HANDMADE Wardrobe // new swim

fabric: sport Lycra from Spoonflower, print is by Erin Kendal

Penny’s swimsuit: Megan Nielsen Mini Cottesloe swimsuit with added skirt (hack tutorial here)

my swim top: self drafted

my swim bottoms: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe swimsuit

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Its that time of year again, time for some new handmade swimsuits. As if I didn’t make enough last year. While I love all of my Cottesloes, I wanted to try something different this time- a bandeau style with long tie straps.

If you’re looking for a basic bandeau style sewing pattern, the Edgewater Avenue Flynn top is pretty much exactly the look I ended up with. I almost used the Flynn pattern, but I was lazy and didn’t want to get my computer out and print the pages. And I figured, it was a simple enough shape, I can self-draft that, right? So I did. And by self-draft, I mean not very technically. I basically just took some measurements and drew the shape I wanted by hand, and then went through a few trials for fit. It was my first time making a swim top without elastic (Cottesloe uses elastic along the neckline and armholes). So like I said, trial and error. The first one I made was way too tight, especially once the lining was in. The second one’s shape was funny, it dipped slightly in the front and drove me crazy. But the third was spot on!

For the straps, I just cut 4 long strips, sewed them in half wrong side together to create long tubes and then turned them right side out. I placed them 3.5” in from the side seam on each side, sandwiched in between the outer fabric and lining.

For the underbust band, I used the pattern piece from Cottesloe, just adjusted the length measurement to match this suit. And that’s it! It was actually pretty simple once I had the pattern figured out. I also sewed two layers of lining on the front of the top so I could add removable bust pads. This is something I do often, and I will have a tutorial for how to do it on a Cottesloe top (but applies to any swim or bra) up on Design Diary soon.

Penny’s swimsuit is my absolute favorite style to make her. It’s a mini Cottesloe with added skirt/peplum overlay at the waist. I wrote a tutorial for this last year (linked at the top of this post). It’s my favorite style on her, and she loves to twirl!

handmade wardrobe // Sudley dress, and matching Cottesloes, too!

dress: Megan Nielsen Patterns Sudley dress in a burnout organza from Joann Fabrics (no longer available)

swimsuits: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe and Mini Cottesloe (tutorial for peplum and skirt) in a rust swim fabric from Blackbird Fabrics (no longer available)

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Its a two-in-one post! Or rather, three-in-one! Back in July, I made another set of matching Cottesloes for me and P to wear to a beach party. For these ones, with just one hack technique, I created two different looks - peplum bottoms for my two piece and a skirted one piece for Penny! You can find the tutorial for how to do this over at Megan Nielsen Design Diary.

I also made a really fancy beach cover up using this sheer/burnout organza, and you guys, I’m in loooooooove. Exactly what I was imagining. And that little keyhole detail in the back of the Sudley (can be worn in the front, too!) is just too cute. Because It’s sheer, I had to take extra special care to make the inside pretty as well. Since you can see it! So I finished all seams with either french seams or bias bound edges. I have a really pretty mustard yellow silky fabric that I want to make a slip dress out of to wear underneath, so I can wear it off the beach, as well!

hanndmade wardrobe // mini cottelsoes

swimsuits: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe and mini Cottesloe

gingham fabric: Raspberry Creek Fabrics

pink monstera leaf fabric: Spoonflower

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Guys, I’m so excited to finally be able to share these with you of the newly released Mini Cottesloe swimsuit! I went a little crazy during testing and made P three new suits (you’ll see two in this post, I’ll show you the last one in another post).

You may recognize my suits and the fabrics from previous posts. Luckily I had saved all my leftover fabric after making mine, and had just enough to squeeze out Penny’s matching ones.

Just like with the mini Eucalypt, Penny fell just under the measurements for the smallest size 3. For the gingham one piece, I shortened the one piece by about 3/4”, but probably could’ve taken off a little bit more, too, or at least tightened up the elastic along the back neckline. See how there is a bit of gaping underneath the back ties? Thats where I would re-work it next time.

