Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Kids Clothes week, day 1: Ottobre Mermaid swimsuit, take 2

The kids' favorite thing about our new neighborhood is the community pool that is practically in our back yard. They've been swimming nearly every day, and while the boys' board shorts are holding on strong, Myra's suit from last year was nearly transparent from wear.
And since this is Kid's Clothes Week, I got right on it! She's been begging for a suit out of this fabric since my friend Catrin gave it to me, so she's pretty thrilled.
The sequin bow totally sealed the deal. Pink hearts and sparkles? Yes, please.
The pattern I used is the same as last year's suit - the "mermaid" suit from the 03/2011 issue of Ottobre. I added 1/2 inch of length to the midriff band, but otherwise used the same size.
Myra obviously inherited my swayback. But I LOVE the fit over her backside. She gets her ghetto booty from me too, but this suit covers it well. No pool wedgies here.
Both fabrics are 4 way stretch nylon lycra. The black is a bit shiny, but the color match is good. Once I constructed the front, it looked a little boring, so I tacked the sequin bow to the center of the midriff panel. It's just a piece of stretch sequin trim I had around, hand gathered to form a bow shape. Myra loves it.
Myra has thoroughly pool tested her new suit, and it has passed with flying colors. Hopefully the extra length will allow her to wear it some of next summer as well. At least until I can get my act together and sew her a new one...
Either way, it's a win this year! And she might just manage to wear it out before school starts in 2 weeks. Sheesh.