5 years ago
I’m so excited to share my latest project with you all. This is a project which was a delight to make, and seeing the result makes my heart sing.
Although this is not my first time making swimwear for Freya (see a rash guard set here http://www.queenofdarts.com/2021/08/sun-safe-rash-guard-set.html), this is her first mummy made “swimsuit” in the traditional sense. It’s an adorable one-piece with cute details, including the ruffles and the bow back. I absolutely love how it’s turned out, if I may say so myself!
Shall we start with the fabric? This is my first time using a Lady McElroy swim/activewear fabric, and I am sold! The print is a happy one to look at: the neon colours and retro patterns almost work with any solid co-ordinates. I was umming and arring about using the aqua or pale pink supplex (from my stash) for the accent, because both would’ve been great! I ended up using the aqua supplex, but lined the suit with a shimmery pale pink swim lining, which is lovely. What I was really impressed by is how soft and “buttery” this fabric is, without being too heavy. It almost feels brushed, and is not as slippery as some of the swim fabrics that I’ve sewn with. It’s a big thumb up from me!
I then set out to find a good, versatile swimsuit pattern which can see us through the next few years. What can I say? I was won over by the beautiful bow back detail, and all the possible hacks from the Maui swimsuit by Little Lizard King (https://littlelizardking.com/products/maui). Hey, this is also my first time working with a LLK pattern, and again, it’s not going to be the last! The pattern comes with so many variations, and covers a good age range (I’m even thinking about making myself a suit based on age 13 or 14 😊), and boy I’ve never seen instructions including so much detail! I also quite liked the size chart in this pattern – normally I’d have to grade between quite a few sizes for Freya based on her measurements, but with this one, I was able to make a straight size 4 (with a bit of growing space). I don’t know if this is because she is “stretching out” a bit now, or whether the sizing just fits her measurements better. Either way, I’m a happy bunny!
The actual sewing and construction process was pretty quick, probably because we booked a last minute holiday to Mallorca, and I really wanted her to have a new swimsuit for it. It came together beautifully -- the rubber swim elastic didn’t give me any trouble, and I really appreciated having my coverstitch which gave it a lovely neat finish.
Since I finished the swimsuit ahead of schedule, I decided to make my life more challenging again by doing another project😉 I wanted to make full use of this amazingly soft fabric with good stretch and recoverability, and since Freya recently started some dance classes, I wanted to make her some activewear leggings; she has plenty of “normal” leggings, but I wanted to make her a pair that’s good for movement (read: gusset) and fun to look at. For this, I decided to give the Little Ninja leggings a try from 5oo4, which is a free pattern! It even has 2 gusset shapes to choose from – I decided to go with a triangle one. It came together really quickly, so the leggings joined us on our holiday as well!
So, this is a 2 projects in 1 post! Freya had a lovely time in these outfits on our recent holiday. I love the photos with her in these mummy-made outfits, and also love the fact that I have added 2 more patterns to my tried and tested list! I will certainly be making more of both in the future, and stay tuned for future projects with Lady McElroy activewear fabrics 😉
#LadyMcElroy #sewingswimwear #sewingswimsuit #swimsuit #onepiece #littlelizardking #llk #details #MinervaBrandAmbassadors #MinervaMakers #MinervaMakes #ruffles #llkmaui #sewinginspo #happyfabrics #MinervaMaker
Although this is not my first time making swimwear for Freya (see a rash guard set here http://www.queenofdarts.com/2021/08/sun-safe-rash-guard-set.html), this is her first mummy made “swimsuit” in the traditional sense. It’s an adorable one-piece with cute details, including the ruffles and the bow back. I absolutely love how it’s turned out, if I may say so myself!
Shall we start with the fabric? This is my first time using a Lady McElroy swim/activewear fabric, and I am sold! The print is a happy one to look at: the neon colours and retro patterns almost work with any solid co-ordinates. I was umming and arring about using the aqua or pale pink supplex (from my stash) for the accent, because both would’ve been great! I ended up using the aqua supplex, but lined the suit with a shimmery pale pink swim lining, which is lovely. What I was really impressed by is how soft and “buttery” this fabric is, without being too heavy. It almost feels brushed, and is not as slippery as some of the swim fabrics that I’ve sewn with. It’s a big thumb up from me!
I then set out to find a good, versatile swimsuit pattern which can see us through the next few years. What can I say? I was won over by the beautiful bow back detail, and all the possible hacks from the Maui swimsuit by Little Lizard King (https://littlelizardking.com/products/maui). Hey, this is also my first time working with a LLK pattern, and again, it’s not going to be the last! The pattern comes with so many variations, and covers a good age range (I’m even thinking about making myself a suit based on age 13 or 14 😊), and boy I’ve never seen instructions including so much detail! I also quite liked the size chart in this pattern – normally I’d have to grade between quite a few sizes for Freya based on her measurements, but with this one, I was able to make a straight size 4 (with a bit of growing space). I don’t know if this is because she is “stretching out” a bit now, or whether the sizing just fits her measurements better. Either way, I’m a happy bunny!
The actual sewing and construction process was pretty quick, probably because we booked a last minute holiday to Mallorca, and I really wanted her to have a new swimsuit for it. It came together beautifully -- the rubber swim elastic didn’t give me any trouble, and I really appreciated having my coverstitch which gave it a lovely neat finish.
Since I finished the swimsuit ahead of schedule, I decided to make my life more challenging again by doing another project😉 I wanted to make full use of this amazingly soft fabric with good stretch and recoverability, and since Freya recently started some dance classes, I wanted to make her some activewear leggings; she has plenty of “normal” leggings, but I wanted to make her a pair that’s good for movement (read: gusset) and fun to look at. For this, I decided to give the Little Ninja leggings a try from 5oo4, which is a free pattern! It even has 2 gusset shapes to choose from – I decided to go with a triangle one. It came together really quickly, so the leggings joined us on our holiday as well!
So, this is a 2 projects in 1 post! Freya had a lovely time in these outfits on our recent holiday. I love the photos with her in these mummy-made outfits, and also love the fact that I have added 2 more patterns to my tried and tested list! I will certainly be making more of both in the future, and stay tuned for future projects with Lady McElroy activewear fabrics 😉
#LadyMcElroy #sewingswimwear #sewingswimsuit #swimsuit #onepiece #littlelizardking #llk #details #MinervaBrandAmbassadors #MinervaMakers #MinervaMakes #ruffles #llkmaui #sewinginspo #happyfabrics #MinervaMaker