Day Two Suit Up For Summer

We’re here on Day Two of the Raspberry Creek Fabrics Suit Up For Summer Tour.  After yesterday’s fantastic posts I now have a list of swimsuit patterns to try out for myself!  So much cuteness!

Today I’m sharing a couple of girls swimsuits but first let me tell you a little story full of high hopes, dashed dreams, seam rippers and caffeine.   There once was a mom who dreamed of making swimsuits for her little princesses because they struggled fitting into just any old swimsuit.  She knew custom swim gowns were in order and knew she could call on her years of experience to make their wishes a reality.  Fast forward to many long afternoons and unpicked seams later and their mom was hoping for a visit from the sewing fairy godmother.  Back in reality we find the heroine left with mediocre fruits of her hours of labor.

Guys, I’m here to tell you not everything that comes off your sewing machine will be a prize winner.  And even though I’m supposed to be here to share my infinite sewing wisdom with ya’ll, sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

This cute girly LOVES rashguard suits.  She fell in love with this geometric print and I knew it’d be perfect for the look she wanted.   I used our favorite girls raglan pattern, the Camden Raglan, from Hey June Handmade.  It’s our go-to for jersey tees and I used it for last years suit as well..  I sewed it up in a flash and all looked great until she tried it on.  The neck was way too wide for a true rashguard look, the vinyl was too low, and I had kept the length I usually add to her tees so it was a good two inches too long. So off went the neckband and I seam ripped the whole front off and recut it to bring the vinyl up.  I then sewed on a new, wider neckband that was a touch shorter to bring in the shoulders as well.  The final top is fantastic and I’m glad I took the time to get the look right.

I used a file found in Cricut Design Space for the graphic and Cricut SportFlex Iron-On for the perfect summer time look.  I used SportFlex Iron-On last year for some rashguards and it held up so well to hours in the pool and lots of washing.  It’s a great product if you’re looking to customize your swim or workout wear.

We did a pair of boyshort bottoms using the Rissa Hipster Boy Shorts from Plucky Butterfly.   I love the cut of these and think they look darling on her.  They come together quick and the pattern is so full of options from undies to skirted swim bottoms.

As soon as I saw these stripes I knew I wanted to revisit the Azur Swimsuit from Titchy Threads.  I had sewed this pattern once before but never finished it due to fit issues and my own errors.  Surely I could conquer it now with more experience, right?!  I’ve mentioned earlier that my girls don’t fall into standard size measurements.  I need to blend sizes and add length to most everything I make.  This swimsuit proved to be a challenge to get right.

I adore the cool retro style.  It’s fully reversible which makes playing with fabric combos so fun.

All errors with this suit are purely my own issues.  It’s a fantastic pattern and the instructions are well written.  Sometimes I think I’ve been doing this long enough I can wing my way through projects.  This time I read over the tutorial multiple times before beginning but only referred to it here and there while actually sewing (tell me I’m not the only one who does this?!).  I forgot to leave an opening in the leg hole and ended up turning my whole suit through the tiny neck straps, talk about a tight squeeze!  Once I’d made the turn there was no going back 😉  The elastic could be tighter across the sides and I really should have used the optional back strap.  I may eventually seam rip it and adjust things to get a better fit but have decided to leave it for now.  This sporty style suits my oldest much better so I may try to make the adjustments for her instead (bonus when both girls have almost identical measurements except for height!).

You win some, you lose some.  I’m grateful for these little misses that keep me on my toes and definitely keep me humble.  Sometimes things turn out exactly like you envision them and sometimes you chalk them up to learning experiences.  There is no growth in comfort and failure breeds wisdom- not necessarily what we would choose to experience but helpful to think about as we go through our own little challenges.

In the end I couldn’t give up my dream of coordinating sibling looks.  I love these fabrics together.  I love that the fabric designers use the same colors so that many of the prints throughout the whole collection play so well together.  This teal and pink combo just screams summer to me.

Make sure you’re keeping up with all the stops on the tour.  I can’t believe the talent that I get to be a part of!

Friday: Its Liesel / Amber Lauren Boutique / Violette Field Threads / Confetti Unicorn

For this week, March 11-15, 2019, our readers can enjoy 20% off SWIM ONLY from these sponsors!

Wardrobe By Me code: Raspberry Creek

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Violette Field Threads code: RCSwim

Titchy Threads code: SUITUP19

5oo4 code: RCFSWIM

and 15% off SWIM ONLY from Jalie code: SWIMTOUR15OFF

A huge thank you to all of our sponsors!

Boo Designs / Sew A Little Seam / Titchy Threads / Simple Life Pattern Co. / Jalie

Little Lizard King / Made for Mermaids / Love Notions / Striped Swallow Designs

Patterns for Priates / Violette Field Threads / Wardrobe By Me / 5oo4 / Sew Like My Mom