Jalie Swimmers & Boardshorts

Usually, at this time of year I'm writing blogposts about swimwear that I've sewn for summer holidays.

There was a Christmas dummy spit about everything made by me being horrible, and my mother kindly took A to a shop (shock horror) to buy some swimwear. (I think I had another G&T and was equally offended and didn't care). Everything still kinda fitted the big kid, and I just made one extra pair of boardshorts because he nicely asked for them. (Jalie 2678, same size as these and these)

But then A decided to try out for the school swim team and got in...

Having chosen her own swimmers in "the shop" at Christmas time, she was lacking a one piece that was suitable for racing. I asked, tentatively, if I might be allowed to make a pair of school-swim-team-swimmers. I got the OK to proceed.

I used my favourite sporty swimsuit pattern, Jalie 3134. I've made it a few times before (here, here and here) and always liked it.

The colours were chosen to match the school uniform and the amount of each was purely due to how much I had! Yet it came out looking almost exactly like the sports polo part of the uniform.

I made a straight size P with no alterations. The yellow piping is technically a cotton lycra t-shirt knit rather than a lycra swimsuit knit, but it was the only bright yellow I had.

The district swimming carnival is tomorrow. But this week she also had Water Safety program at the beach...

When I'd been rummaging through the swimwear lycra fabric stash she spotted a black pineapple print fabric and said she liked it. Given the success of this swimsuit I was granted permission to sew her a second one piece.

This time I chose Jalie 3350, View B, also straight size P

This is the cutest little swimsuit, and I really want one for me. I think I've said that every time I've sewn this pattern (here and twice here. )

There's enough pineapple lycra leftover to make it happen.

I tried to take some video of the elastic stitching technique, but my sewing machine's LED light and the video weren't playing nicely and the strobing effect was dreadful.

Here's a couple of still images:

The elastic is first zig zag stitched to the edge of the fabric with the stitch going just off the edge of the fabric:

Then it's turned to the inside and zig zag stitched again:

I've previously tried a twin needle, and although I'm a huge fan of twine needle hems for knit garments in general. I think for swimmers, the humble zig zag looks, and works, the best.

Most of the construction is done on the overlocker. Where I use the sewing machine I confess to not paying much attention to needle type. I just start stitching and only change things if there's skipping or problems. Every machine is different, so there's no magic combination that will always work. Just try it. There's so little fabric used that it's easy to experiment.

Details:
He wears: Jalie 2678, size 0 - note pattern error mentioned here, microfleece polyester from Spotlight
She wears; Jalie 3134, size P. Stashed fabrics
and Jalie 3350, View B, size P in swimsuit lycra from Fabric Deluxe