Monday, May 22, 2017

Suit up for summer



It is beginning to look a lot like.. summer! Each year when temperatures are rising, our kids immediately start asking if they are allowed to play with water in the yard.  This means that for weeks I have to tell them it is still too cold, the sun looks nice compared to the cold winter months, but still no summer weather. Now, it seems we are finally there, water play season is open, at least for the coming week. That gives me a good reason to do some swimsuit sewing (right..like I would need a reason). I was not alone in my desire to sew with lycra's, today is the start of the "suit up" blog tour, so you are treated on a lot of inspiration this week.



I decided to dress all of my kids in something new. I had quite some swimsuit fabric left from last year's first attempt to sew swimwear. While searching through my upcycle pile I found an old bike short of mine from 15 years ago. The fabric was still in perfect condition, only the elastic had dried in the mean time. The black fabric was the perfect contrast to spice up my blue and purple. I had actually already bought some other lycra for the tour, but that will have to wait for another project.  The thought of dressing them in coordinating pieces became too good to ignore.



Jalie generously offered a free pattern from their swimsuit collection and I really wanted to try them. Browsing through the catalog, my eye fell on the skin suit pattern.  It sparked a memory of longing, I remembered needing that pattern after seeing this awesome costume. The pattern includes sizes from small child to grown up, so you will see this pattern more often on the blog here. I foresee my son will want to be Batman or Spiderman real soon.



Based on the size table I cut a straight 8 years and it fits perfectly. After making all the pictures I realized there is no picture of the back. I found one from the side, but you can not see the fit on the back, so you just have to take my word for it, that it fits great everywhere. I slightly adjusted the pattern by making an exposed zipper. I wanted the suit to have some black in it, and the zipper seemed to be perfect for that. I also omitted the collar/hood and just finished the neckline with a bias of the purple



For my son, I used the Suat boxwear pattern. I made several of these already that have not been blogged yet. My son loves the fit of the pattern and it is super easy and quick to sew. The pattern includes both a boy and girl front, and I decided to sew a small one for my youngest as well as part of a bikini.



The last pattern that I used for this post is the Azure swimsuit pattern. I bought this pattern, by Titchy Threads more than a year ago. It is reversible, color blocked and with several options. A must have pattern I would say. I personally prefer the totally color blocked side of the swimsuit that I made my middle daughter. My daughter, of course, prefers the other side. She claims not to like black, but I think the contrast is lovely (maybe a bit too much like the original pattern picture, but lovely). My daughter likes to have options so a reversible swimsuit is perfect for her desire to regularly wear something else. The reversibility also increases the likelihood that one side will be loved my her younger sister when she will inherit the suit.



I hacked the Azure pattern into a bikini top for my youngest. I tried to be as economical as possible with my fabric and I probably cut the lining and main in two different directions. Or maybe something else went wrong, but the top is bunching up a bit, fortunately, the receiver did not mind at all. She loved the entire outfit and refused to take off the top for two days.



In the beginning, I already said that these garments were made as part of a swimsuit tour. In this picture you see all the sponsors and below it, you find the line up of all the bloggers. This tour is organized by the lovely Paisley Roots and SewSophieLynn you can find all the information about the give aways on their blogs.

21 comments:

  1. I'm so impressed by the volume of suits you made. I'm hoping to do another round for my girls still. These colors are great and I love that you did a bit of up-cycling too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. geweldig!! Wat een werkje!! Ik vind het supergeslaagd, allemaal anders en zo leuk samen als geheel! Tof om de reviews van al deze pakken te zien, handig om bij te houden voor als ik ooit nog eens inspiratie nodig heb ;-) En weer zo tof dat je ook gerecy-kleerd hebt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Het zat eigenlijk allemaal verrassend snel in elkaar, mijn lock was niet zo braaf als bij tricot, maar hij deed zijn best.

      Delete
  3. wow, you have been busy! Such great swimmers your kids. They can play with water as much as they like! Oh summer is the best! PS Who needs an excuse to sew for kids hehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha, happy to not be the only one that does not need one.

      Delete
  4. Super leuke set voor alle vier!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ik had nog inspiratie nodig, dus had eigenlijk nog wat kind nodig gehad ;)

      Delete
  5. Great job on all of the swimsuits and love the pictures of all your kids in them. They seem to like them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They love them indeed, good that we have really nice weather now, or else it would have been a bit weird they are wearing them non stop!

      Delete
  6. These pictures are amazing! I am totally cracking up with each childs personality! The swimsuits look awesome! I love the azur and I have been putting off making the skin suit for some odd reason, but I really should make it! The fit looks perfect!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep, clearly shoing their personality. In the beginning when I made group shots I always felt bad that they were not all smiling at once, but now I love the stories these pictures tell.

      Delete
  7. What a fun photoshoot!! Bubbles are such a great idea :) You're swimsuits look so good and I love how they coordinate!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was actually the idea of my middle daughter, she just went and got a set, they are really comfortable now a days in front of the camera.

      Delete
  8. Lekker zomers plaatje, heel toepasselijk met dit mooie weer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jammer dat ik tijdens de shoot inderdaad weer net iets te koud was.

      Delete
  9. Miranda Smits-van GorpMay 25, 2017 at 7:00 AM

    Oh Wow how nice!! and so many ... Can you use any Lycra? I bought some nice fuchsia 4way stretch last weekend. Wanting to make some hockey skirts from. But our seven year old thinks I can make a nice two piece out of it ... Dunno if I can do that, but if she thinks I can, I should try ;-) ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed just try, I bought bathing lycra for these, but the alternative that I bought that I actually wanted to use for this post would have been the golden lycra I used before, just four way strech lycra.

      Delete
  10. I cant' believe you made 4 suits!! They are so so fun! Love them.

    ReplyDelete