Sew Swimwear Blog Tour

 ​Thank you for joining me on my stop of the Swimsuit Edition blog tour, I'm really excited to be in my first Lulu & Celeste, Sprouting JubeJube Productions blogtour! This one is full of fantastic seamstresses and bloggers focused on inspiring you with all things swimwear, be sure to check out all the stops and enter the giveaways as well for your chances to win some fab prizes from our blogtour sponsors! 

For those of you who read my last swim post, you'll have seen I was making a swim capsule for my boys, not long after the tour we went camping during a mini heatwave and they wore their swimming suits so much that I quickly realised they were both missing a few things from their capsules.  They both needed a hat which could go in the water with them and a complete spare swim outfit which they could switch into after the sand and forest debris had become to much in the first suit or for when they didn't want to be in a wet suit any longer! So here, I've tried to fill those gaps!

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I started with making some slightly longer sleeved rash vests for a little extra sun protection for their skin whilst the cuffs are still out of the way when they are playing in the sand or building "camp fires" forest floor! I used the new Made by Jacks Mum Reef Beach Rashie as I loved the ready made colour block option it included.  An added benefit of the colour blocking is that it's all one piece from the cuff to the hem so it actually eliminates any seams directly under their arms which can become irritating after they're wet and sandy so they are super happy about that! 

Being raglan style, even with the colour blocking it came together super fast and fits great, I made the ages 3 & 5 as per their measurements on the size chart included.

When looking at the Reef Beach Rashie Pattern I also can across a zipped all-in-one style also from MBJM, these are very similar to what my youngest is used to wearing at the beach so I didn't let putting a zip in lycra faze me and went ahead with the Sunshine Swim Romper for him, this pattern goes up to age 8 too which is a good thing as as soon as my eldest saw it he declared he also wanted one!

Again I went for the colour blocked option and the construction was very straightforward and similar to the Reef Rashie. The zip was actually no more difficult to put in than any other exposed zipper I've done, especially if you stabilise the lycra where the zipper will be going first or use a washaway fabric glue to hold it all nice and secure while you sew. What I really liked about the zip in the Sunshine Romper is that there is a zip guard included too! I've bought RTW swim rompers like this which didn't have that and I constantly worried about him catching his skin on it so with this I don't have to worry!

So those were the first gaps filled, then I was onto a hat. Originally I was planning to attempt drafting my own as I hadn't seen anything like what I was looking for around the pattern world, that was until Made by Jacks Mum put out a tester call for something sounding very similar in their Facebook group! I wasn't chosen for testing but the designer kindly let me have the pattern a little earlier than release so I could include it here with her other patterns.  So here is the Pool Party Sun Hat for lycra, with a little extra detailing I added.

The main part of the hat is split into 3 sections, perfect for colour blocking, I was running low on the green lycra I was using and didn't have enough to do any complete section in it so instead opted to add it as flat piping between the 3 head sections and also on the brim of the peak! It ties it in well to the Long Beach Board Shorts I made last time which featured green piping in, adds the colour in and just gives a little different interest and options.  

The peak has EVA craft foam in too keep it stiff and I had no trouble at all topstitching through it and the lycra cover at all. 

Sadly the mini heatwave we were having has come to an end and been replaced by constant rain, wind and thunder storms so all the photos had to be taken indoors which was a little interesting but I think they did well :) 

​I made them all in plain coloured swim lycra which is often easier and cheaper to get than prints but the patterns all work well with prints as well.  They intentionally match in with their other swim items to continue the capsule mix & match premise and the bold colour blocking makes them fun whilst keeping them easy to spot around us in the pool or at the beach. 

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I hope you enjoyed my stop on the Swimsuit Edition Tour, please do check out the other stops and of course make sure you enter the instagram and rafflecopter draws each day!

Monday, June 26

Sprouting JubeJube - Call Ajaire - Kutti Couture - Tales of A Tester - Bellevi

Tuesday, June 27

Sprouting JubeJube - FABulous Home Sewn - Sew and Tell Project - Tales From A Southern Mom - My Heart Will Sew On

Wednesday, June 28

Lulu & Celeste - Adventures With Bubba and Bug - Momma You Can Make It - Marvelous Auntie M - Phat Quarters

Thursday, June 29

Lulu & Celeste - Filles à Maman & Jalie - Crazy Crafty Haute Mama - MeMade - 5 out of 4 Patterns - RikiPrints Custom Knit Fabrics

Friday, June 30

Lulu & Celeste - Little Heart Threads - Ronda B. Handmade - Bellevi - sewingbyti

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grand Prize!

You could win: $25(USD) gift card to Phat Quarters  AND $100(AUD) gift card to Boo! Designs AND $20(USD) gift card to Simply by Ti AND Swim Super PDF pattern bundle from Made by Jack’s Mum (consists of four patterns)
Enter through the Rafflecopter below AND for bonus entries post a photo of a swimsuit you’ve sewn this month (June 2017) following these guidelines:

1. Post your *sewn* swimwear photo on your Instagram account and include the hashtag #TheSwimsuitEditionTour and tag @luluandceleste @deborahzaleski
2. REPOST the contest pic found here
3. For an extra entry tag @phatquarters @simplybyti @boodesigns_kristie @madebyjacksmum in your swimwear pic

Closes July 2nd at 11:59pm EDT. For full details >> Swimsuit Edition Tour Prizes and Instagram Contest

a Rafflecopter giveaway