Hoarding. We all do it. We hold onto those fabrics that we just can’t quite cut into yet because they are too pretty. We hold onto trendy fabrics that we bought because everyone else bought it too, even though it’s not exactly our style. And we definitely hoard scraps because you never know when those scraps might come in handy.

Swim knit scraps are the best. I made a whole swimsuit this past summer out of two different scraps since swimsuits really don’t take up a lot of fabric…. unless you are making suits with flounces, and fortunately I was able to avoid those suits this past summer.

This gingham swim knit from Raspberry Creek Fabrics has been sitting atop my scrap pile since earlier in the summer. I used it for my Mama Roxy swim bottoms to coordinate with some beautiful watercolor floral swim.

But I knew there was plenty for another top. It’s been haunting me. Daring me almost to come up with an epic idea for its use. Well, challenge accepted.

The front of this suit is a modified Mama Roxy from Made for Mermaids. I added the ruching, shortened the bodice, and used the halter strap hack from the Made for Mermaids blog. It has a little bit of a retro feel to it with the ruching in the center of the top and the high waisted bottoms. You’ll have to forgive the flipped up portion of the top in this picture. Things you don’t catch until later when you take your own photos on a tripod.

Not that I can even compare myself to the thin, blonde bombshell, but I feel like this is a suit that Wendy Peffercorn (the lifeguard from the movie Sandlot) would wear if she wasn’t up on the lifeguard stand. Again, comparing me to her would be similar to comparing Hamilton “The Great Hambino” to Benny the Jet Rodriguez, but you catch my drift.

Also, I wanted a swim top that would fit well under a coverup or a tank top. As much as I love flounces, they make a top layer nearly impossible without bulky fabric underneath.

It seems like there are strappy back swimsuits everywhere this year. So even though the front is retro, I wanted to use a strappy back.

I mashed the low back option from the Patterns for Pirates Take the Plunge Swimsuit with the front of the Mama Roxy. The two were not an identical match meaning I had to trim the bottom front about an inch to get them lined up. Also, the Take the Plunge is supposed to be a one piece suit, but I added elastic to the bottom, turned and topstitched to complete the bikini top.

Overall, I am loving this mash up. Now, I have an additional swim top to pair with these bottoms! This new suit held up perfectly during a Labor Day get together complete with a 20 foot blow up waterslide that I might have gone down a million times. But I think it is finally time to put away the rest of my swim fabric until next year!

Until next time….sewing and sipping,

Stacey