Saturday, July 20, 2013

Art Deco Style Swimsuit

This swimsuit has been a long post in waiting.  I made it way back last summer, and I just now got around photographing it.  I took the swimsuit with me to California, and decided to do a last minute photo shoot the day that I had to leave.  I was really glad that I made time for it, because there aren't too many sweet looking pools like this where I live - at least none with palm trees. 




I wanted to recreate this amazing Abaete swimsuit that I saw while reading Vogue once.  I made a few slight adjustments, but they're pretty small, and still hold pretty true to the design that I saw. 


As for the construction, this is probably the most in-depth garment that I've ever made.  So much time went into hand sewing, and making sure that all of the design details, and the fit was correct.  For the fabric, I used a stretch linen (for those of you seamstresses who are wondering, the linen has held up great in water!  There's no shrinking at all.), and cream jersey lining on the inside.  I drafted the pattern using my own measurements, except for the bottom portion.  I cut up an old pair of well fitted underwear to use as my base pattern for the bottoms.   

There's boning in the bodice, and all of the white lines are bias tape that was top stitched onto outside of the suit. The bias tape was all hand pressed and made from an old, twill, satin skirt that I had.  The halter straps are made from that same fabric as well.




The lining took the longest to work on.  I only had scraps of jersey from other projects that I had worked on.  At the time I didn't feel like going to buy more, so I just used what I had, and pieced the lining together from scraps.  Although looking back I wish that I would have waited to buy more fabric, because so much time went into hand sewing the inside!  Because I only had small pieces of jersey, all of the seams had to be hand sewn down using a whip stitch to keep from bunching.  I also hand sewed ribbon, and bias tape to cover some of the seams as well (as you can see from the zipper and waist area).  Overall around 40 hours went into sewing this swimsuit. 



All photos taken by myself
I have one more shoot from California coming up and then I'm back to posting Indiana photos.  I'm working on a fun short video right now which I'm really excited about and can't wait to share.  

More to come later this week, and I hope you're all enjoying your summer! 

28 comments:

  1. I loved your yellow swimsuit from past posts, but this one is AMAZING! Stunning work, Esther! Great photos, too. Bravo!

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  2. good work! the swimsuit is awesome!

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  3. Nice job! Where did you find the stretch linen, btw?
    -Andreaa

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    1. Thank you Andreaa! I found it at Joann's in their linen section. I'm not even sure if that's the proper name for it, but it's just a linen fabric that has a stretch-like quality to it.

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    2. Cool, thanks! I'll take a look next time I'm at a Joann's, just in case they have something similar.
      -Andrea

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  4. Esther - you are AMAZING!!! This suit is gorgeous - and you are so beautiful!

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  5. I've followed your blog for a while, and I just have to say... You are one talented lady!

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  6. The color you chose is great, I actually like it a lot better than the original but then again I'm a fan of soft, subtle colors. Looks awesome!

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  7. Another beautiful creation by you! x

    http://www.witty-woman.com/

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  8. This swimsuit is stunning! I love that so much work and care went into creating this beautifully handcrafted piece.
    As always, I adore your photographs!

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  9. wow that is amazing! So talented <3

    Hayley xx
    www.addictionstoshopping.blogspot.com

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  10. This is the most amazing swim suit I think I have ever seen. When I saw a photo of it awhile back, I started to think that maybe I COULD make my own swimsuit one day, although probably not this awesome. Thanks for giving us the details on it. Seeing this and your prom dress are what drew me to start following your blog.

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  11. The suit is gorgeous and really well made. I just love the shoot by the pool- great job!!

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  12. How fabulous! Can't wait to see your photos from Indiana.

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  13. Wow, this swimsuit is so awesome! It looks great on you!

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  14. This is sincerely one of the most impressive things I've ever seen! My great-grandmother had a similar enviable ability, to see something and be able to emulate it almost exactly. I love it!

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  15. I found your blog through Burdastyle. I Love your style and this swimsuit is so beautiful and well-made. I'm impressed by your attention to detail!

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  16. Love this swimsuit you have an amazing talent!!!

    Style and Paper

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  17. You are a perfectionist! This bathing suit is fantastic! Absolutely gorgeous in style.
    Teresa in California
    http://amagicalwhimsy.blogspot.com/

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  18. That swimsuit is AMAZING!!!!! I'm sooo impressed. And the photos are beautiful.

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  19. You are so talented, wish I had this level of talent when I was 18. Am just learning to sew at 46, but so wished I had done it years ago. https://www.facebook.com/SassySewingBees

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  20. Very outstanding and useful publish. Thank's to discuss your encounter with us. I will try to keep in ideas these suggestions in my weblog composing reviews process.
    Bikini Two Piece

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  21. this is an incredible suit! great job with it.

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  22. Oh my goodness I love this suit so much! Great job!

    -Alecia with www.likesof.us

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  23. oh my gosh the swimsuit looks amazing! and the pictures are beautiful as well by the pool... Do you have a pattern for this?

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