carefully - very carefully - I top stitched the band in place. Then the edge plackets. Oh such a difference.

After reviewing my instructions, I ran into my first problem. Now that the top and bottom were attached, how did I finish off the leg cuffs of the bloomers? There's a pattern piece for "cutting a length of elastic for the leg cuff" but no instructions on how to attach it. After trying on the unfinished swimsuit and seeing how it fitted when sitting and standing, I opted to forgo any elastic. But I did want to trim it.

Some of my reference examples used soutache braid for trimming and I thought this might be a good opportunity to broaden my sewing knowledge. I found a pretty green and some cream online, ordered 5 yards of each, and they came a few days ago.

Yeah, the cream is actually a dark beige and the actual measurement is closer to 2 yards. It's a good thing I usually have a backup plan. 

So I'm now cutting bias strips from the cream fabric and sewing them together. These will eventually go along the leg cuffs, sleeve and skirt edges. I will also cut some green to go along the sailor collar.

In the meantime, here's where we're at!