Woo Hoo! New Jalie 3350 Swimsuit

Doggone it! This thing is so cute.  Even in the lousy picture with terrible lighting it looks cute.  Okay the hot pink flowers accented with the black probably contributes to its cuteness, but really, I give alot of credit to the pattern.

This is the View A front with the View B back.  That front sweetheart neckline is so prettily shaped and the construction method is easy and straightforward. 

I made this for Daughter using the size that corresponded to her girth measurement, so it turned out to be a little looser in the chest than ideal since she's pretty tall in proportion to her other measurements.  It's no where near a problem, but I'll probably slim down the next one just a tiny bit.  I thought the leg openings wouldn't fit since the elastic is only a teeny bit shorter than them, but that too was no problem.  Fit perfectly.

I used a swimsuit fabric that was covered in dusty pink flowers (that I never liked) for the lining and I lined the back as well as the front.

All in all, from tracing to final stitch was about 3 hours.  Awesome.

Mother/Daughter Swimsuit Set

I made this Jalie swimsuit pattern a couple of years ago and I found at the time that I had used the wrong size for both Daughter and myself.  Neither suit was unwearable, but both were just a little too short in the torso.  So I decided to revisit it to get the sizing right with a pattern that I'm already familiar with before I launched into the more (to me, anyway) complicated new swimsuit pattern. 

The flowered fabric I got from Fabric.com last year and the purple came from JoAnn's.  I ended up lining mine with what was left of the purple since I personally prefer my swimsuit to be on the heavier side and the cost of the lining fabric is the same as the cost of the fashion fabric.  I also hate sewing that slippery, slinky lining fabric.  Win, win.

At any rate, they both fit perfectly.  And I didn't really intend to make matching swimsuits, it just sort of turned out that way.  I have pink, purple, and orange fabrics for swimsuits.  Daughter chose the purple.  Okay.  I don't look good in pink, and I'm saving the orange for my swimsuit from the new Jalie pattern, which means I ended up with purple, too.  And as you can see, they're not exactly alike.  Well, except the backs are identical.

So, now it's time for the new Jalie swimsuit pattern.  Daughter wants one view and I want the other, so I've got my work cut out for me.  I think I'll make Daughter's first, since she probably needs a second suit more than I do

Summer Sewing Begun at Last!

Here's my first bit of summer sewing: Daughter's new bathing suit. She's tried it on and is super happy with it.

The pattern is Jalie 3134 Racerback Swimsuit from the set of patterns that was put out in October 2011.  I've made it before for both myself and for Daughter, but since I wasn't quite satisfied with the fit either time, I wanted to try it again.  This one is absolutely perfect.  And went together from start to finish in about 3 hours.

Remember, it's important to choose the size from the girth measurement.  Anything else is kind of iffy.

Next up is a swimsuit for me.  I traced out the pattern for my size last night at the same time I traced out Daughter's, so it's just a matter of laying out the fabric, cutting the pieces, and stitching my little heart out.

After that, I have Jalie's new swimsuit pattern to try out.  Daughter wants the View A with the B back.  I want the View B with the A back.  And it'll be nice for us both to have a second suit to wear for a change.

 

A Gallery of Girls' Projects

Last post was for the boys. This one's for the girls. Okay, girl. Since I only have one daughter.

I made Daughter a couple more of her signature knit wrap dresses. This one is made from interlock from JoAnn's.  My girl is growing up, though, so this will probably be the last of the juvenile prints for her.  She has a classic taste.  When she picks fabric for herself, she tends to choose tiny flowered prints, but she still leans towards pinks every chance she gets.

The stripes are a jersey that I bought from Miss Fairchild over at Pattern Review.  Daughter made all the design decisions, including the length of the skirt and sleeves, and the ruffle trimming the hems.

I also made her a bathing suit, using Jalie's newest pattern.  I bought nylon/lycra fabrics last year, on clearance after the summer season was over, so I had several for her to choose from.  She liked both the pink (naturally!) and the purple, so the Jalie, with it's color blocking, was the perfect choice.  I still can't get over how easy these are to make.  And to think I used to spend $25 every year for Daughter's bathing suits.

This sews up in about 3 hours and as far as I can tell, the elastic lengths listed in the pattern instructions are perfect.  I made a swimsuit like this for myself last year and I found it a little short in the torso.  I made Daughter's using the size that matched her height and the fit seems pretty good.  If the weather would just get nice, we could field test it and know for sure whether or not the fit is perfect.

I also made her a cute little collarless jacket out of pink stretch cotton.  I show you that one next time.  And I realize I never took a picture of my wool melton coat that I finished in March.  I'll take a picture of that one, too.  Just as soon I sew on the button I managed to pull off.