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| The fit on the bottoms is much better than it appears! |
The little person swimsuit is Kwik Sew 2883 (oop), and the big person suit is McCall 3566 (oop). I got the Kwik Sew pattern, and the totally wild, but much loved fabric at an ASG meeting.
Showing posts with label McCall 3566. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McCall 3566. Show all posts
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Swimsuits from 2012
I thought I'd go ahead and post the last projects that I made last year so I have a reference to them. Can't remember any construction details or adjustments, although I do remember that dd the eldest was very picky...imagine that.
Monday, August 15, 2011
McCall 3566 Swim Suit
I'm here to tell you the best kept sewing secret--making a swim suit is EASY! It's also about the only way that I know that you can save money when you sew your own versus purchasing one. One caveat about the process is that it helps a lot to have the wearer available to try it on during the sewing process so you can make sure elastic and straps are cut suitably. It really saves a lot of time and trouble to have that.
I used McCall 3566 for oldest dd which I had found earlier this year for $0.50 at our local Joann's store when it was closing to reopen as new and improved (I think we all have doubts about that now it has happened and while it is much improved it has become extremely crafty!). I only used one of the two swimsuit fabrics that I found not long after buying the pattern. Time and energy ran short and, wow, mom is not a miracle worker! Did I mention that it helps a lot to try the suit on frequently to make adjustments? And, that when it isn't tried on, the seam ripper is your friend? I am also tired of hearing the word "retro" in relation to this suit! Dd could've chosen a different view or opted to make modifications so I wouldn't have to keep hearing this is retro!
I used the serger on a 4-thread setting for the seams of the suits and the white lining. They are fully lined so I suppose twice the work, but I think it looks funny to only have the fronts lined. I don't think the pattern called for much lining, but I confess I didn't read the pattern. After serging the seams, I treated the lining and swim fabric as one whole piece and sewing machine basted all the raw edges prior to attaching elastic to them to prevent slippage. Then I zigzagged the elastic to the edge stretching the elastic to fit for all areas except the leg openings. I had stitched the elastic into a circle and marked it into 4 even parts prior to stitching again except for the leg openings. The leg openings are done differently without any elastic stretching along the front and all of the elastic stretched for the back to accomodate bending and movement. Makes sense. After securing the elastic, I folded the elastic to the inside and topstitched it down using a twin needle. They're pretty much done at that point.
For the youngest dd, I didn't have a pattern. I took two of her present suits and traced them out on Swedish tracing paper (great stuff!), added seam allowances and some guessing which resulted in a pretty good prototype. I viewed this hot pink swim fabric as experimental anyway. I had to redo the bottoms because they were way too snug. Ready to wear little girl swimsuits have always had issues on my girls--the bottoms are too big and the tops always fall off or slide around too much. If I bought a smaller size, then length was a problem. So when I traced out her suits, I took the one that I thought fit best and shrank it some although in the case of the bottoms I got carried away or maybe I forgot to accomodate for a bigger seam allowance versus elastic allowance on the leg openings. The top needed to be made somewhat smaller only at the top. The only problem that I had with her top was that it fit perfectly at home. It also fit perfectly at the beach until she went down to the water and started playing. The straps needed to be shorted by probably 2" because they didn't stay on her shoulders at all. Irritating. She was a good and patient child, trying on the suit multiple times for fitting so it was too bad that this was a problem. On the plus side, because I had made the top smaller around her chest, it stayed up so the straps weren't entirely necessary!
I used McCall 3566 for oldest dd which I had found earlier this year for $0.50 at our local Joann's store when it was closing to reopen as new and improved (I think we all have doubts about that now it has happened and while it is much improved it has become extremely crafty!). I only used one of the two swimsuit fabrics that I found not long after buying the pattern. Time and energy ran short and, wow, mom is not a miracle worker! Did I mention that it helps a lot to try the suit on frequently to make adjustments? And, that when it isn't tried on, the seam ripper is your friend? I am also tired of hearing the word "retro" in relation to this suit! Dd could've chosen a different view or opted to make modifications so I wouldn't have to keep hearing this is retro!
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| I made Views C and F. |
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| This stuff is super bright! |
Sewing lingerie and knits made sewing a swimsuit pretty easy. I also used the book Sewing With Knits by Connie Long as a reference. She has excellent information on what stitches and settings to use both for the serger and the sewing machine. I used a combination of the two since I am too lazy to set up my serger for a cover stitch after sewing the seams together. You even end up with a finished product that looks like a bought suit!
