Suit Up For Summer Day One

I’m absolutely giddy to be starting an amazing blog tour today!  Karly at Paisley Roots and I are excited to be hosting the Suit Up for Summer Blog Tour, featuring twenty other bloggers and two HUGE giveaways.  We hope to get you ready for summer and warm weather with swimwear for the whole family.  We’ll bring you tons of inspiration and tips and lots of fun along the way.

Make sure you make it to the end of this post for all the sponsor and prize details along with the awesome line-up for the week.

Today I’m starting it off by talking about sewing for the little girls in your life.  My very first swimsuits I sewed were for my young girls.  They were far from perfect but I was so proud of them.  For the first time this girly had a swimsuit that fit her tall, lanky frame.  She could never fit into ready-to-wear one pieces because they weren’t long enough and two-piece tankinis left inches of belly showing when they were supposed to be full length.  I was always bringing in the sides or crossing my fingers her little suit would stay put!   I know we’re not alone in this dilemma and I’m hoping to give you other mamas hope.  The beauty of sewing for your children is that you can mash sizes making your tall/skinny or short/solid kids feel confident and darling in their swimwear.

We both fell in love with this suit from Gap this year.   I knew there was no way it would fit so we went to work searching for a pattern to recreate our own version.  I used the Aloha Burn Blocker Suit from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop (make sure you check out their HUGE swimsuit selection!) with a little modification.  I used the bottom portion of the Leotard Etoile from Lil Luxe Collection but you could use any brief or swimsuit pattern for the leg curves.  I was able to make a size 7 width with a 10 length to fit her almost perfectly!  Make sure you also do the arms the longer length too!

The options for girls swimwear pdf’s is phenomenal!  They really do have so much more available to them than women, boys, and men combined it seems!  We have some amazing sponsors on this tour that offer girls swimsuit patterns.  Be on the look out this week as some of our bloggers feature looks from these shops:

Jalie is a great option with 17 (!) patterns in their swimsuit category.  Their patterns come with adult and children’s sizes in one pattern which makes them great if you plan on using multiple sizes.  They don’t feature layers and instructions are minimal but I’d call them great for the adventurous sewist.  The finished product is always superb!

Gracious Threads has a tankini and a boardshort pattern.  The Eclipse Tankini is designed for beginners and would make a great first swimsuit.  That little peplum is darling!  I made the boardshorts and love how cute they are and will be showing them to you later this week!

Lil Luxe Collection‘s Peach Beach swimsuit seems to be THE suit of the season.  I also love the leotards in the shop and can’t wait to show off our swim version of the Leotard Etoile.

My Childhood Treasures/Treasurie has a huge variety of swim/dance wear.  Their blog is full of great tips on sewing swimwear and is an amazing resource for beginners.  They also have a free pattern for swim bottoms- a great way to try out swimwear sewing!

5 out of 4 offers a girls version of their popular Agility Tank and Riptide shorties.  Perfect for mommy and me looks!

Titchy Thread’s Azur Swimsuit is one of the hippest suits there is!  I love the cut of the legs and the fun options to color block.

Call Ajaire has the Classic Maillot suit pattern that is just that- a classic!  She also offers the Classic Maillot Swimskirt pattern for free to dip your toes in swim sewing.

Boo! Designs also offers both swim and leotard patterns.  If you ask in the pdf groups for the best swimsuit patterns Boo! Designs will be an obvious fan favorite.  Their instructions offer a multitude of tips and their designs are classics that can be changed up to your hearts content!

You can see some of my past girls swim makes here, here, and here featuring the Cosi Swimsuit and my favorite raglan hacks.

As I’ve scoured the internet I’ve come across so many pattern companies that feature girls swimwear.  Here’s a few that I’ve found:

Mountain Ash Designs, Coles Creations, Create Kids Couture, Winter Wear Designs, The Wolf and The Tree, Violette Fields Threads, A Sparkly Baby, Puperita, and Julia Faye Davidson.

Did I miss any favorites?  Do you have a go-to pattern you turn to again and again?

Are you ready for the good stuff?  Check out this rad group of ladies we have joining us this week:

Hosted by Sew Sophie Lynn & Paisley Roots

Monday: Pear Berry Lane / Inspinration / It’s Liesel / Sewing For Four

Tuesday: Harper Lu / Call Ajaire / Stylin Stacy / Skirt Fixation

Wednesday: Sewing By Ti / Sewing With Sarah / Sew & Tell /  Me Made

Thursday: Made By Melli / Life Sew Savory / That’s What She Crafted / Auschick

Friday: Rebel & Malice / EYMM / Stitching & Making / Lilliepawillie

You can enter our HUGE giveaways two ways.  First link up any swimsuits you’ve sewn this year.  You have until next Tuesday, May 30th to get your looks in.  A winner will be randomly picked so even you swimsuit sewing newbies should join in!  I can’t wait to see what you guys create!

GIVEAWAYS ARE CLOSED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.

Our prize pack for the link up is sure to get you ready to start sewing your own swimsuits.  You will receive a $25 gift certificate to Raspberry Creek Fabrics, $25 gift certificate to The Fabric Fairy, $25 gift certificate to Peek-a-Boo Fabric Shop, and $20 gift certificate to Simply by Ti.  You will also receive a pdf pattern of your choice from Closet Case Patterns, Jalie, Gracious Threads, Lil Luxe Collection, My Childhood Treasures, 5 ouf ot 4 Patterns, Titchy Threads, Call Ajaire, Rad Patterns, and Boo! Designs!

Second, no sewing involved just enter the Rafflecopter for your shot at the other amazing prize pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We’d like to thank all of our generous sponsors for providing patterns used by many of the bloggers during the tour and also the great prizes!

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