Summer Sewing: High Waisted Swimsuit

All photos are self portraits taken by myself. 

I've had the design idea for this swimsuit for the past year now, but I finally took the time to make it.  I found this incredible fabric last summer, and completely fell in love with the colors and pattern.

This is a really fun and easy swimsuit to make.  It's basically a wide tube with a strap that ties on separately in the front.  The top was simply drafted using my chest measurement, and the bottoms were drafted by taking apart a pair of old underwear, and tracing that as my basic pattern and then elaborating on it.  I made waistline higher and then I added a tie in the front.  Taking apart old clothes is a great way to learn about construction and make new patterns.

Outfit:  

Sunglasses - zeroUV  I love the way that this brand of sunglasses fits!  I'm pretty picky when it comes to sunglasses and I haven't found a bad pair yet from this company.

Swimsuit:  Esther from the Sticks 

I've been borrowing a sewing machine for the past couple of weeks for the filming of my class for The Sewing Party. The machine had a closed overlock feature which my usual machine does not have.  After sewing with it, I absolutely love machines that have this feature!  This stitch holds up so well, and is especially great for swimwear!

My background in this shoot is actually one of my mom's paintings.  This one has always been one of my favorites!  It's an abstract oil painting and the title is "Mourning Praise."  I love that my mom paints big, because it made for a perfect backdrop!

Here are a couple behind the scene photos from this shoot

 Also these are our cats!  The cat on the left is Bobbie and he's been my bud for the past 17-years.  The one on the right is Logan, my younger brother's cat. They always hang out nearby whenever I do a photo shoot.

 

I have a lot more summer sewing projects on the way, including my final sewing project from this past school year!