Suit Up for Summer with Raspberry Creek Fabrics Day Three- New Favorite Swim Patterns for men, boys, and girls

We’re halfway through the Suit Up for Summer Blog Tour. Do you have a favorite suit you’ve seen yet? Are you making plans for your own swimsuit sewing? I don’t know about you but my list of patterns to try continues to grow with each post!

Today I want to share a few of my favorite suit patterns. I sewed suits up for my four youngest kids this tour (I have the fabric ready to go for my oldest but with limited sewing time he’ll get his a bit later). In sewing so many suits, I had a few patterns jump out as favorites.

First, I want to talk about the Men’s Swim Trunks by 5 out of 4. I sewed these up last year for my oldest and he loved them so when looking for a pattern for this growing boy I turned to them again. He’s now sized out of most boy patterns and is on the small end of men’s patterns. I used a size small and made a couple of adjustments.

He requested this checker fabric but really wanted a plain black waistband. This pattern has you sew on a separate inner waistband piece that gets flipped all the way to the inside. To meet his request I took length off the front and back rise and doubled the width of the waistband piece to make a separate waistband casing. I then sewed it on like a band and left an opening for the elastic. I skipped grommet holes and added a faux drawstring. This pattern calls for 1.5″ elastic in the waist and I think it was perfect. I think after sewing all the board shorts for this tour I need to stock up on that size elastic!

I skipped all of the pockets and kept these nice and simple. I did chop three inches off of the length to get this length on him. The pattern doesn’t have height measurements but instead has finished inseam measurements to help you get the look you want.

If you are looking for a men’s swim trunk pattern, this is a great pattern to work with. It’s a nice base if you want to play around with it too.

These two patterns are new to me this year and I am absolutely smitten (as are these two!). It’s no surprise to me that many of the other bloggers on the tour also sewed these patterns up- they’re just so cute! I’m talking about the Lowland Kids Swim Briefs and Sofiona Designs Narwhal Swimsuit. I shared another pair of swim briefs yesterday and I’m pretty sure he’ll have at least one more pair come summertime.

The swim briefs are unlike most boy patterns in that they are sewn with regular stretch swim fabric. My little guy LOVES how comfy they are!

This is a size 7/8 in the wider width (the upper sizes have both a regular and wide fit). I skipped the real drawstring and sewed my signature faux drawstring (nothing worse than loose drawstrings falling out). These are not lined- they were my tester for yesterdays pair and RCF swim fabric is nice and opaque so I knew they’d still be wearable. I did line the next pair with sport mesh and he loves them either way.

I was nervous he’d miss the brief-type of liner but he really prefers these over them. He’s a boxer brief kinda kid so this feels natural and comfortable to him.

Let’s talk about the Narwhal. It’s so full of options and with each new version I see I now feel the need to sew them ALL. She’s declared this her favorite suit I’ve ever made her! That makes this momma over the moon!

I sewed the one-piece version with the pieced front and criss-cross detailing. This is a size 8 chest blended to a 10 in hips, waist, and trunk. I loved all the measurements included, with loads of finished garment measurements. This makes it so much easier to get a good fit on kiddos that don’t fall into one size.

I skipped the criss-cross back detail and simply sewed my straps right onto the back binding. Believe it or not, I’m not sure I’ve sewn a swimsuit with binding since my very first suit years and years ago. I’ve been avoiding them like the plague! Turns out- they’re not so scary! I used my twin needle on my sewing machine and they really were pretty easy. Not perfect but still good.

For these suits I sewed up the lemons (paired with the solid yellow swim). I think navy, yellow, and kelly green are one of my favorite combos. So preppy and classic! This is right up there as one of my favorite RCF swim prints ever.

Make sure to head to the other blogs sharing all their cute makes today.

Made By Kates Sewing and Things Desert Blooms Sweet Mama Life Paisley Roots