This summer I’ve been on a big swimsuit sewing kick. We spend lots of time in the pool, so I guess it makes sense for me to make all the bikinis. I’ve spent the last few weeks scouring Pinterest for good ideas to copy. I ended up with lots of swim inspiration. This one really caught my attention though.
I’m in love with this cerise tricot from Phee Fabrics. The color is so rich and beautiful. I’ve worked with other swim material and have been so frustrated. Swim material can be difficult to work with but this stuff is not. Even though it’s slick, it doesn’t fight me every step of the way. I’ve also been really happy with how well it’s held up. I lined it with the bisque liner. This lining is the best quality stuff I’ve worked with. And my machine doesn’t try to eat it, which is so awesome. I did the adjustable straps so I used my rings, sliders, and 1/4″‘clear elastic from Phee also. If you’re looking for clear elastic, look no further. It’s so much cheaper than anyone else!
This ruffle hack is super easy. You could do it with most patterns. To get this specific look, I used the Heiress top from Swim Style and for the bottoms, I used my favorite bottom pattern ever..the Manhattan bikini bottoms from Miko suit supplies. I have the fit perfected on these so I have no desire to try another pattern right now. Haha!! Honestly, I love that they are cheeky but don’t freaking move. I can chase after my kid without a care in the world. Also the instructions for this pattern are so well written, with lots of detail.
I was impressed with the Heiress top pattern. Lots of detail to help you make an amazing suit. I’ll size up next time and try that but I do love how the top fits. I’ll probably throw some powernet in there also, which I didn’t even think of when I was making it.
For both the top and bottom, I measured how far I wanted the ruffles and added a few inches to the length. I did 3″ but you can do more. The pieces were 1.5″ In depth. I also kinda rounded the edges on one side. You can see that in the picture. I just used scraps. 
- To ruffle them, I did 2 basting stitches at the top and gathered it. On the top, I pinned it in place when I was doing the final underbust stitch. And then zig zagged on. Same thing for the for the bottoms but I would definitely add on the ruffle when first putting the leg elastic on. I waited until I was doing that second pass through with the elastic. Both work though. But it was kinda a pain doing it on the second round.
I honestly feel like a mermaid in this suit! It turned out better than I even imagined. I think I’ll size up the top next time. I feel like I could easily have a Janet Jackson experience in it now. Now I just need to find a beach to lay on….and someone to watch the kid! Thanks for reading!
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