Having finally persuaded R to give the school swimming program a go, I realised I'd provided myself with the perfect excuse to try out the new Cosi Swimsuit pattern from sewpony. And sewing these up wasn't half as difficult as I thought it would be!
Finding swimsuit fabric, however, was not all that easy - I ended up buying some 'scuba knit' on special from Spotlight and hoping it would do the trick. And, while they certainly look and feel like a pair of bathers, I must confess I have no idea what this fabric will do in the water and how it will respond to chlorine. These concerns aside, I am thrilled with the way the bathers turned out and the way they fit R so beautifully.
I made size 4 with size 5 length, also taking in the sides of the bottom section a little, as they somehow wound up being a little wider than the top part. Oh, and it was hard to figure out how the elastic was meant to be distributed around the legs and top section, but I just winged it and it seems to have worked out fine.
I'll be looking out for more swimsuit fabric and sewing up some more of these in the future - such a cute pattern with so many options.
Clever you! I want to try this pattern and hope that when I do, it looks as good as this.
ReplyDeleteYour girl looks fab in those bright colours!
Thanks Katy :) The fabric looked totally over the top on the roll, but the watercolour effect appealed to me so I went for it anyway. And R loves bright colours, so she's very happy with them!
DeleteThey are so cute! Amazing success for a first swimwear project. Rathdowne fabrics in Brunswick has heaps of swimwear Lycra if you can get there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and thanks for the recommendation. Sadly it seems I'm on the wrong side of town for fabric shops - one day I'm going to do an all-day fabric-shop-crawl and spend up! Have you found some good places to shop in your new home?
DeletePerfect, Marisa! Please let me know how this fabric behaves in the pool and in the wash! I have been looking at it as well!
ReplyDeleteAt least if the colours run into each other, no one will notice... but yes, I'll let you know how they go!
DeleteMarisa, how did this fabric behave? LM needs new swimmers! I still have enough of the colourful fabric I used to make her swimmers, but I thought it might be fin to use a different print :)
DeleteAh - good question! The fabric seemed great at first, but then got a bit ‘pilly’ and I can see it’s not going to wear well. I’ve just bought some swimwear fabric from a fabric warehouse in Dingley, quite close to wear I live, and I’m planning to sew the same style in one of those fabrics. They sell online through ebay as well - in fact that’s how I found them. They have a great range of basics at good prices, nothing fancy but if you want spots, stripes or plains they have them. And if you go there in person they have cheap remnants too. It’s called Joelle’s fabric clearance warehouse and they sell lining too.
DeleteWow, great job. Was it tricky to sew? R looks great in her Cosi!
ReplyDeleteNot all that tricky, Louise, except for not really knowing how to distribute the elastic. Oh and the knit is very thick and didn't gather easily for the skirt part.
DeleteGreat swimmers! We have to plan a day of fabric shopping together as I was immediately yelling Rathdowne Remnants too! Maybe with coffee, or lunch, and perhaps a glass of wine......
ReplyDeleteYes let's do it! I'm free Thursdays, or school holidays (only then I come with a couple of hangers-on who hate fabric shopping - unless I persuade their grandmother to take them!).
DeleteI've made Ella a gymnastics leotard before, so maybe I should try sewing a swimsuit, too! Yours looks like it came from a store, and the fit looks perfect! I'm not sure about performance wear fabrics either, but I have seen a few specifically called swimsuit fabric at Joann's.
ReplyDeleteThanks Veronica! I'm so happy to finally have bathers that fit R nicely - shop-bought ones never fit her properly.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if you've made a leotard you'll have no trouble making bathers - there's virtually no difference between them. Would love to see you sew some!
Another beautiful Cosi swimsuit!! I've been loving seeing all the lovely versions of this pattern on the recent tour, and yours is another example of how great this pattern is! Love the watercolor-ish fabric you used - I hope that it will hold up well for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's just survived a week of the school swimming program in highly chlorinated water, so I think the fabric is going to be fine :)
DeleteAwesome! I love your cosi:) the fabric is great!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suz, great pattern - will definitely be making more of these.
DeleteWhat a fun creation!! We've not been brave enough to sew swimwear yet.... but have purchased the Cosi for the day we are ready to go....
ReplyDeleteThanks! You'll love the coxi, it's such a great pattern.
DeleteOh so pretty! Love the colors!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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