On the two piece, I left it as is, purposefully leaving it a little bit big. She only was going to wear this one a couple times this summer, so I wanted iit to fit her next year, too! Overall, I’m pretty happy with the coverage on her. I may add a little bit more width to the bum next time, though. Just my personal preference. The coverage is pretty good, but with a lot of movement (hello, toddler) it shifts a bit and rides up. Still not horrible, and shes not like, flashing everyone haha, but just thinking a small adjustment might help!

handmade wardrobe // tie strap cottelsoe, round 2

swimsuit: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe swimsuit with tie strap hack in a ribbed tricot from Blackbird Fabrics

pants: Simplicity 8605 with modified extra wide paperbag waist in rayon from Harts Fabric

bag: thrifted Free People

sandals: old Zara

Penny’s swimsuit: Kortni Jeane

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The best part about a cute one piece swimsuit? The fact that it can easily be worn away from the beach or pool! Throw on some cute pants or shorts or skirt, and it doubles as a cool bodysuit. This is my second Cottesloe with tie straps (see the first one here), and I wrote up a tutorial over on Megan Nielsen Design Diary. Whats great is that it is a basic tutorial, but could be used to make all different kinds of ties, I kept these ones short and stubby, my first ones were tied in little bows, but I kinda also want to make a third one (I’m crazy, I know) with super long ties that drape down my shoulders. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Handmade // tie top Cottesloe

pattern: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe swimsuit

fabric: ‘watercolor mostera leaf’ by Little Arrow Design, purchased from Spoonflower

bag: Target

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Gaaaaaaah, I love this swimsuit so much! I originally made another Cottesloe swimsuit out of this fabric - view D bikini with underbust band and waistband (you can see photos at the very end of the post). While I do love the look of that one, I purposefully bought extra yardage of this fabric because it’s gorgeous and I knew I would want to make different two piece versions to mix and match together. So this longline, tie strap top was born! Seriously, I couldn’t love it more. I’m definitely more comfortable in longline tops. Not necessarily a full tankini, but more coverage than a typical bra-style top. All I did for the longline modification was literally extend the lines of the side seams straight down. Nothing fancy. Easy-peasy. I lined the front only, and adding sewn-in bust pads (tutorial can be found on Design Diary).

And those tie details? Don’t worry - there will be a tutorial for Design Diary in the future! I didn’t make it this go-around, since I was just testing it out. But now that I know how cute it turns out, I’ll  be doing it again (maybe on a one piece?) and documenting it for a tutorial. So keep a look out in the next month or two for that!

I also made a second pair of high waisted bottoms, this time without the waistband. But I still wanted the extra height that the waistband provided, so I again simply extended the side seams upwards about 3/4”. Again, super simple.

Now, in this swim print, I have 5 pieces - a longline tie strap top, a regular style top with underbust band, high waisted bottoms, high waisted bottoms with waistband, and also regular low-rise bikini bottoms! So many mix and match options!

Handmade Wardrobe // palm leaf Cottesloe

swimsuit: Megan Nielsen Cottesloe swimsuit in an (old) swim fabric from Blackbird Fabrics

cover-up: hand drafted kimono in a rust gauze also from Blackbird Fabrics

Penny’s suit: Kortni Jeane

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Here is Cottesloe number 2! This is view B, which is your basic, no frills, one piece. Perfect coverage from top to bottom. Back has a bit of a scoop back, but not anywhere near as low as view A. Sorry I don’t have any photos of the back - I got sunburn reeeeeal bad a couple days before and my back was bright red with some not so cute tanlines, doh. This suit is fully lined with bust pads. which is nice, but as I mentioned in my other Cottelsoe post, I think I personally prefer a shelf bra. And also just like my other suit, I added 3/4” to the length for my long torso. That’s it! No other mods. Nothing fancy. The perfect basic suits for swimming laps, running after a toddler, or just for someone who likes some coverage.

And P.S - the sewalong is currently in progress over on Design Diary. So if you’re making any version of the Cottesloe suit and need some help with construction, head on over there!

Handmade Wardrobe // gingham Cottesloe

Swimsuit: Megan Nielsen Patterns Cottesloe swim in a gingham fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics

Penny: swim top from Kortni Jeane, sunnies from Amazon

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Gah, I’m so excited to finally be able to share some shots of my Cottesloe swimsuits! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen some flat lay and mirror selfie shots, but I was finally able to wear them IRL for some actual swimming while we were on vacation in Florida. First up - my grey gingham View A one piece with back ties! This is my favorite of all three suits I made. It fits like a dream and feels so buttery soft. It’s got the perfect one piece coverage in the front and along the bum, but with a bit of some surprise skin with the low back. I also included a shelf bra with bust pads in this one. Bust pads are a must for me! Not to add size (it doesn’t help me anyway, ha), but for even-ness, and modesty. I did a full lining with bust pads in the other two suits (which you will see later), but I’ve decided that I like the shelf bra of this one better, and will probably continue with this method for future me-made swimsuits. The only pattern modification I made is adding about 3/4 - 1” to the torso length, just as I do for my Rowan bodysuits #longtorsoproblems.

The Cottelsoe sewalong starts real soon over on Design Diary, so keep a look out for that!

What do you think? Isn’t it a dream?!

Also - throwing in a few pics of my kid, because she cute.