pattern review | kwik sew 2962 | one piece bathing suit

Kwik Sew 2962 One Piece, American Apparel Tennis Skirt

A lot of us at home seamstresses are enamored with the idea of creating swimsuits. Along with lingerie, they are something that I would love to learn how to master. With each suit that I sew, I learn something new and this one piece is no exception. 

For awhile, when I first started sewing suits I noticed that they were super cute on, but that I wouldn't photograph the piece as a flat lay. Stretching the elastic too much while sewing creates a weird lettuce edge. But to me it didn't make sense. If you don't use smaller pieces of elastic, how will the suit stay put? Well. It just does. Less is not more in this case. 

I do really love this sewing pattern. I didn't have to make many adjustments but there are some that I would do next time. For example, I made the small size. But I noticed that the crotch area was way too wide. Originally I thought that when I put the elastic around the leg opening that this problem would be solved. This resulted in having to go back in and recut the crotch area after I had placed the lining in. This also gave the suit more of a high cut look, which I don't mind.

That reminds me, instead of doing just the crotch and breast area for lining, I decided to line the whole thing. I just made two of the same suit and dropped the lining in, and treated the suit as one piece. Overall, I plan to make this suit again, probably in the same color, with minor adjustments in the crotch area. 

pattern review: burdastyle #113B

Target shirt, Madewell purse, DIY Pants (BurdaStyle #113B) c/o, Zara boots

Let's talk about pants.

If you were to talk to any of my friends, they would definitely tell you that I am not a rule breaker. Especially my coworkers. And now that you know that personality trait, you might be surprised to know that when it comes to sewing pattern difficulty, I ignore all signs. This is how I have ended up with a sheet music collection that I can only play half of. 

For a long time I have lusted over a flared silhouette. But it had to be just right. Tight & tapered with the flare beginning just in the right place. They also needed to be the right length so that I don't have to wear them with 6 inch platform heels. That is where the BurdaStyle pattern #113B comes in. 

Now, this pattern doesn't contain a lot of pieces so at first glance it doesn't seem too crazy. My thoughts: "Psshhh, intermediate? This will be a walk in the park!!" I was wrong, so wrong. Let me be clear, this pattern & construction of the pants was difficult because of my lack of pant making skills. This was my first pair!! I suppose once you move up the pattern ladder from "easy" to "intermediate", the directions tend to become less descriptive.

I should have taken more photos of the construction of these pants but my kitchen island isn't super cute. It currently serves as my pattern cutting station. I highly recommend making this pattern out of muslin first. Pants are tricky, because so many of us ladies are different sizes. So make the muslin first and then make adjustments. I cut out my size and found that while it fit around the butt, the leg portion was too big. Because I made a test, I was able to alter the pattern around my knees, setting the flare in my favorite spot. 

I think the most trouble I had was with the zipper portion. By the time I had gotten to the written zipper portion my brain was just not having it. This is the part of the pattern that I found particularly difficult. I found this video that I'm not 100% sure follows the same route as the pattern, but it does give a good explanation of zippers in trousers if you've never made them before. To find part two of this video you have to visit their website.

Today I will not be showing you the top of the pants because they are a tad bit wonky. I can assure you that the final pant does look like the product image shown! I would love to remake these pants once I find a fabric that is more similar to what is shown in the product image...beautiful soft suit fabric. I also found that the fabric doesn't translate very well in images.

So overall, I do like the pattern but may just need to give this one a go with better fabric. I would say that it is definitely worth the money, just make sure you are prepared to spend some time on the pants if you aren't very experienced.