My 1950s Bathing Suit Part II: Review and Construction

• I did not use cotton jersey as recommended for the lining, I used quilter's cotton.
• I also attached the bodice lining differently. I completed the lining and outer shell separate of each other, sewed them together at the elastic leg openings and then topstitched through all layers at the waist. Then I folded in the seam allowance at the top of each and hand sewed it shut. The instructions have you assemble it so that the bloomers lining is flat lined. You attach the bodice lining to the bodice (right sides together) at the top and center back seams and then turn it.
• I did do the zipper as recommended, where it is exposed inside rather than have it sandwiched between the lining and the bodice, but I wouldn't recommend this, it is a bit scratchy.
• When applying the boning, it was already pre-bent from being stored in a loop. You don't want to apply it with the curve  follwing your own body's curve because the ends will point out from you too much. It is counterintuitive, but you want to apply it opposite from your body's curve. This way it sort of fights a battle with the fabric and ends up hugging you in properly. My professor had told me that when I started this project and I'm glad I managed to hold on to that tidbit for so long. The boning, being from JoAnn's wasn't exactly top quality so it felt like it was already giving in to body heat after the photo shoot. I wouldn't necessarily run out and buy metal stays, but I might spring for something better if I continue to wear this and it bends too much.
• All in all, I would totally recommend this to an intermediate sewist, maybe even an enthusiastic beginner who has a few projects under her belt already. The fit is not as hard to achieve as you might expect and it is nice that it doesn't require much yardage. It also solves the problem of not liking to be seen in something so exposing as a modern swimsuit.

Sewing Full Circle: My 1950s Bathing Suit Part I

Dear friends and readers, this swim suit has been a long time in the making. Four years to be exact. Here is the original post stating my intentions to make it from 2 January 2010. This was back when my blog was La Petite Costumiere, WWNDW? did not even exist yet!

 
Courtesy of The Vintage Pattern Wiki

It all started when I ordered McCall 9705(ca. 1954) on Etsy for a whopping $4 on 15 May 2009. Thrilled to find this gem at such a great price, I failed to notice that it did not have the instructions. That problem was solved through my wonderful job at the time at the Commercial Pattern Archive. The director allowed me to photocopy the instructions from their copy.
I began sewing it sometime in spring of 2010 for my final project in Costume Construction class, due the 8th of April. My wonderful professor and mentor, David, recognized it as being inspired by Claire McCardell's "bubble" swim suits of the 1950s. It was something of a nightmare to start with since it was a size 12, bust 30" and at the time I measured 38" at the bust. I did a lot of rather uneducated widening of the pattern which would come back to haunt me later. Even after that the bodice wasn't big enough around so I added some panels at center back. If you look in the photos, you will notice they're not the same size and slightly crooked. This was a shame because everywhere else I worked very hard to make the gingham match up. Not being so good at time management, I pulled an all-nighter struggling with the zipper right through to the morning it was due. I finally got it in around 5 am and put it on...and the stitches holding the zipper in ripped clean out! It didn't fit at all.
I had a good cry and then got ready for class, prepared to accept a low grade with no zipper, bad fit, no boning attached and the top not even sewn shut. I got lucky that out project really ended up being more of a lesson to ourselves of our weak spots (procrastination, anyone?) rather than a strict grade on completeness and construction skill. Let's just say I was relieved that I wasn't the only one who didn't finish.
I really did intend to finish it, but then graduation rolled around and working several jobs to pay off debt and well, I just never got back to it. It sat in a bag for four years in a closet wherever I was living, waiting. I swear, over that 4 years I have gotten better about not procrastinating. Enough to finally finish the darn thing. I pulled it out about two weeks before we left for our Fourth of July vacation in Maine, deciding that I needed to finish it because that would be the perfect backdrop for the photoshoot.
As some of you know, I weighed quite a bit more in college than I do now, almost 20 lbs in fact. I assumed the fit would be okay, since before it had been too small. At some point I must have worked on it again because there was now a zipper in it. Not very well sewn in, as you'll see when I write the construction post. However, those two panels in the back now made it too big. When I put it on, it was the saddest sack ever and I almost gave up again! Then I thought, I'm being an idiot! I do alterations like this all the time at work! So instead I spent a grueling afternoon hand sewing in some very tricky hidden darts in the side seams. To my surprise, it finally fit. And it looked pretty cute, actually, Wonder Woman waistband and all. Another afternoon was devoted to hand sewing in the rick rack and closing up the top of the bodice with the top of the lining. Finally, during the drive to Maine I sewed in the boning.
It is finally finished. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Completed: Lacy Mocc Socks