Summer Swim Tour 2016

Hello Friends!





We are thrilled to be on the Summer Swim Tour, hosted by Ajaire of Call Ajaire, Saskia of The Wolf and the Tree, and Jess of Gracious Threads and sponsored by Imagine Gnats. Thank you for the invite ladies!!! I was gifted the pattern and green fabric and, as usual, all opinions are my own.

First things first- discount codes for you:

During the tour Designs by Call Ajaire is offering 20% off all patterns in the Etsy shop using the code SWIMTOUR, Gracious Threads is offering 15% off the purchase of 3 or more patterns in her shop (no coupon needed), and The Wolf and the Tree is offering 15% off patterns in her shop using the code SWIMTOUR as well.

And enter the rafflecopter giveaway for lots of dreamy goodies on here!



My girls are between sizes so I sized up. I made practice suits first out of the purple sparkly fabrics from Joann. And if you look closely you can see that I didn't check well enough when cutting out the back piece of Lisbon's on the reverse side of the fabric. I made view A but love the color blocking options of view B and the ease of bathroom breaks for the tankini versions.



My machine gave me fits after trying four new ball point or stretch needles of various sizes (whatever I had in The Stash), and oiling and cleaning the machine, and rethreading, and rewinding the bobbin, and trying different stitches. I ended up using the stitch that looks like a wave after Ajaire suggested to try that one (lifesaver!! Thank you!!) and for some reason my machine liked sewing without the walking foot better than with the walking foot. I sew on my grandma's bernina 801 that is probably about my age. I think my machine is telling me to quit putting off its annual spa appointment (maintenance). Now I also think I "need" a coverstitch machine. HAHA.



My favorite parts of the pattern are the modest fit and coverage and the full lining!!! The instructions are clear and there are so many options to customize a suit just the way you or your daughter wants. It is also easy to blend between sizes if needed.



I followed the instructions exactly for the purple ones.



Ansley felt the legs were a little too snug on the purple suit so I gave her a little more room with the second suit (the green one) I made.





For the green one (side note- LOVE the green fabric from Imagine Gnats!! It is so soft and snaps back into shape. And cheaper than Joann's non sale fabric) I used swim elastic. I should have compared the regular 3/8 inch elastic and the 1/4 inch swim elastic (the only size I could find) for stretch and recovery. As you can see the green turned out quite a bit larger than the purple despite cutting the same size. And it's not entirely the 1/8 inch difference in elastic width. I definitely don't mind that it's larger though- she'll get to wear it for longer.



It also really helped me to baste the lining and main for the armscye and the legs for the green one in addition to the neckline and chest.



Thanks for stopping by!!