taking the plunge

Here's another item I made for our vacation! This is the Take The Plunge swim suit by Patterns for Pirates. The swim fabric, lining, swim cups, and power mesh are all from Fabric Fairy. I made the low back with cross straps and non-ruched bottom in size small at the bust and hip graded to a medium at the waist (based on my measurements 34-28-37.) Next time I'd probably just grade from a small bust to medium at the hip and waist for simplicity.

I assembled the entire suit with the sewing machine on a 3mm zig-zag stitch. I heard some stitches popping the first few times I tried it on, so maybe I should try different stitch settings, try twin needle top stitching, or use the serger.

The only fit issue I have is with the torso length. I suspect a combination of two causes: 1) the power mesh is overly restricting the vertical stretch of the swim material in the bottoms, and 2) I am in denial about the length of my lower torso. Even though I'm only 5'2", my measurement from front waist between the legs to back waist was 27". The pattern is drafted for this "crotch length" measurement of around 25". I assumed that my measurement method was just off somewhere since I'm not used to being too "long" for any pattern, but I think this suit would be more comfortable with an extra 1" in length added to the front and back bottom pieces! As far as the power mesh issue, I think I would omit it next time. I'd prefer if the top was less "minimizing." Between the power mesh and the suit being too short, it flattens the bust just as much as it flattens the tummy!

This project was surprisingly fun! Sewing all these tiny pieces of slippery fabric and elastic was less frustrating than I expected. I'm already envisioning my next swim sewing project... maybe a rash guard and some swim bottoms? I've also seen a lot of cute animal print versions of this suit online. So many possibilities!