Summer is in full swing here in Far Northern California with all sorts of craziness between hail storms, mountain snow, earthquakes and sizzling temps of over 100 degrees! Add to the daily fun of school being out – what working parent doesn’t love trying to figure out ways to keep the monsters occupied and active when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun?
My original plan was to get pictures of this Mairin from Sew a Little Seam while out on the boat this past weekend but with so much snow runoff from the late, heavy Spring snowfalls that water was COLD!!! No one was going in and I know better than to bring out the suits and expect the kids to stay out of the water.
I made sure to grab this inflatable pool from Costco while they had them in stock because around here, once the pools are gone, they aren’t restocked so if you miss out, you are S.O.L. and in for a long, hot season. It made for a great time in the backyard while the husband cooked a tri-tip and I snapped some pictures to show off the solid tricot and Insane in the Membrane Nylon spandex from Phee Fabrics.
It took me a bit to decide which colors to use. The Tricot, which is perfect for swimwear and so amazing to work with, comes in a bunch of awesome colors and with half-yard cut options available it is easy to have a nice on-hand selection of beautiful coordinates for whatever may come up! The Nylon-Spandex “Insane in the Membrane” is a fun, wild, black-and-white print that can really be paired with anything but for this suit, I chose the Cerise and Neon Coral to add lots of brightness to match my little’s ones sparkling personality.
This is the second Mairin I’ve made for little missy and I had forgotten how “fun” the teeny, tiny pieces of elastic were to sew in for the arm and leg openings. It did require a few deep breaths and taking a break from my machines but those are really the only parts I found of the suit that was a touch stressful for me. Even the gathered ruffles are easy with the Tricot.
Despite the elastic giving me a hard time, I feel fortunate to be able to provide my daughter with a perfectly fitting suit as I find that RTW suits have a tendency to sag in the booty/crotch area and are not comfortable for her to be able to play like she wants! The quality of the fabric really compliments its beauty with the way it holds up to abrasion and chlorine making the time and effort invested into a hand-crafted suit worthwhile.
I hope you have a wonderful Summer filled with lots of laughs and memories made. Kiddos just grow way too fast! Thank you for reading! ❤
Pattern: Sew a Little Seam – Children’s Mairin Swimsuit PDF Pattern
Fabrics: Tricot in Cerise from Phee Fabrics, Tricot in Neon Coral from Phee Fabrics, Nylon Spandex in “Insane in the Membrane”, Swim Lining in Bisque
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pheefabrics.blog 