A Bra Back for your Swimsuit

If the pattern you’ve chosen does not have a back fastening, you can add a supportive bra back for your swimsuit very easily. This bra-back keeps the suit on your shoulders while swimming, which makes it an ideal addition to the suit of competitive…

An Easy Cover-up

Picture yourself at the beach in your lovely new swimsuit...but you would like to walk along the beach to take in the sunset. Do you take your walk in your swimsuit, bikini or monokini? Or do you go back to the hotel room to change? Here's the…

A Big Book of Swimwear for all!

I've been wanting to write a much more in-depth book on swimwear since I wrote Make & Fit Swimwear some years ago. There wasn't any book on the market that went into the fitting, design and construction of all types of swimwear, including tankinis,…
,

How to Insert Bra Cups into Swimwear

Do you know what stops most sewers from making their own swimwear? In a word, it's the cups. You might be able to muddle through inserting one pair of cups in one swimsuit, but what if you want to make that swimsuit over and over again. If you…
,

How to make a Ruched Triangle Top

I love it when a customer brings in a garment from ready to wear so we can see it. Not only is it good for us to see what the trends are for that season, it gives us a chance to see behind the seams - and really check out the construction. In…
,

Tale of Two Triangles

Every now and then someone brings in foam cups from a ready to wear swimsuit for us to match up to what we have. Most often we have something very similar if not identical. However recently someone brought in a swimsuit top that had triangle…
,

Can We Make a Seamless Swim Bra?

Can We Make a Seamless Swim Bra? The summer is here! And what better way to celebrate summer than with a custom swimsuit you make for yourself? I have no doubts that your hand made suit can rival the suits you buy in the shops. The question…

Big Boobs and Soft Belly

Big Boobs and Soft Belly Swimsuit season is fast approaching. In our part of Canada, the Victoria Day weekend is considered by many to be the first for swimming (yes, the water is still cold!) No matter when you start swimming - it's time to…
,

Sewing Swimwear!

Today, on Leap Day 2016, my newest Craftsy class Sewing Swimwear: the Supportive One-piece has launched! You can watch the trailer here... What will you find in this Sewing Swimwear class?   how to choose a swimsuit pattern and  appropriate…

Free Floating Bras

Two days of making swimwear started today at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference. The students were told that there were several ways of supporting the bust in a swimsuit; shelf bras, pre-formed cups and  free-floating bras. let's look at…
,

Bikini Time!

Bikini Time Just in time for sewing for the upcoming resort season - announcing the newest pattern in the Pin-up Girls line - the Triangles and Tangas Bikini pattern! Yes, it's Bikini Time! Pin-up Girls is proud to present this collection…
,

Swim Week and Master Swim – Digital Fashion Show

We just finished up Swim Week and Master Swim class here in Hamilton. That means it's time for the Digital fashion Show! What a great bunch of swimsuit makers we had this time! In Swim Week, they started with the basics, a tank or princess…
,

A little Sunshine through the Snow

We here in the North are knee-deep in our "favourite" winter pastime, which is of course shoveling snow. This winter, Mother nature seems to be particularly vexing, as she is dumping snow every second or third day. Enough, already! Are you…
three sisters bikini pattern PB-3009 from Bra-Makers Supply line drawing shown
,

My Three Sisters Bikini Pattern

My Three Sisters It's been a hectic 2 months here at the Enchanted Castle, with the recent launch of my Craftsy Swimwear class, plus I have had a special request to make a bikini pattern. We've have been working very hard to test these…

Swim Week – Ready for the Beach

The ladies in Swim Week, my 5 day swimwear class were busy finishing up their suits today. That means they will soon be ready for the beach! One lady decided to add coloured piping to the princess seams. But no fabric could be found until....we…
,

Swim Masters Digital Fashion Show

Today's the day for the Swim Masters digital fashion show. The Swim Masters class is a 5 day class for students who already know how to make swimwear, so it truly is a class in which you can master swimwear. I often hear "why does it take  5…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Grand Finale

Now that the binding is finished, the bottom band can be sewn on and we will have our Yellow Polka Dot Bikini ready for the Grand Finale! Cut a strip of fabric at least 10" (25 cm) longer than the total width of the two cups. We are going to…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Binding Edges

The Yellow Polka Dot Bikini is almost done! In this post, join me as I add binding edges of both sides and bottom of the foam cup (the triangle cups from Bra-makers Supply to be exact) without using any special machines, just an ordinary…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Bottoms Up!

I finished sewing the Yellow Polka Dot Bikini bottoms this morning in class. All I had left to do after doing the stitch-and-flip lining ( you can see the post on that here) was to apply elastic to the waist and leg openings. As I mentioned…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Elasticated Straps

The thin straps you find on most bikinis from ready-to-wear have elastic inside. In fact, it is somehow stitched inside that fabric tube that makes the straps, but without the stitching showing on the outside of the tube. Some of you might…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Cup Covers

Now that the bikini bottoms are almost finished, it is time to start the cups and the cup covers. For this classic retro-styled Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, I am using the MT triangle cups from Bra-makers Supply. Even though foam cups would not…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Stitch and Flip

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Stitch and Flip Today I started the Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. I used the Denise Swimsuit (view A - tank style) and cut the bottom off the tank suit for the bikini bottoms. The bottom of that suit is quite flattering…

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Polka Dot Fabric

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Polka Dot Fabric Do you remember the song from the 60's "Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini"? Well I do, and one thing has puzzled me for years. Was the "yellow polka dot bikini" in question made from…
,

Once Upon a Time – Vintage Gold Swimsuit

Once Upon a Time -  Vintage Gold Swimsuit Today we had a real treat in the Swim Masters Class. One of my students brought in a vintage gold swimsuit for us to see and examine. Little did she know, that peering into vintage apparel is a passion…

Field trip to Ann’s

Swim Masters has started off well with a field trip to Ann's Fabrics on the second day after all the swim theory on the first day. To say they were impressed with the selection and the prices is a BIT of an under statement! Here are the things…