BurdaStyle

This is my oldest Un-photographed Finished Object!

This was my first ever attempt at making a swimsuit. I was living in Perth at the time (I am guessing I made this in early 2009) and because I was quite proud of my efforts I intended to photograph it at the beach immediately…but it just never happened.

When In-the-mood-for-a-swim Hubby suggested a day trip to the beach at QEII Park on Wellington Anniversary I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share it with you all.

Please be appreciative of my bravery, this is the least amount of clothing I have ever been photographed in!

It is not really a swimming swimsuit, more of a lie-under-the-beach-umbrella-looking-pretty kind of swimsuit.

I am still very proud of this make but I admit it is not 100% perfect.

Things I would do differently if I made this swimsuit again:

More length to the bodice, maybe as much a 5cm! It rides up, probably a cause of the cute and flattering ruching, but I have a long torso and generally prefer a bit more length in my tops so I normally add that into the bodice of most Burda/BurdaStyle patterns.

Add in some bust support. This pattern isn’t great for a C/ D-on-a-good-day bust. I think the low back doesn’t help so perhaps a strap across the upper back like the Alison pattern and building in some bra cups would help it a lot.

Reduce the width of the crotch in the bikini bottoms. It is wiiiiiiiiide and bunches/folds uncomfortably at each side.

Add a bit more width at the back of the bikini bottoms for better bum coverage. It is a tad skimpy and I was constantly plucking them out of you-know-where…

Use my elasticator foot on my overlocker for a more rtw looking finish. The zig-zag is ok, it looks fine in fact, it’s strong, stretchy and tidy. When I decided to make this swimsuit I had already bought my overlocker but not very long before hand. It came with extra feet including an elasticator foot that feeds the elastic at a constant controlled stretch while overlocking it in place. It’s very cool and I have played with it quite a bit since but at the time it was just a bit too much to take in all at once: First swimsuit, new overlocker, tensions!, elasticator foot, etc…

Remember not to use a straight stitch! I stitched the long seam on the halter strap with a straight stitch, I have no idea why I did that, I knew better back then too. So it does’t really stretch on that edge and digs into my neck rather than stretching, it’s a bit uncomfortable but not a big deal.

More photos on my blog