Jalie 2447

I have been on a bathing suit kick lately.  I think I own all the swim suit patterns in the Jalie and KwikSew lines.  This is Jalie 2447, made straight from the pattern with no alterations.  I had a few issues with finishing the neck tie and my clear elastic bottom edge on the tankini didn't go as well as I planned, but it's wearable.  Also, the fabric I used isn't very thick.  It was a nylon/lycra blend from Hancocks, but I think I could of went with something a bit heavier.  Good thing I placed a large order with fabric.com.  My fabrics should be here in a few days! lol

While I will admit, this suit isn't the greatest, as it's only my second attempt (I have bottoms I made from a KS pattern that I wear all the time.  Although my fabric choice was a bit questionable and they aren't holding up well). I can tell you that I don't think I will ever buy another bathing suit ever again.  Swimsuits are so easy to make.  Don't fear making one.  Give it a try!

Anyway, about that bottom edge on the tankini -- I was having a hard time just making a hem.  The fabric is thin and it just wanted to curl up so I had to use another method. 

Normally with knits I use Steam-A-Seam Lite to stabilize my knit seams.  I love this stuff.  If you struggle with knit seams, give this stuff a try!.  However, with the bathing suit, I didn't want to compromise any of the stretch, so the SAS was out. 

My second option was to use strips of wash away stabilizer.  This probably would have been a great idea except I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get the little strips to stay still so I could stitch the seam.  Apparently what you are supposed to do is use steam from the iron to 'melt' the stabilizer to the fabric.  I will keep that in mind for next time. 

I ended up calling my friend Melody for advise.  She suggested clear elastic.  So, what I ended up doing on this suit was stitching on clear elastic to the hem, then turning and top stitching with a wide zig-zag stitch.  I'm not so sure this was the best option either.  I think I stretched the elastic a little to much and the bottom kind of rides up a bit and feels weird. 

I think next with suit, I'm going to try a bit harder to get the wash away stabilizer to work.  Although, part of me says the elastic is a good idea too -- if I had not stretched it so much.  There will be other suits to try out other techniques, I'm sure. 

If  you haven't made your own suit yet, I highly recommend it!