Thursday, March 14, 2019

Sewing Goals and the Cape Cod

So, way back in January of 2018, I decided that I really wanted to make my own swimsuit! I bought this super cute pattern and some really pretty fabric and swim lining. I even made sure to have enough fabric that I could make a muslin (practice suit) and make a coordinating suit for Kaylie. I even had her pattern figured out and ready to go. But then I chickened out! I totally freaked out and bought a swimsuit for both of us.

I guess I just figured that there was no way I could actually make a swimsuit and that there is no way it would even look good. I was so nervous!

Now that it's March of 2019 and I have sewn so much more than I ever thought possible, from jackets (don't have a post on that one yet) to deck chairs (here) and a million pairs of jammie pants (need a post for this one too) and so so many things I never even knew were possible to sew I decided that my skills could probably handle a simple swimming suit.


Enter Ellie and Mac and the adorable Cape Cod Swimsuit! Testing for Ellie and Mac pushes me to try things I might not have been willing to try before and I'm super grateful. Like a swimsuit that has been terrifying me for over a year! And I made two!! Only one of which is posted here at this time. Maybe I'll share the other one soon, it's pretty cute!


A little about the Cape Cod: It's a halter style one-piece suit with 3 adorable keyholes at the neck. The sizes range from a super cute and tiny 6 months to a nearly full-grown size 14. Kaylie is still a size 12. She is only 11 and still has room to grow. Thankfully this suit will fit for this summer and then all bets are off to her size for next year!

Just a quick tip when sewing this one, be sure you tack down the top edge of the neckline to the strap. I forgot to tack it down and we had a really hard time getting the keyholes to stay open. And we honestly found that we like the look of the wider front with the keyholes open than when they bunch together. It also gives more coverage to the front of the pattern, which is also something we like about the Cape Cod.



I was really worried about Kaylie comfort in a halter, but where I could adjust the width of the strap just a little myself, we were able to make it wide enough to still pass through the front and not feel super thin and tight around the back of her neck. We made this suit out of a gorgeous coral swim from The Fabric Fairy, and we were going for a definite solid only look, but there were a lot of testers that put pony beads before the knot at the end of their ties. We loved the idea, just didn't run with it this time around.

Also, I wanted to mention that Lindsey worked really hard to make sure that the back of the Cape Cod was high enough that the coverage at the side was modest for all sizes. There is also elastic in the back to help keep it up and snug. Be sure to use a swim elastic! Other elastics aren't made to hold up to all the chlorine and saltwater they could encounter and will eventually degrade and fall apart. Which would be super sad to have something this adorable fall apart!


Photographing a swimsuit in March in Idaho can be a bit tricky. Thankfully my sister-in-law manages the local Best Western and we were able to tuck away in her hotel for a few hours to snap these great shots! The water was warm and the lighting was pretty much perfect! I let Kay take a dip in the pool so we could put this suit to some actual use! She LOVED it! She was doing flips and spinning in the water. Unfortunately the pictures of her floating didn't turn out. But that's okay, because getting out of the pool we got some great shots!

Remember how I said that I didn't tack down the key holes? Yeah, well this shot was a lot harder to take then it looked (for Kay, I didn't have an issue with the camera, haha). Every time she would start to come out of the water I would make her fix the key holes! The water is 8 foot deep here, so it wasn't exactly easy for her to have one hand on the bar and one fixing the key holes while trying to hold herself half out of the water! But she did great!! She even smiled!!


She even got to hang out in the hot tub for a few minutes. This girl! She got some amazing photos! She is getting so much more comfortable in front of the camera and has had a great time getting so many new clothes!


She is a typical pre-teen though. At one point this last week she was being a pill and was mad I was making her pick up the clothes from off her bedroom floor (75% of which I had made her) and I threatened to stop sewing for her! There were immediate tears! Apparently she likes that I sew for her! That makes my heart very happy! So maybe she isn't quite as typical as I was thinking. Even if she is on her phone during ALL of her down time, and even when she doesn't have down time!


BTW, that's my phone! And this pose was my idea! We thought it would be good to see exactly how an actual tween would look in the Cape Cod at the pool! 😂

What fear have you had that, once conquered, surprised you in that it wasn't nearly as difficult as you originally thought?

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2 comments:

  1. That is such a great swimsuit! I always wanted to make some for my daughter, but never worked up the nerve (which is absolutely silly because after a visit to the Jantzen factory where they sold fabric scraps by the pound, I had a year in the mid 80s where I sewed myself nothing but bikinis.)

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    1. Yeah, you totally need to do it! I was so nervous at first, but now I've made like 8 suits and it doesn't even phase me. I bet once you start back into it it will be like riding a bike! Go for it!!

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