Tis' Not Quite the Season

January in the northern hemisphere isn't the normal time of year to make swimwear, but that is what I have been doing.  It started because a friend called me up to ask if I could make her daughter 2 new swimsuits since she is doing winter swimming and is in desperate need of a new suit.  I whipped up 2 new Jalie 3134 racerback suits, and since the swim elastic was out, and the stretch needle was on the machine, I figured that was my sign to work on a Jalie 3350 for me.

Jalie 3350

I made view A with the open back and sweetheart neckline.  I made a straight size Y.  I initially did a FBA on the cups, but I wound up tearing the whole thing apart when the cups were WAY too big.  To conserve fabric I re-cut the same pieces to be a straight size Y and they are fine now.  If you are small busted, you might find the cups to be very roomy.  I would have preferred the straps to be wider and firmer to give more support.   That's a change that can be easily implemented next time.

I added sew-in swim bra cups and hand sewed them in.  

It has been a while since I have worn a 1 piece swimsuit, and to be honest, I'm not sure how much I will wear this one.  There's nothing wrong with the suit itself, it's just how I feel in it.

This suit is not the only thing I have been working on.  I have made a few more versions of the Orange Lingerie Marlborough Bra.  My reason for learning how to make bras was to incorporate an underwire into a swimsuit.  I have been working on a bikini top with an underwire and a foam cup!

This is highly experimental and is very much a case of sewing by the seat of my pants, but I am learning.  I have purchased 2 book on bra making and I'm hoping to devour all of the information in them and apply it to swimwear and bra making.

 :)