The Sew Weekly Sewing Circle

Well, if I am going to make any attempt at taking part in Me-Made-June, I've decided I need a swimsuit. Have have fabric http://www.etsy.com/listing/43485273/marimekko-green-pienet-kivet-s... on order and have downloaded the Alison on Burda http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/alison. This is a totally new area for me...anyone out there have tips or crazy enough to give it a try as well?

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That pattern doesen't look too difficult maybe you could ignore the instructions for the most part.   I would definately do a mock up first in some very cheap nylon lycra first to test and test your techniqies if you are not confidant.  An overlocker would be good, or maybe your sewingmachine has a nice 3 step zig zag stitch - this is really a lingerie stitch - but I think it looks cute, this can be used for turning the elastic (eg around the legs) under and neatening.  Knit fabrics do not fray, so the overlocker is not essential.

 

Give it a go - next you'll be making your own bra!

 

Cheers

 

Trish

Ali from The Wardrobe Reimagined made that same suit last year and it turned out great!
I have made the Alison a couple of times for my daughter who has used it more for dancing in as a leotard.  It was a fairly easy pattern but you do have to think how the pieces go together because the instructions aren't as clear as they could be.  Let me know if you need any more help.
Oh,  I've been wanting to try that pattern!  Would love to hear how it goes for you.  :-)
Hi Ladies,

Meg made a bathing suit a few weeks ago, here's the link: http://circle.sewweekly.com/photo/retro-summertime-bathing-suit-1?c...

She might have some good insight!
Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. The supplies are on their way, so I'll post how it goes.
I finished an Alison back in November.  It was one of the most frustrating patterns I've every worked with, and would not recommend it.  And just throw away the instructions--they're worthless!   In the end, it worked out and looks cute, but I'd recommend a couple of things:  1) the leg openings are pretty small (particularly if you put in elastic)   2) The ruched top section should have elastic applied on the underbust so that it stays in place.  I later decided to make an "alison" inspired suit, and created a pattern from  instructions on http://www.patternschool.com/.  I would highly recommend going this route.  In the end making my own pattern and sewing up the suit took less time than dealing with the beast of the alison pattern.
Nice pattern. I habe done some leotard sewing but never attempted swimwear. My tip is to check the elastic for the leg opening on yourself rather than following the following the elastic length recommended in the pattern. Must have a nice fit around the leg to keep everything in !!! :-)

I just made this swimsuit! I changed it up a bit, you can check it out in my studio on burdastyle, my member name is Mamadiosa. The instructions were very incomplete but it is do-able. You kind of have to play around with it a bit. I wrote a pretty detailed description of how I went about it. But there are some great tutorials out there that can help.

http://myheartsdebacle.blogspot.com/2010/05/alison-bathing-suit.html

like this one!

It looks great. Thank you for sharing. Just wondering, did you basically double up the front to make the 'dress' version?
Thanks! Well, to get the dress look i did trace out a second front piece and made it longer by about 4 inches than the actual front pattern piece. I made the bottom of that straight across, then ruched it and sewed it to the front piece. Then I joined the front, which is now 2 pieces, to the back piece.

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