Modest Swimsuits for 2016 - Kids/Girls Version

Here we are getting dangerously close to the end of summer and I haven't posted since the week after school let out.  I'm okay with that because it means we were busy biking, swimming, playing, reading, eating ice cream and doing all the other stuff fun summers are made of.  I enjoyed a very leisurely summer, sewing wise.  I had a list of projects to work on but nothing critical and no deadlines whatsoever.

A week or more ago I gathered up all the items I'd made over summer and the girls and I did a little fashion show on the driveway so I could get pictures.  I've got five or six posts coming and hopefully I'll get them all written before school starts.

First up is this summer's swimsuits.   The most recent swimsuits we had were from two years ago, very pilly, and didn't fit well anymore so I was motivated to make fresh ones for this summer.

Get out your sunglasses... you're going to need them!  

We affectionately named this color 'DayGlow'.
We found it at 80% off when our local Hancock Fabrics closed.

The girls are SO easy to find in the crowd at the pool.  :)  

Both girls have decided they like the capris and tank top style the best.  They don't really care for ruffles and frills anymore, these are sleek and 'Olympic looking', and fairly easy to get on and off.   I just keep modifying my old custom self-drafted pattern each year as they grow.  It helps tremendously that they are mostly growing 'up' rather than 'out' right now.  

One difference in this year's suits is that these are two layers of lycra all over.  One layer of dayglow yellow was just too transparent when wet.  :(  Two layers is nice and thick and sturdy and opaque.

The capris are hemmed with a single fold (both layers treated together as one) and a multistep zig zag stitch.  

The waist I actually did the same way.  I started with this fold-and-stitch finish because I was trying to quick finish the suit the day before swim lessons.  I intended to go back and add a real waistband later but this has been sturdy enough and stayed tight enough that I never bothered.  

The bottom of the shirt is also folded and multistep zig zagged.  

The rest of the bodice is sewn/serged with all the edges enclosed.  The lycra is stretchy enough that it goes over the head without any extra openings/closures so I can sew it completely lined with all the seams neatly tucked inside. 

Both girls are about the same size around (roughly size 10) I just lengthen everything of Leah's by a good three inches on both the capris and the tank top.  

They call themselves the Glow Girls and the suits have served us well all summer long.

(Lets hope they still fit next summer!)

I made a new one for myself this summer too but I'll do a separate post for that one.