Azur Reversible Swimsuits by Petit a Petit and Family and Titchy Threads

Towards the beginning of our #sewswimsocial on instagram, Celina of Petit a Petit and Family was offering a pattern sale, which you can find out about by following her and/or subscribing to her newsletter. The Azur Reversible swimsuit (a collab between Celina and Laura of Titchy Threads) had been out in the wild for a few years but caught my eye since I was in swimwear mode and I had been saving some custom swim knit from Sweet N Charmed fabrics, just waiting for the right pattern.



The Azur Swimsuit is fully reversible or you can use a lining fabric. Rachel of Stitched Together commented that when she uses lining fabric her girls get sand stuck in their suits so she prefers to use regular swim fabric as the lining. It was again fortunate timing for me to use regular swim for these suits. (I did sew a practice one for Ansley with swim lining to check her size). The Azur Swimsuit has several colorblocking and strap options and optional bows. In the previous post I used the solid/non colored block version for Ansley with the yummy polka dot fabric (she is extremely lucky I didn't hoard it all for myself) and the reverse is white swim knit with blue straps, both fabrics from Joann. The Joann's stuff is definitely thinner and more slippery but it is lovely for a lining.



I found the construction very interesting and fun. I felt like a magician when I bagged the lining and sewed in the optional elastic! I LOVE the style and the coverage in the seat and the many color block opportunities. The pattern pieces went together beautifully. I did end up sewing some of the straighter seams with my serger because the thin swim liked to slide/bunch even with a stretch needle and walking foot. Or without a walking foot. Or with pins. Or with lots of wonder clips. This isn't a fault of the instructions, I just found it worked better for me, especially the straps. The instructions and illustrations were clear and helpful.



Lisbon's suit is a size 6, according to her measurements. I was overly eager and used the wrong width of elastic so it doesn't lay quite as flat for now but when it's stretched slightly (like how it will fit when she grows) it's perfect. I sewed a size 9 for Ansley and the fit is perfect. The main fabrics are from Sweet n Charmed Fabrics and the accent/contrast is from Joanns. The girls had a fun time picking the fabrics and coordinates for each part and we did use the little accent rectangle on the reverse even though I didn't get any pictures of them.



































I will definitely sew this pattern again since it's unique and fun and great for scraps and personalization.



Thanks for stopping by!

Super Late Sew Swim Social Wrap Up

Hi! Summer is in full swing and we have more or less recovered from the last month of school craziness. It seems like this May was crazier than ever before with dance and piano recitals and school field trips and parties and birthdays and mother's day. Anyway, it's finally swimsuit season so I suppose this isn't too unreasonably late for the Northern Hemisphere. Or too early for the Southern Hemisphere.

I had so much fun hosting the #sewswimsocial with Stephanie, Crystal, and Meghan and seeing all of the gorgeous swimwear! Thank you for supporting us by sewing along, liking pictures on instagram, and commenting! Thank you to our fabric and pattern sponsors!!!!

For the first set of swimsuits I sewed the Poolside Swimsuit by Chelise of Thread Sewing School. She has generously offered this pattern for free to newsletter subscribers and teaches girls how to sew their own. I sewed a size 6 for Lisbon and a size 9 for Ansley, according to their measurements. Lisbon's turned out a little big and Ansley's turned out a little small, which could be due ununiformly stretching the elastic while sewing. It's one of those skills that I find gets better with practice and frequency. Ansley also could've grown since I measured her; my girls have been growing like crazy lately, which typically manifests itself with being constantly hungry and grumpy. I printed out the size 10 for Ansley (she can still wear the 9 though she said it was snug in the shoulders when she went to acro) but got distracted by another pattern to try (which will come in the next post). This fabric is from Joann and it sewed up fine (meaning I thought it was pretty good until I tried some custom swim wear that was fantastic so it slightly lowered my opinion of the first, if that makes any sense). I think the colors and the shine is so fun! My favorite thing about the Poolide Swimsuit is the excellent coverage in the seat and that it's only two pieces!

















I sewed up the perfect set for me for my glamorous lifestyle of taking my girls to the splash pad or beach or canoeing (if anyone has tips for not getting sick, I'd love to hear them! The last time I sent canoeing (and boating) I took dramamine and was still very nauseous). I was graciously gifted this gorgeous fabric from Zenith and Quasar (and just linking to their site right now I'm drooling all over again) and it is 100% me!

I used the Hey June Patterns Lane Raglan and Sloan Leggings for my suit. aff link if you'd like- no additional cost to you. Thanks!)



It was my intention to sew a rashguard that was looser through the middle. I'm more comfortable when things are looser around my larger parts.
If I were sewing one intending to swim I would have used the same size through the top and shoulders and bust and sized down through the waist so it wouldn't float up or balloon out when swimming; but this is perfect for supervising my non swimmer and hanging out. This is the size medium with the (included!!!)fba pattern piece. I've sewn this pattern many times but hadn't used the fba before.



I included power mesh in my sloan leggings and the pocket. I tried a pair with a four inch inseam but ended up trimming to closer to three inches. I used the gusset pattern and instructions from Michelle with swim lining so I could wear these as is and also layer them over a swim suit. I didn't line this particular pair because of the opaqueness of the fabric and because I have really soft thread in my serger but it is definitely an option. Another option is sewing a pair of swim bottoms but I didn't get to it before the deadline. I am also wearing a george and ginger lovesick bralette that I sewed in swim with swim cups. This pattern is free in their facebook group! And it's super comfy and gets a lot of wear on the daily.








The fabric sewed up beautifully and was lovely and thick and stretches and recovers well but doesn't stretch out while sewing. It is AWESOME!! I also sewed Ansley an Azur swimsuit with the same fabric. More details about the Azur swimsuit in the next post. ;) These pictures were taken after one of her dance recitals. We are not usually fancy for swimming. (or life lol).















Thanks for stopping by!!