When we made the decision not to send out children to the city to finish their schooling we decided to use some of the money we had put away to put in a swimming pool.
It is extra work for all of us but absolutely worth it.
It has greatly added to the quality of our life.
However, lots of extra swimming has meant a lot of exposure to the sun.
We have very strict rules of rash vests MUST be worn during the day.
So this KwikSew pattern is amazing.
Tilly started it with this suit and Trixie badly wanted to be 'matching'.
So we did!
I made Trixie the Size 5 as per her chest measurement but we could have done with some length, in the body and the leg.
Not that she has complained.
The sparkly fish scale fabric is from Spotlight and is not actually swimsuit fabric, it's dance but it has held up to chlorine really well.
The knees have rubbed of slightly but our pool has quite a rough concrete edging and I think that may have contributed to it.
I like to make my girls a new PE Kit for our Victorian Holiday
This year, sadly cancelled.
So I made Trixie a lilac suit.
Psst, if anyone asks, its purple, right?
Trixie L O V E S this one!
(And look how much she has grown)!
This is proper swimmers fabric which I purchased in a bulk lot with a mountain of thread (from eBay) a few years back.
Any one is Australia need wooly nylon, I am your girl, my cover stitch doesn't like it.
I did add extra length to the body and legs but my baby girl has grown!
Trixie is very taken with her 'rainbow' writing which is holding up to the chlorine really well.
~Trixie's Verdict~
I love it!
I always wear it when I have a swim.
I love it too much, I want to wear it to bed.
I like both of them but I really like the mermaid one.
The mermaid is most special in the whole wide world.
I am sad we are not swimming or going to the blow up place (Inflatable World-Ballarat) (Vic Holidays)
I got a wedge-y in the mermaid ones (I knew I needed to add more length)
I like having my picture taken, I like it a lot, I feel fancy
(Trixie then starts singing Fancy, to the tune of 'Shiny' from 'Moana)
~My Verdict~
This pattern is an absolute ripper!
I was a pleased as punch to track it down (second hand on eBay) in the larger size.
Matilda is covered with moles and I have hammered into her that she will ALWAYS need to be covered up in the sun.
The is an easy sew, lots of pieces but very easy.
I actually sew it on my sewing machine, with a ball point needle, using the stretch knit stitch. I find this a sturdier stitch than my overlocker.
PS How cute is that tummy?
Thank you for reading.... xx Nicole
She's just so shiny!
Tildy knew exactly what sort of swimsuit she wanted for camp.
An all-in-one zipped up suit.
KwikSew 2237 was her choice, full body please Mumma!
Tilly's measurements were in between the size 8 and 10 so I went with the 10 as the fabric we chose is actually for dance rather than swimsuit.
A little back story, we found this fabric at Horsham Spotlight and they were having a sale, buy the bolt and get it for $2/m.
At that price, we could afford to have a play with it!
For how fabulous it looks it was a really straight forward sew.
All the panels and pieces took longer to draft and cut than actually sew!
It was very important to cut the matching notches out as there is only a 6mm seam allowance with Kwiksew.
It is a little baggy through the body but as it is dance fabric I think that ease is needed.
It should also mean I can make the same size, next year, in proper swim fabric and it will still fit.
The fact that it is dance fabric doesn't bother Tildy one bit!
~Tildy's Verdict~
I love the metallic blue scales on black.
Mrs V could spot me in the pool straight away, even when I was one the bottom.
At one point I was wandering around the campsite (in my swimmers) and lots of people were looking at me.
On the day we went surfing it was really cold but I had my swimsuit, a wetsuit and then a t-shirt so I was really warm.
My friend Ruby made me play a mermaid game with my legs stuck together.
Miss Ballard said I had the best swimsuit.
I have wanted a full body swimsuit for quite a while and when Mum found that fabric I knew I wanted it.
It was really comfy, I didn't need knickers under it.
I have asked Mum to put a tab behind the zipper as it did scratch a bit a the top (good to know NMK)
~My Verdict~
I love KwikSew patterns.
They are not 'sexy' many are down right comical looking but they are brilliantly drafted.
The way the pattern pieces are laid out on the master copy make it quite easy to draft multiple sizes into one (something I used frequently with the Twins).
The instructions are basic but very good with simple diagrams for the fiddly bits.
The fabric was surprisingly easy to sew.
PS I know now it could do with a wee tab under the zipper top as it was a bit scratchy.
It didn't slip around and, although it puckered a wee bit with the zipper insertion, a few tugs when finished popped them right out!
Thank you for reading... xx Nicole
