sewing: ikat tankini

I’m pretty darn excited about this ikat tankini for Kahlin, as this marks my first foray into bathing suit sewing!! there have been so many cute suits popping up lately, and I just couldn’t resist any longer.

I ordered some adorable swimsuit fabrics and some nude lining from Girl Charlee and then started plotting design. I wanted to make a two-piece suit for ease of bathroom breaks, and I also wanted to avoid spaghetti straps because the girls are always complaining about how they’re uncomfortable.

after looking at the available swimsuit patterns, I decided that a swimsuit is really just very tight underwear made with spandex, yes? this seemed a bit of a revelation to me, though who knows why.

I remembered the little fishies undies pattern from Fishsticks Designs, and thought I’d try it out for the swimsuit. the bottom is fully lined and the waistband elastic seam is completely enclosed, so there are no messy or rough edges, which is fabulous. really, this pattern makes for a perfect swimsuit bottom

first I made a muslin with jersey knit to test the fit, and decided that a size 6 would probably work for both girls. at the moment, the measure close to the same size in every respect except height, so I just had them both try out the same muslin. before making this version for Kahlin, I made basically the same suit for Brenna, though there was definitely a sewing-with-spandex learning curve and let’s just say that the second version shows much improvement.

I drafted my own tank-top-style swimsuit top by draping fabric on Kahlin to create a makeshift pattern. the top is fully lined as well, which made construction a breeze. I stitched everything except the side seams and then tried the top on her to make sure that it would be snug enough. after sewing the side seams, I finished the bottom with a 1″ band of the exterior fabric instead of hemming.

I briefly considered topstitching, but skipped it in favor of keeping this project quick and easy. did I mention that I sewed this up the day before we left for the beach?

these pics were taken by the pool where we stayed on our recent calabash vacation. I was excited to work in a few of the tips I learned from rockstar blogger and stylist Alida in her new ebook, Style That Kid. Kahlin got to incorporate some of her own ideas and enjoyed doing more than just following my demands instructions.

have you made swimwear before? do you have a favorite pattern? I think that this Cosi Swimsuit from sewpony vintage is super cute, and I might try it next. and of course, there’s always the Bombshell Swimsuit for grown-up swimmers. that pattern would definitely be on my sewing bucket list, if I had one.

happy stitching!
xo, rachael

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