A Modest Swimsuit Attempt
In the spring, I decided I would attempt to sew myself a modest swimsuit. I searched and searched for a pattern that I liked, and ended up with this one, even though it seemed a bit overpriced and wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.
I made it according to the pattern for my first try, and it was way too long, in my opinion. And the leggings were way too long, also. So, I shortened the leggings and then decided to shorten the suit itself, which I liked a lot better than the previous knee-length.
But still, I’m not entirely happy with it. I would prefer not to have sleeves on a swimsuit, so the next one I make will be sleeveless. I also think I might go down a size or two for the neck/shoulder area, as I have narrow shoulders, and it gapped a little bit.
The swimsuit fabric wasn’t as difficult to work with as I imagined it would be, and it was great in the water (in the above photo, I had literally just stepped out of the pool and slipped into my flip flops, so the suit was still wet). I spent hours swimming in this, and it was comfortable and didn’t hinder my swimming at all. However, I believe if I had left it like a long dress (as the original pattern is), it would have been rather difficult to swim in and would have floated up around me!
I’m glad I had some extra fabric, as I hope to try another one someday.
P.S. I just read Natalie's post– thanks for sharing that– I had wondered how to sew the suit without sleeves! I also wanted to add that I wasn't swimming laps, just playing around with the kids, so maybe the long skirt would be a problem otherwise….
Hi Lillibeth,
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this pattern! I just wore my suit again yesterday, and I was thankful to have something more modest to swim in (and I was swimming laps, in addition to playing with my children!). 🙂 I think it would be great as a long sundress if you weren't doing more active swimming.
I just made the same suit from that pattern a couple weeks ago, only I lengthened the skirt to be even with the pants. I wanted it to look more like a sundress instead of a long swimsuit when I was out walking around. It seemed to me to be fine in the water– I had no trouble with the skirt coming up.
Years ago my daughter struggled with being able to find modest swimwear so she developed her own design and put it into ebook format. If you or any of your readers need guidance in sewing a custom swimsuit, you can check out her ebook at freshmodesty.com. She has sold many of these books and everyone loves them. There is also a maternity option.
She also has two blogs you can link to from the above site. One blog is for encouraging modest and lovely dressing especially for young ladies and the other is for sewing projects. I hope these may be a blessing to some of you.
Thank you so much for mentioning your daughter's site and eBook! She has a lovely blog!
You are welcome. So glad you enjoyed the blog. She loves this opportunity to minister to those trying to dress modestly.
I've made mine and my girls suits for 3 years now. I use a similar pattern. Unfortunately, the website I found them on is no longer working. Our pattern does have shorter skirts and shorts. For my own suit, I lengthen the skirt. Because of time constraints before lessons started, I let my oldest borrow mine and we agree that the longer skirts make it harder to swim, especially laps. That said, we LOVE ours suits. I think after this season, I've completed 10 suits.
Wow, 10 suits! I'm just getting started making swimsuits, but I look forward to making many more. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, Laura! 🙂
I love it! I think the shorter length would definitely suit a bit better for swimming. It looks nice and is understated so as not to draw the eye to the "unusual" swim attire. Well done! Thanks so much for linking this up with me last week.
Thank you, Kasey!
I arrived here from the Modest Mom link up. I think your suit is very pretty! I also made a swimsuit from the simply modest pattern. I made it without sleeves. If you'd like to see how mine turned out you can visit my blog post about it. http://seamstresscat.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-swimsuit-part-1-of-ball-bag.html
Thanks so much for stopping by, Natalie! And thank you for the link to your swimsuit post–it looks wonderful, and it's very helpful to see another one made by the same pattern (and without sleeves)!
You did great! I hate using patterns and have made modest swimsuits for my girls using their clothes as a pattern. I'm in need of a new one (I only have a nursing style and I'm no longer nursing!!), somehow I always comes last. :o)
Larissa ~ Prodigal Pieces
Thank you, Larissa! That's great that you've been able to make them for your girls without a pattern. And yes, you need a new one just for you! ♥