I have too much fabric.: You are the Foundation to my Garment.

So I am starting off with a basic size 8 (KPU sizes) swim suit block. My model fit into all of the major body measurements: bust, waist, hips and height. All though if you know how to manually pattern draft making a new block with your models measurements is not difficult and does not take a lot of time. Another option is tracing off a garment you already have and knows fits. If you do trace off another garment be sure to mark as many details and lines as possible and don’t forget to add seam allowance. I have done most of my sewing on a serger and zigzag machine because a straight stitch would break if the fabric stretched.

**Note

When marking notches be sure NOT to clip into the knit fabric, this loosens the knit and may cause a strain or a hole. Instead you can clip out and create small triangles or mark it with wax or marker.

Size 8 (KPU) Swimsuit Pattern

Sew any darts that would give the body shape, in this pattern there is a bust dart from the shoulder. Measure how far down the bust point (or nipple) from the shoulder to make the perfect sized dart. My models bust point is higher than the end of the dart which can look weird or mess up shaping.

Sew side seams and center back seam matching notches, then finish body shape by sewing the crotch seam and shoulder seams right side together.

Front Back

You have a multiple options if you want to add a breast cup to the garment. You can by pre-made, standard sized breast cups (A,B,C etc.) at fabric stores.You can take apart a bra you already own and use the cup from that. It is also very easy to draft if you have some basic manual pattern drafting experience.

Pattern Foam Breast Cup

Sewing the cup is very simple, use the zig zap machine and sew the little dart by butting up the edges. Do not overlap the material to sew it, this will cause a severe amount of bulk

Now you will need your lovely model. Trust me, you cannot do this fitting on yourself.

I got her to put it on inside out because I need to draw design lines on very shortly. First I am going to place the breast cups and establish the under wire placement. Pin the cup onto the body at the bottom first, depending on the shape of your model you may have to adjust the cups. I had a small amount of material at the top of the cup that I pinched out and pinned. This will become another dart.

Finish pinning the cup to the body and do the same to the other side.

Use wax or marker to marker the shape and position of the cup.

Now it is time to mark the design lines! This is the part where you can be as creative as you want!

The first thing my model asked for was an open back. Draw on the shape you want.

I straighten and made sure my lines were even before cutting out the shape.

The front and back have to sew together at the shoulder seams. Whatever you add or take off at the front or back shoulder seam has to be done to the other side. They must match in order to sew.

I continued my line from the open back over the shoulders and created a lower, rounder neck line.

You can create cut outs by marking the shapes onto the body.

So you are going to end up with something that looks like this, I took my cups out because they were already marked and the new darts needed to sewn. We will get to that in a moment, so just set them aside for now.

Front Back

Now we get to cut away anything we don't want. I started at the shoulder and cut my way around.

Leave room for seam allowance!

It's time to add elastic to the leg holes. I measured along the leg hole to find out how much elastic I needed, minus that number by 5cm. Start pinning the elastic flat and without stretching along the front of the leg hole. Keep the elastic fixed on the front and side of leg hole and only start to stretch the elastic to fit the back over the bum. If you do not minus 5cm from the elastic then you will get ripples in your elastic and it does not look very good at all. Trust me.

I used the industrial zigzag machine to sew the elastic to the garment. The zigzag stitch allows the elastic and material to stretch without breaking the thread, do not use a straight stitch.

Now you will want to flip that under, pin and sew with the zigzag machine again. This will give your leg hole a clean finish and comfort to the wearer.

Don't get up from that machine just yet, we have to get those breast cups. I drew the lines of the dart onto the cup and cut out the shape. Sew the darts the same way you have sewn the other cup darts.

Pin the cups back into position, making sure that they are centered, level and even. Zigzag the cups onto the garment. I only sewed along the bottom of the cup.

Outside of garment.

Inside of garment.

My model came back for a second fitting.

The leg holes worked perfect, full coverage and no ripples!

The open back is the right shape and size.

If shapes were not working then this is your chance to remark them and try your best to reshape.

The bust area was still a bit loose on her. In the ideal world you could take out all that extra fabric from a dart in center front, but nobody wants that. Instead I decided the extra fabric by two and took it in at the side seam.

You could add new design lines, cut outs or even overlay!

This is a square of lightweight mesh. I have pinned it onto the body in the places I would sew it. I have created a wing or a tail in the back and draped the front flat. As per request from my model I did not sew it down, but if I were I would sew the overlay to the body with right sides together, and flip the fabric over the seam to hide it. If you don't understand what I mean then fold the fabric down 1cm where ever you want to sew it, and sew on the fold. You may want to clean finish the other edges of the over lay before attaching to garment.