Sunsmart bathers

In the two evenings before leaving for our holiday I managed to sew (at breakneck speed in between packing, cleaning and child-wrangling) a rash vest and bather pants set for R. She loves her spotty bathers I made earlier this summer but really needed something a bit more sunsmart, and as this Chloroban fabric is UV-resistant it should do the job very well. 

For the top I used a pattern from an old Ottobre I found in an op-shop recently (a real bargain at just one dollar). This was my first time using an Ottobre pattern (and my first time sewing raglan sleeves), and although the instructions were minimal, the construction was very simple. The pattern was for a boy's top with ribbed neck and cuffs but I lengthened the sleeves a little and hemmed them instead, also drafting a fabric neckband in lieu of ribbing. The size was total guesswork as I sewed it at night when R was asleep, but when I tried it on her in the morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was perfect. The pants - which I adapted from the Cosi swimsuit pattern - are quite a tight fit and I doubt they'll last til next summer. But never mind, I have enough fabric left to make a larger version when required.

We were lucky enough to have some beach weather today and the bathers had their first outing. I feel very satisfied with this last item for Kids Clothes Week. Simple, practical, cute - and for probably the first time ever, I didn't have to unpick a single seam!