Suit Up for Summer with Raspberry Creek Fabrics

There may be snow on the ground, but we’re already dreaming of summer and days spent in our favorite swimmers. Thanks to the Raspberry Creek Fabrics 2019 Swim collection, I’ve gotten a head start on summer sewing. Initially I couldn’t wait to get my hands on swimwear fabric and get to making myself a new suit. A few days later, however, the insecurities set in. Did I really want to share my body in a swimsuit with the internet? Should I get a spray tan? It’s been years since I last made myself a swimsuit, what if it’s a colossal fail? This. This is why I blog and give myself deadlines. If I hadn’t made the commitment, I would’ve let these doubts get the better of me. Despite my doubts, I’m always thankful that blogging pushes me out of my sewing and style comfort zones. Alright, enough about my insecurities, let’s talk about these suits.


My Son’s Palm Euro Suit

My 5 year old has been wearing this style of trunks since 2017 when I met Rachel of Little Fish Apparel. I purchased a pair of her trunks and since then, my son hasn’t worn any other style. Last spring Sew Like My Mom released the Palm Euro Suit pattern and I fell in love with the style and quick construction. My son fell in love with the fully lined inside and options to have his favorite style in a variety of fabrics. There was no question that this would be the pattern for my son’s newest suit. I got this Flamingo Vertical Stripe swim fabric and got to work.


When I say construction is quick I mean that a pair of these can literally be whipped up in the time it takes to get my child ready for the day. I sewed this pair one morning last week in about an hour including interruptions like getting oatmeal for my son, reminding him to get dressed, and answering approximately 100 Minecraft questions. My son wasn’t thrilled with the suit when I first finished it but, was sold after putting it on for these photos. In fact, he opted to wear it under his clothes for the rest of the day. Calling that a win.

This pair is the brief length, fully lined in a size 5. Sizing was spot on when compared to the size chart.

Do we look cold here? We might be a little cold.

Opian Pilatus Swimsuit

The last time I made myself a swimsuit was in 2015 (here). Back then I wasn’t blogging and had a following on Instagram that was mostly limited to family and friends. I shared the photo on Instagram and remember being only slightly nervous. This time I was again nervous, but more so since I planned to also blog about my suit. Upon finishing the suit, my nerves lessened because I realized that this body made a freaking swimsuit which makes me feel pretty good about it. Life is too short to not show your body love for the things it can do. Stepping down off my tiny soapbox because it’s time to talk about this suit.

Fabric and Pattern Choice

With over 30 Raspberry Creek Fabrics swim prints (plus a nice selection of stripes, dots, and gingham), picking my favorite design was a daunting task. Originally I planned to use a Watercolor Palm Leaf print until a moment of inspiration had me changing my mind to this bold Vertical Multi Stripe. Some sewists choose a pattern and then look for the fabric. In my case, I generally choose the fabric first and allowing it to tell me what it should be. This fabric was begging to become an Opian Pilatus. With a cut out back, tie front, and high waisted bottoms, the Pilatus swimsuit combines the fun of a two-piece swimsuit with the security and functionality of a one-piece. Now that I’ve sewn it I can echo others and say that it’s a good one. I did however, make a few changes for my own personal comfort.


Sizing and Alterations

According to the measurement chart, my measurements put me at a size 2 bust with a size 6 waist and hip. Based on this I traced a size 2 top and size 6 bottoms. The pattern is drafted for someone approximately 5’6″ in height so I made a couple more initial adjustments to fit my 5’10” height. To address this, I added 1/2″ to the top of the bottoms, and a total of 1″ to the bodice pieces (1/2″ added to each the top of the straps and bottom of bodice pieces). Finally, I needed to address the coverage on the back bottom pieces. My initial muslin showed much more of my buttocks than I’d like to share with the world. I have no issue with others wearing a suit fitting this way, it was just more than I personally felt comfortable showing. After a couple more muslins, I ended up adding 1 and 1/2 inches at the fullest part tapering to the original pattern lines at the top and bottom. With fitting sorted, I was ready to start sewing.

Construction

I sewed in bra cups but otherwise followed the pattern as written and found it straightforward. Construction took around 4 hours (including lots of try ons between steps because I was loving it). I used my machine’s lightning stitch for the seams and hemmed the waistband and leg openings with neon green thread and a double needle. Upon completion, my bottoms were gaping slightly at the back waist. Begrudgingly, I ripped out the top hem, removed the original back elastic, and replaced it with a piece 1″ shorter than recommended. This fixed the gaping and with a new hem, my suit was complete.

Final Thoughts

What more can I say? Clearly we’re already enjoying our new suits over here and I can’t wait to make more over the next few months. We’re heading to a Great Wolf Lodge next month and my goal is making a new swimsuit for both days we’ll be enjoying the waterpark. Will it actually happen or will I get distracted by other projects? Hoping that typing it here will keep me accountable but not making any guarantees here.

Ready for more swimwear inspiration? The Raspberry Creek Fabrics Suit Up for Summer tour is happening all week. Make sure to check out the other talented ladies included.

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
Simple Life Pattern Company code: SLPCO-RCSWIM
Titchy Threads code: SUITUP19
5oo4 code: RCFSWIM

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 Pirates / Violette Field Threads / Wardrobe By Me / 5oo4 / Sew Like My Mom

Thanks for reading!

Fabric for this post was provided to me by Raspberry Creek Fabrics but all opinions are my own.

9 Replies to “Suit Up for Summer with Raspberry Creek Fabrics”

  1. Love these creations! I’m so impressed at your multiple muslin-ing. I’m typically way to lazy for all that work. It totally paid off. It looks great!

  2. You guys are so cute!!! Your swimsuit looks stunning – I also wanted to get the leaf print to make my own suit, but I had breast surgery a few weeks ago and wasn’t sure I’d be ready to model a swimsuit! I’m so glad you did though – you rock it!! <3

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