Swimwear Sewing

I know we've done swimwear articles in the past.. but you really can't have too many!  Now's the time to make your summer swimsuit and get ready for vacation time!  It'll be here before you know it, so why not check out some of the cool patterns on offer from the Pattern Patter Team?

Vogue 6490

Everything you need for the beach with this pattern from Bluetree Sewing Studio!  A chic bikini or one-piece swimsuit, plus super groovy cover-ups are great for everyone from teens to grandmas, seriously!

Simplicity 1627

I'm mad for this adorable skirted swimsuit with little jacket.. so chic and so Hollywood.. !  And that graphic is perfection, from Roma's Maison.

Simplicity 1607

Here's a similar look from Sydcam123.  Love love LOVE it.  So flirty and pin-up perfect!

Simplicity 3273

The younger set can wear a similar look as well, in this ultra-cute little ruffled number from Clutterina.  By the way, this is actually a mother-daughter pattern, but I'm not sure about the number for the mother size.

Simplicity 9212

The skirted look goes into the 80s... with this unusual pattern.. I love the back interest as well, from Sandritocat.

Kandel Patterns for Knits No. 71

One of the cutest graphics I've ever seen on this hard-to-find pattern from Sew Betty & Dot.  And the suit is adorable, too!

Vogue 6079

Kinsey Sue has this spectacular 1940s swimsuit in stock, pretty enough to wear as a dress!

McCall's 6370

Oh!  So cute 1960s swimsuit with cover-up from Fragolina is still fashion magazine worthy.

Butterick 3161

Equally cute is this little 1970s bikini with impressive hooded cover-ups from Grandma Made With Love.  Oh, the graphic is so cute, don't you think?

Butterick 3122

Here's a similar look for girls with really sweet cover-ups, from Erika With A K.

Vogue 8053

Another hooded poncho to go with your swimsuit from Sew As It Was Patterns.

Hollywood 1581

Perfect for your Luau Party is this rare pattern from Frisky Scissors!!  Serve your guests drinks out of coconuts while sporting this ensemble.  (Also in stock @ Erika With A K.)

Vogue 9183

Oh, the beautiful graphic on this pattern is so glamorous!  I love the big hat, but of course the pattern is for the swimsuit and jacket.  I think those puffy-butt swimsuits are really cute and flattering. From DRC Rose Patterns.

Simplicity 1302

More Luau Glam from She'll Make You Flip!  The wrap skirt is removable and reveals swim shorts.

Simplicity 8795

Having a most mod beach party with these mix-and-match items from So Sew Some.

Butterick 3163

Don't forget the smallest beach combers with this too-cute-for-words little pattern from People Packages.

Butterick 3757

And finding a cute swimsuit while having a baby on board is no problem either, with this pattern from Redcurlz's.

Butterick 9287

And you can make swimwear for boys, too!  It's easy with this cute vintage pattern from MbChills.

Well, that's about all for now!

I hope you'll consider making your own stylish and vintage swimwear with these (and other) awesome patterns!  

Check out more patterns HERE!

Focus On: Playsuits

By Sherri from sewbettyanddot

Romper? Sunsuit? Playsuit? No matter what name you give it, this fun and sassy garment has been in fashion, in one form or another, since the 1930s. The form they take has changed, of course, but the idea is the same: a garment--or a multi-piece outfit--that enables the wearer to move easily, often with a strategic amount of skin exposed. Sometimes these were one piece, sometimes a pair of shorts with a top and/or jacket and/or removable skirt. (We'll explore jumpsuits, those with full legs, in another post.)

I can't really find anything definitive online that makes a clear demarcation between the words "playsuit," "sunsuit," or "romper," although in my own mind "romper" indicates a one-piece garment while "sunsuit" I have mostly seen associated with children's garments. So "playsuit" seems to cover the gamut: one-piece garments, flirty full shorts with halter tops, one-shoulder, swimsuit-styled pieces with a button-on, button-off skirt, and more. All of them are lovely!

