It appears I sew swimwear every four years. That’s when I bought the bulk of my swim fabric. I’m an obsessive Olympic watcher and seeing the beach volleyball players and divers make me want to swim.
For this iteration I used a poly lycra Trena donated to me about a year ago. The pattern used is the same fitness top from the out-of-print (OOP) McCalls 8813 and the view E bottoms (string bikini).
On the top, I added another 3/4 inch FBA for a total of 1 3/4 inches. I also took two inches out of the band width to try and get closer to my size. For support, I added power netting and 3/4 inch elastic for the underbust. I (still) lined the top and lined the front of the bikini bottoms.
For construction, I used my elasticator foot on my serger to apply the swim elastic and topstitched with a twin needles and my walking foot. The tops definitely has more support now and a bit of compression too. Marta asked if this could work as a sports bra. My best guess is ‘yes’. But, I’ll be honest, my sports bra is a ridiculous $60 affair from Under Armour.
The bottoms… well, let’s just say they are a little early 2000′s high waisted! They are not at my navel, but hipsters are more flattering to my heavy bottom half. Here’s a comparison of my Patrones bottoms with these.
I can’t be bothered to sew a second bottoms right now. But, I want to merge these two patterns. The McCalls has great rear coverage but I like the height of the Patrones.
And if you worry I’m sewing to be sewing… I’m back in the pool. It’s too hot to run and my gym has a really lovely pool. Maybe what this really means is I need to have a beach weekend soon.
