Suit Up For Summer!

The 2022 Raspberry Creek Fabric’s Suit Up for Summer 2022 Blog Tour

I’m 6’ tall so the normal question after the standard, “ Wow, your tall!” Is “Do you play basketball?” And the answer is no not really! I do like a pickup game now and then but I never played in high school or college. I was on the swim team and loved it!!! No I was not the best but it was fun and a great experience. I would not change it for the world.

From then I went on to love swimming. I also live in Texas and you found me at the local lake all summer long in high school. At any time I have about 20-25 swimsuits. Some for actually swimming laps and some for pool and lake parties and some for just hanging out in the sun. Yes I have a swimsuit wardrobe and sewing has me growing that wardrobe even more. I actually did get rid of about 8 last year and still have a lot. So did I need to make another swimsuit? Lol Absolutely not, but I am glad I did! So before I share about the suit I made for the 2022 Raspberry Creek Fabric’s Suit Up for Summer 2022 Blog TourCreek let me show you a few suits I previously have made. This is not all of them.

The oldest I have is the one that is now about 25 years old and YES I put beaded fringe on it. And yes I hand headed it! I think I may need to make an update version of this.

There were a couple other swimsuits in between but if we jump forward about 20 years I made this vintage look Kelani High Waisted Bikini from My Golden Thimble suit a few years ago. This suit is from ….. and I love it!

• 

• 

• 

And then two years ago for our trip to Myrtle I of course needed more suits! So I made this plane black one just a very utilitarian suit and it is so comfortable and it is actually pretty sleek looking. I also made this rash guard top and this one piece low cut one green one. Both of these I drafted the patterns for myself. The green one has a skirt that goes with the same fabric so it lets you go from beach to dinner.

• 

• 

• 

So now for my favorite!!!! This is the one I made for this 2022 Raspberry Creek Fabric’s Suit Up for Summer 2022 Blog Tour and I love it!!! I got a chance to really search for a suit I liked to make which I had not done a good swimsuit pattern search in a while. And I fell in love with Edgewater Avenue!! She is a small pattern brand and I can relate as I am a new handbag pattern brand. And I love her youthful looking suits! They are so fun and yes a bit sexy!! Check her website out here and her instagram is great!!

I picked out the Natalie top and the Savannah Bottoms. I wear a lot of triangle bikini tops and this one is very similar but has a thicker neck strap and it makes it very comfortable. The bottoms have a high leg opening which I like and are high waisted to suck in the stomach.

Now I will say it is very hard to pick a swim fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics because wow they are so good!!! I got Abstract Line Drawn Floral Red and wow! Not disappointed at all. I kept wondering it I would like it but as soon as I saw it I was glad I picked it. It is not an in your face red but is slightly muted which I like. It is such a good weight and great quality. I also used Raspberry Creek Swim lining so if you make a suit pick up some of that too.

So as I was going through all the suits I have made through the years and what advice I can offer you if you have never tried it. And here are my top tips. I am also including a graphic you can post to your Instagram to share with your friends and to refer back to when you are sewing your suits. To find that freebie you can navigate to the top menu bar to download it out of the Lovely’s Freebie’s Library!

Now to the tips!

1. Go for quality fabric! Yes you can use some cheaper quality for a test suit but for the real thing you want quality. Yes I preach quality fabric but for swim it gets more critical. Have you ever had a swimsuit disengage? I have!!! Yes my high schools swim team suit dissolved! And yes it was cheap fabric. Suits will be exposed to salt water and or harsh chemicals and sun! The combination is very harsh on fabric.
2. Elastic foot! Most all swimsuits you will add elastic to the legs and some other areas. I suggest investing in a elastic foot for your machine weather you are using your serger or regular machine to sew suits.
3. Ball point/stretch needles please!! Be sure to use a ball point or stretch needle with your swim materials. You want to be sure that the needle moves through the knit and does not pierce the fibers like a universal needle would. This is again a away to keep your suit last.
4. Don’t shy away from sexy! Yes of course if you preference is to be more modest go for it but don’t shy away from sexy styles if you are ok with it. We tend to put a lot of stipulations on ourselves like when I lose wight, gain muscle, get a tan, blah, blah, blah! Rock you now!!! And another hint is that more fabric does not always make you like slimmer anyway.

The 2022 Raspberry Creek Fabric’s Suit Up for Summer 2022 Blog Tour is a wonderful opportunity for sewing blogger so please follow all of them! Make sure you’re following along in RCF’s Facebook group and on Instagram because there’s a big giveaway this week. If you haven’t already, go check out the 2022 swim designs.

Until Next Time! Please follow me on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/lovelyforlife1 and https://www.facebook.com/Lovelyforlifedesigns

Lovely

Thank you to all of our amazing sewists who are joining us this week!

Hosted by SewSophieLynn and Paisley Roots

Sew Hard of Hearing, I Em Sew Happy, Zaji-Kali Makes, Sewing with CWay

Sew Mary Mac, Lorelei Caroline, Sew With Summer, All My Spare Time

Made By Kates, The Imperfect Sewist, Intensely Distracted, Lovely for Life

Sew Whit Designs, Sew What with Afton, It’s Liesel, Clothed in Vermillion

Kainara Stitches, Stacey Durant, Desert Blooms, That’s Sew Kari