The Bathing Suit Project

Part 1

KwikSew 3696

I have decided to make my own bathing suit(s) for my Christmas holiday this year. For two reasons, one I cannot face the harsh lighting and terribly unflattering mirrors in my local Bikini Village store. Personally if I owned a shop that sold bathing suits I would have gentle lighting and mirrors that made you look taller and thinner! I’m sure people would buy more!! But, I digress.

Secondly, I have made a couple of bras and panties so the technique should be similar, no?

After much research I settled on the Kwik Sew K3696 pattern. My local independent fabric store that sells Kwik Sew patterns didn’t have this one in stock and says that she sometimes has a 3 – 4 week wait for delivery. Not good, I need to start now! So I bought the PDF version from the Kwik Sew website. (Of course now the pattern is available for sale at $1.99 I see on their website!!)

Next was the fabric. Neither my local independent fabric store nor my local Fabricland had any swimwear fabric. So I decided to try on-line fabric shopping. I used Fashion fabrics club and choose two swimwear fabrics. The cost was $6.86 per yard, and I only needed a yard of each. I hope I am not going to regret the purchase if I have to pay a hefty duty as it is coming from the US.

So while I wait for the fabric to arrive, I am going to print and prepare the pattern pieces and buy similar stretch fabric from Fabricland and make a practice bikini. 

Putting things off

I was sitting at work the other day when my cell phone beeped with a text message. It was from my younger son, the message was along the lines of “I don’t want to spring this on you when I get home on the weekend, so I thought I’d mention it now……” before I could scroll down to see more of the message I was thinking the worst (as mothers often do!!). Turns out he wanted me to fix his winter jacket as he will be taking it back with him.

This was a jacket he was wearing back in February and one morning announced very nonchalantly that it got a little ripped the previous evening. When I looked at it, it was ripped from the cuff to the waistband luckily along the seam. But it was the shell fabric as well as the lining. I hate mending, I really do. I would rather make something from scratch, so had left the jacket on my cutting table for these last 7 or 8 months. Turns out it took less than half an hour to fix and looks like new!!

But under the jacket had been hiding 6 pieces of flannel fabric and a pattern for men’s boxer underpants.  I had purchased the fabric and pattern late last year (September?) with the intent of making the males in my household some undies with Peter over at Male Pattern Boldness. I had washed and ironed the fabric, taken measurements and then somehow kept putting off starting them and hence the pile ended up hidden under the jacket.

So I whipped up the first pair of boxers.  Again, so quick to do and yet I had put it off for so long! Hopefully I can get the other 5 done in the next few days and another thing off of my sewing table.

First pair being worn and pronounced - comfortable!

Don't you just hate putting things off only to discover that how quickly you can get it done when you actually get round to it. The story of life!!

Sneak Peek!

I am just going to show you a sneak peek of what I have been working on.

The big reveal is on Saturday!

I have used scraps from my stash as well as another one of my husband's old shirts.

I have dusted off my box of embroidery threads which I haven't used in ages.

I found an embroidery pattern that I bought from Sublime Stitching over a year ago when I decided I wanted to try my hand at embroidery.

And I used one of my machine embroidery stitches just for fun!!

Check back here on Saturday, I will also be posting a baking recipe!!

Odds and Ends

Well I am still around. Even though I have not posted anything for a couple of weeks.

I was away on business, this time in the Sahara desert in North West Africa. I was living in a camp situation for a week with no access to internet after hours,  and the long work days meant I was in bed very early. So no time for any crafts.

I did however make a list of all that is outstanding, so do feel somewhat organized for the rest of the year.

In no particular order:

• Half finished Lady Grey jacket
• Cut out lap top bag
• Two bras, again cut out but not stitched
• Owl sweater
• Second Alma blouse, cut out
• Apron Sew Along.

Since being home I have started to knit a cowl scarf, using the wool I got in Ireland in summer. Of course I should have started on the items from my list, but that would have been way too organized!!