Suit up for Summer Raspberry Creek Fabrics Swim Tour

It’s never too early to start thinking about summertime! And nothing gets me going for summer more than sewing my own swimsuits. Call me strange because, yes, sewing swimsuits is my absolute favorite! I am thrilled to be a part of the Suit up for Summer Swim Tour with Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

I was terrified the first time I tackled swim. I mean, trying on swimsuits at the store is hard enough. So making a swimsuit??? Impossible. But then I made one swimsuit that fit me like a glove. One turned into two. Two turned into three. And so on. Last summer alone I made myself 6 swimsuits. You may have a closet full of shoes, but I have a drawer full of swimsuits.

Raspberry Creek Fabrics has released their 2019 Swim and Board short club fabrics, and they certainly do not disappoint. I am excited to bring two swimsuits to you today made of these amazing club fabrics.

As soon as I saw these umbrellas, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been dreaming of mashing the Made for Mermaids Women’s Sierra Dress bodice with my all time favorite fitting swim bottoms, the Made for Mermaids Women’s Roxy bottoms.

I sew Made for Mermaids more than any other pattern company so I know exactly where I need to adjust their patterns to fit my body. Also, I was confident that the high waisted Roxy bottoms would mash up perfectly with the length of the Sierra bodice. And boom. Perfection!

I made a quick muslin suit using scraps from last year’s RCF club swim to see where I wanted to add swim elastic to allow for extra security in the bodice. Also, I simply used swim lining to line the bodice. Now I will admit, although lining with swim lining did work, I much preferred lining with the same swim fabric to avoid any obvious rolling in the cut outs.

For my pink and umbrella suit, I added swim elastic to both the neckline and the armscye to my sized down bodice. I normally use size green for M4M bodices; therefore, I used size indigo and cut along the sleeveless cutline for a more form fitted look. The bodice of Sierra works as a one piece since the original pattern was designed with a romper version, meaning the bodice was designed to be able to pull up and over the booty to get the romper on.

The bottoms are the non gathered Roxy bottoms attached using the Sierra waistband. I really love the coverage that Roxy gives me, but that she still has a nice leg cut.

RCF prints their club swim fabrics on a base that is milled specifically for them. I love both the weight and the ability for RCF to print nice, bright colors. The bodice fabric is a solid fuchsia swim from the shop.

I am a big fan of using both a solid and a print with swimsuits. I had a hard time deciding which piece I wanted to be what fabric, but I am loving the solid top.

For my second suit, I wanted to go a different route. I love the narrow halter looks that I have been seeing all over the Facebook ads for boutique swimwear for this upcoming season. I thought that I could use the Patterns for Pirates Sweetheart Dress bodice and redraw a more dramatic halter cut to achieve the look I was after.

Once I made the more dramatic curve, I cut the bodice pieces out of my Seahorse vertical pinstripe swim fabric and swim lining. I also cut the front bodice piece out of power mesh for some added support.

I basted the front pieces together with the power mesh as the middle layer since I don’t like the mesh against my skin. Next, I basted the back pieces together. Once I constructed the shoulder and side seams, I cut swim elastic pieces the length of the armscyes, the neckline, and the underbust. I serged and then turned and topstitched the elastic.

The bottoms for this suit are modified Women’s Roxy bottoms again. This time I color blocked the front to pair the stripe with solid navy swim fabric. I also lowered the waistline approximately 3 inches for a lower rise look.

All in all I am two swimsuits ahead of the game for this summer thanks to Raspberry Creek and their amazing club swim fabrics. Make sure to check out the whole spring line! Also, don’t forget to hit up all the other bloggers on the tour for more swim inspiration to help you Suit up for Summer.

Hosted By: Sew Sophie Lynn & Paisley Roots

Monday: Merritts Makes / The Petite Sewist / 5 Out of 4

Tuesday: Kainara Stitches / Sincerely Shantelle / We Sew Got This / Lily Shine Creates

Wednesday: Mabey She Made It / Little Fish Apparel / Pear Berry Lane / Heather Handmade

Thursday: Made By Kates / Margarita on the Ross / That’s Sew Kari / Auschick Sews

Friday: Its Liesel / Amber Lauren Boutique / Violette Field Threads / Confetti Unicorn

For this week, March 11-15, 2019, our readers can enjoy 20% off SWIM ONLY from these sponsors!

Wardrobe By Me code: Raspberry Creek

Simple Life Pattern Company code: SLPCO-RCSWIM

Violette Field Threads code: RCSwim

Titchy Threads code: SUITUP19

5oo4 code: RCFSWIM
and 15% off SWIM ONLY from Jalie code: SWIMTOUR15OFF