I used the serger on a 4-thread setting for the seams of the suits and the white lining. They are fully lined so I suppose twice the work, but I think it looks funny to only have the fronts lined. I don't think the pattern called for much lining, but I confess I didn't read the pattern. After serging the seams, I treated the lining and swim fabric as one whole piece and sewing machine basted all the raw edges prior to attaching elastic to them to prevent slippage. Then I zigzagged the elastic to the edge stretching the elastic to fit for all areas except the leg openings. I had stitched the elastic into a circle and marked it into 4 even parts prior to stitching again except for the leg openings. The leg openings are done differently without any elastic stretching along the front and all of the elastic stretched for the back to accomodate bending and movement. Makes sense. After securing the elastic, I folded the elastic to the inside and topstitched it down using a twin needle. They're pretty much done at that point.
For the youngest dd, I didn't have a pattern. I took two of her present suits and traced them out on Swedish tracing paper (great stuff!), added seam allowances and some guessing which resulted in a pretty good prototype. I viewed this hot pink swim fabric as experimental anyway. I had to redo the bottoms because they were way too snug. Ready to wear little girl swimsuits have always had issues on my girls--the bottoms are too big and the tops always fall off or slide around too much. If I bought a smaller size, then length was a problem. So when I traced out her suits, I took the one that I thought fit best and shrank it some although in the case of the bottoms I got carried away or maybe I forgot to accomodate for a bigger seam allowance versus elastic allowance on the leg openings. The top needed to be made somewhat smaller only at the top. The only problem that I had with her top was that it fit perfectly at home. It also fit perfectly at the beach until she went down to the water and started playing. The straps needed to be shorted by probably 2" because they didn't stay on her shoulders at all. Irritating. She was a good and patient child, trying on the suit multiple times for fitting so it was too bad that this was a problem. On the plus side, because I had made the top smaller around her chest, it stayed up so the straps weren't entirely necessary!
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| Matching sisters! |
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| Back view. |
All in all, this was a quick and easy project even with having to draft my own pattern for the youngest dd's suit. I think I will definitely sew more swim suits, especially for the youngest because she is so willing to try them on for fit!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Les Fabriques and Swimsuit Fabric
Would you believe (I couldn't!) that I found swimsuit fabric not long after finding the swimsuit pattern in my last post? I was fortunate enough to travel to Charlottesville, VA, recently to Les Fabriques. A great fabric store which specializes in fashion sewing fabrics although they do carry quite a variety, including some for kids and some quilting cottons. There were some very nifty handbag patterns created by a local lady. They also have a LOT of classes, even quite a few for kids.
Anyway, I found not one but two swimsuit fabrics that the girls liked (isn't sending a picture using your phone very useful?). They were even on clearance! I figured that I would have to wait until more spring/summer fabrics came out. I remember that http://www.fabric.com/ had some beautiful swimsuit fabric last year, so I had been waiting to see what they would have this year.
I need to find a girl's swimsuit pattern I like and get it before I start on this. I also need to check my supplies and make sure I have elastic for this project, but I think it will be fun and one of the few ways to save money when you sew! Here's what I found:
More on other sewing later. I've been hard at work on a project which I'll share later.
Anyway, I found not one but two swimsuit fabrics that the girls liked (isn't sending a picture using your phone very useful?). They were even on clearance! I figured that I would have to wait until more spring/summer fabrics came out. I remember that http://www.fabric.com/ had some beautiful swimsuit fabric last year, so I had been waiting to see what they would have this year.
I need to find a girl's swimsuit pattern I like and get it before I start on this. I also need to check my supplies and make sure I have elastic for this project, but I think it will be fun and one of the few ways to save money when you sew! Here's what I found:
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| The top fabric is the real fabric and I got the solid to use as an accent. This was my favorite! |
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| Really bright PINK! This was youngest dd's pick because she is on a pink kick right now. I don't think the girls realized how very bright it is based on the picture I sent to them. Oh well! I still think it will make a cute suit. |
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| McCall 3566 Here's the pattern I'll probably use for oldest dd. |
More on other sewing later. I've been hard at work on a project which I'll share later.
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