A few days ago I was suddenly struck with the knowledge I had to, had to, get to sewing some swimsuits. In fact, I have this silly little dream of running a little web-thingy whereby people donate the funds for materials, and I make up amazing custom swimwear for young women who are otherwise without a kick-ass summer suit. Like, I’d like to make suits like this for EVERY young woman who wants one! Body image issues are rubbish and a custom suit goes a long way to demolishing them for the season.
But – for now, I’ll concentrate on making suits for family & friends.
First up: skulls and lightning. Because, OF COURSE. A (to my taste) seventies-inspired suit with a surplice bodice.
Next: the Bombshell – a pin-up style gathered-bust maillot. I found a fabulous novelty spandex that is even prettier than the pictures here showcase.
Halter-style bodice (which the heavily-endowed likely rue, but the smaller set don’t have much trouble with):
Swimsuits are easy to sew. Or are they? Certainly it is easy to make one up, slip it on, and feel a sense of yay! when the thing looks pretty good – at first. Invariably and often, however, sewing a well-performing swimsuit is a little tougher. A swimsuit that doesn’t ride, pull down, pinch, pop stitches, expose oneself, and/or need constant adjustment. After all, we are dealing with a lot of variables here – the stretch of the fabric, the size (and strength and stretch) of elastic, the desire for bust support (from “none” to, “cantilever bridge technology”), and the performance of the suit while swimming or sporting.
That said, my daugther’s been wearing her green suit all day and praising it!
So, that’s that, then. I have two pattern reviews posted here – for the Bombshell (green) and the Mimi (skulls and lightning).
Happy sewing!
beautiful! your mad sewing skillz are a constant happiness in my life. “yeah, that sucky thing happened, but at least kelly hogaboom can sew literally anything.” and i am not even joking one little bit. it’s heartening to know of such solid goodness in life. thanks, kelly.
Thank you, s*!
You know… I never do write my feels when things go BADLY. I should set up a separate blog where I just bitch constantly. Both these suits gave me some trouble. One, due to the pattern, the other, due to my inexperience with an aspect. blargh
But – they turned out great!
Thank you, again.
Amazing work as always! You make such challenging projects look so easy with your mad skills!
@MaLora
Thank you! I don’t think I’m done sewing swimsuits for the year yet! 😀
Very nice suits! Glad your daughter is enjoying her cute green number! I like that one especially:) I feel for girls that shy away from swimsuits, I was the same a while back. I’m in the process of making my two youngest sisters some modest swimwear and hopefully it will allow them to enjoy the beach again!:)
@Rikki
Thank you for your comment! Good luck with your sisters; feel free to email if you think I can help in any way. kelly AT hogaboom DOT org.