When I made rash guards last year, I didn’t know what I was doing really. It was the first time I sewed with swim fabric, and it was quite the learning curve to deal with the slippery fabric.
This year, though, I was able to bust these rash guard and shorts duo in no time! Yay for lessons learned. I had written down the serger settings for swim fabric so there was less testing and more constructing this time around.
Pattern Description:
The pattern I used this year is the Bella Sunshine Reagan Raglan. It is a slim fit raglan shirt that can be sewn up for either boy or girl. It has different options like different sleeve lengths and neckline come in crew or v-neck. The pattern provides front and back shirt pieces in shirt, tunic and dress length. Best of all, if you join their Facebook Group, you can get this and the adult version for free!
Pattern Sizes:
The kids pattern goes from size 6 months to 12 years. It is becoming more and more apparent that my child is thinner around (not complaining, just stating) so the shirt I made was blended between a 12m chest and 2 height.
My thoughts on the pattern:
The pattern comes together pretty easily, and can be done entirely on the serger if you happen to have one – which only makes it even faster to complete. The fit is great if you follow the blending instructions provided.
Pattern Modifications:
Having made a purple and black rash guard last summer, I wanted it to look a bit different, but wasn’t sure what to change. So I actually made a SKETCH! And it looks pretty close to the sketch, don’t you think?
Okay, I don’t do drawings well, so this was exciting to me. I did a cutout triangle with black swim and followed it with the sleeves in the same black fabric. It was a good thing too, because I didn’t have enough fabric for the sleeves.
The reverse coverstitch gives it a more athletic look. It took some time to test that out, hadn’t used all three needles in the coverstitch before. For some reason, my stitches didn’t loop correctly at the hem, luckily, I was able to hide it using my label.
Once it was all done, I tried it on Lillian and she immediately said she didn’t like it. So I needed to make it more to her taste. Out came the fabric paint! Adding some polka dots did the trick. Now if she would only like swimming … sigh … one day.
Fabric Used:
Purple swim fabric came from Joann’s and the black swim came from an old swimsuit that I had.
The shorts were made using the same pattern from last year (Beachy Keen Bikini/Tankini by EBeth Designs)
Would I sew it again? Would I recommend it to others?
Definitely! I’ll be sewing some long sleeve versions for the fall and winter. Go join the Facebook Group and get the pattern, you won’t be sorry!
Have you sewn with swim fabric before? What tips/tricks to you have for it?
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