I had not planned on sharing this particular project until I realized that I CANNOT be the only one struggling with finding a maternity swimsuit that did not show off MORE than I wanted to show off....so here is the solution I came up with. I now think that this would for sure work with a regular (non-maternity) tankini and I will probably make one of these again for ALL of my future swimsuits.
On with the show.....here is the problem...
I searched online for a maternity swimsuit that was cute AND covering. It did not exist. Trust me I looked. I did not wanna spend 150 bucks on a suit that did not make me the least bit happy, so I spent under 20 bucks on this suit from Old Navy and decided to make my own changes. I loved the fun pattern on this suit (all of the really covering suits were plain black---BORING) I did not see myself wearing these bottoms for 2 big reasons. One---I wanted boy shorts OR a swim-skirt. Neither existed in navy blue. Two--the bottoms sit BELOW the belly---yikes. I had a fear that I would get in the pool and the tankini top would float up and BOOM prego belly in your face. Not Pretty!!!
THE SOLUTION. 1/2 yard of stretchy swimsuit fabric and about 5 minutes. (if you are tall you probably need a little longer piece of fabric)
I had about 3 ideas in my head when I bought the fabric, but when I put the suit on and grabbed the fabric---it all became WAY easier than what I had planned. I took the fabric and wrapped it around my big ole belly. I wanted it to be a little tight so that the fabric was tight across my belly but looser around my thighs and legs. When I decided on the fit I wanted, I added a little for the seam allowance.
Then I basically made the biggest belly band EVER. I sewed the fabric into a tube by sewing right sides togehter along the short sides.
Since the fabric is so stretchy, you don't even need any elastic around the top (plus I decided it would add a bulky waist band around my already bulky belly). Plus without a waist band you have options. You can pull it over the belly (right under the girls) for a short swim-skirt with full belly coverage.
ORRRRR...
Pull it down below the belly for a longer cover-up type skirt. I am thinking LONG for walking around and sitting by the pool. And SHORT for swimming. The fabric is so stretchy that it stays up OVER the belly, UNDER the belly---no worries on this falling down. (I HAVE NOT tried this in the water yet, BUT from what I know about swimsuit fabric---when it gets wet it will NOT be getting any looser:)
ORRRR...
Pull it half up the belly for a little LESS modesty:) I did not even hem the bottom or top edge because I am lazy there is really no reason too---unless you want.
I hate wearing a swimsuit, but I don't think I will mind wearing this because ALL major parts or TOTALLY covered. Although I CANNOT believe my belly is now out on the internet, I decidedd that IF ONE preggers girl (or a not preggers girl) feels a little happier about wearing a bathing-suit, than it will be worth the belly shot. SOOO GO OUT AND BUY A LITTLE BIT OF SWIMSUIT FABRIC AND cover yourself up:)
7 comments:
you are so crafty - and cute! :) good job!
NICE! I love it!
Super cute! Alas, I'm not so crafty, so if I ever want to go to a pool this season, I'll have to wear some old(large) basketball shorts. :)
When I was pregnant with Max we went to Mexico and I had a heck of a hard time finding a maternity swimsuit! Now I have a great idea for my sister-n-law to make for me since I don't sew! ;) By the way, you have a cute preggo belly!
Great idea! I was wanting to make swimsuits for my kids next year. Maybe I'll start with this for me! I'd love it if you stopped by Topsy Turvy Tuesdays! http://imtopsyturvy.com
Fabulous idea!
I managed to find a decent maternity swimsuit, but I paid a small fortune for it. This seems like a much better solution. :)
Thanks for linking up at Craftastical!
So great!! If I had more time in my pregnancy I'd do this!
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