Look How Happy

The prompt for Bpsewvwenber over on Instagram today was "Craziest Pattern". That got me thinking about some of the more complex things that I have sewn. Aside from my Sophie swimsuit, I would say that this vintage Butterick 5449 swimsuit pattern would be one of the more complicated things I have made. I pulled it out and looked back at the photos that Frank took of me on my 40th birthday in Tulum. I can't believe now that I was too chicken to post these, so I am remedying that today, three years later.



This suit is adorable and I'm super proud of its construction. I look happy as can be here, and I was. These were taken at Xcacel Beach, our favorite beach on that first trip to Tulum. We went twice and took our friends back the next trip we made. Sadly this beach is now closed and being developed with hotels. It was a turtle sanctuary and it was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to.











I made a muslin of this suit and altered both the pattern pieces and the construction somewhat. Obviously swim fabric today is much stretchier than in the 70s, so I sized the bottoms down quite a bit. I fully lined it as well, the pattern instructions only have you line the crotch. The pattern calls for bias binding around all the edges. I opted for swim elastic wrapped in nylon/spandex swim fabric, which I learned from this tutorial on Tuesday Stitches. I love this way of finishing the edges of swimsuits, I think it looks nice and clean and gives a pop of contrast.



I also altered the way the straps connect. The pattern has the neck halter ties go through loops on the back and tie at the middle back. I opted for a fixed halter and a bikini hook at the back. Next time I would make the halter part adjustable, but otherwise I love the way this looks and works.



You can see here how I altered the bottom pattern pieces. I took a good amount off the side seams, and changed the way the crotch seam connect. I used a bikini bottom pattern that I had perviously altered from the Papercut Soma Swimsuit to help with the alterations on this suit. With the binding style that I used, you do not turn the edges of your swimsuit under, so I took that into account when changing the pattern pieces. Unfortunately the suit is a tiny but small in the bust and pulls down. That could be partially remedied with halter ties, but I think I need to alter it a bit more for coverage next time. Right after these photos were taken on the beach I got pushed down by a wave and the whole top got pulled down!



I am so glad that Bpsewvember inspired me to finally share this gorgeous swimsuit!