One-piece, easily removed garments first appeared for babies and toddlers around the turn of the twentieth century--interestingly, they were first intended for little boys. From the Victorian period until the 1930s, children generally dressed as little adults, so these garments allowed freedom of movement for little ones as they played outdoors; they were generally made from cotton, too, so they were easily laundered in a period when laundry was often an all-day affair (ugh).

As women's clothing became less restrictive in the 1920s--good-bye, corsets!--and with the advent of more leisure time activities such as tennis and golf becoming popular, these not-quite-swimsuits appeared, made popular by Hollywood starlets beginning in the 1930s. Think Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice, or any number of publicity shots of ingenues (click here to see a panoply of lovely ladies in divine playsuits).

(Images are all from magazines in my own collection.)

These playsuits are generally made out of the same materials as other clothing--cotton, rayon, etc. It's interesting to note that swimsuits (referring now to the garments we more or less recognize as such, which began to appear in the 1930s for the general public) were made from ribbed knitted wool, pioneered by the Portland Knitting Company; this company evolved into Jantzen, named after one of its founders. Wool, however, is quite heavy when saturated--sometimes these suits weighed more than 8 pounds when wet. Man-made fibers were rapidly developed during the 1940s that allowed for lighter-weight, stretchier fabric--but that's for another post!

Technically, some of the patterns shown below MIGHT be swimsuits, but the boundaries definitely blur...whether one piece, two, with skirt or without, one shoulder or halter...they are all lovely!

Now, let's look at some playsuit/romper/sunsuit goodness from members of the Pattern Patter team, shall we?

(As always, clicking on the image will enlarge it.)

Top row, left to right: Advance 8313: PinkPolkaDotButton

Advance 5850: 

Simplicity 6520: paneenjerez

Butterick 5333: ViennasGrace

Second row: Butterick 8212: redcurlz

DuBarry 2257B: retromonkeys

Marian Martin 9077: VirtualVintage

McCall 3645: SoVintageOnEtsy

Third row: McCall’s 3669: sewbettyanddot

McCall’s 3919: BluetreeSewingStudio

McCall’s 4572: FriskyScissors

McCall’s 6597: PeoplePackages

Fourth row: McCall 9766: Denisecraft

Simplicity 1020: PengyPatterns

Simplicity 1605: DejaVuPatterns

Simplicity 1970: Fancywork

Left to right: Simplicity 2120: JFerrariDesigns

Simplicity 2448: ThePatternSource

Simplicity 8537: CherryCorners

Vogue 9508: allthepreciousthings

Simplicity 4997: PrettyPatternShop

And some cutie-pie patterns to make playsuits for the little ones! Note the Butterick Betsey Johnson sunsuit, top row, second from left, and note that Butterick 2322 (fourth row, second from left), has an identical sunsuit pattern for a child's doll. Cute!

Top row, left to right: Advance 4927: patternshop

Butterick 5942: DejaVuPatterns

Butterick 6143: ViennasGrace

McCall 1256: historicallypatterns

Second row: McCall 5561: anne8865

McCall 5636: ShellMakeYouFlip

McCall’s 9665: HoneymoonBus

McCall’s 2050: anne8865

Third row: McCall’s 7892: SerendipityUnlimited

Simplicity 3026: vintagepatternstore

Simplicity 3909: midvalecottage

Simplicity 6033: mbchills

Fourth row: Advance 3898: FriskyScissors

McCall’s 2322: anne8865

Simplicity 2095: Mrsdepew

Woman’s World 5796: PatternPlaying

And finally, I leave you with this: 

Butterick 6178: mbchills

Perhaps there is a reason there is a dearth of men's "playsuits"? (There actually were cabana outfits--matching shirts and swim trunks...but one-piece suits are scarce...)

Which playsuit/romper/sunsuit would YOU don for a day in the sun? Tell us in the comments!