I made my own rashguard and of course I had to make matching bottoms and swimsuit top to wear underneath it! And here is my review of the Ellie and Mac Oasis Swimsuit pattern.
Full disclosure: I tried to build a shelf bra into my first rashie so I could wear it along and it was an unmitigated disaster. Instead of messing with it further, I decided to make myself a swimsuit top. I had already bought the Oasis pattern for bottoms anyway.
I feel I must (again) express how much easier it is to sew swim knit than I expected. It's a little slippery but it's a lot more stable and less inclined to stick to itself than something like double brushed poly. In between making this project I sewed a really sticky DBP and this was a nice change!
I bought 2 yards of each print of swim knit and had enough fabric to make a long-sleeve raglan rashguard, swimsuit top and bottoms, with a little leftover. It was a nylon/spandex blend and had 40% stretch (note the Oasis pattern calls for 50% stretch).
I also bought swim lining and powermesh netting for lining. In the photo below, the lining is the more opaque of the nude fabrics. I made a sandwich of fabric, lining and powermesh for my top and followed the pattern directions for creating a pocket for putting in support cups.
I ordered all of my fabrics and elastic for this project from fabric.com and I liked that they had swim elastic by the yard but I might order it in bulk next time!
Top
I made top style 2. The top's construction is very logical and it came together well. When I make my next one, I don't think I will do the loops in the back and will instead just make a halter style by omitting the loops and shortening the neck strap. It certainly adds more interest how its designed but I find it a little odd in the back the way the loops are pulled by the straps and it's hard to tie yourself in the back the way it is designed. Simple can be good!
Bottoms
I was worried about the bottoms fitting because my fabric only had 40% stretch and the pattern calls for 50% but since I was in the middle of the size range I rolled the dice and made my test garment (the black and white) in my normal size. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit! The waist actually felt a little big until I added my elastic in.
Regarding the elastic, I would only use the elastic measurements as a guide and check how tight the suggested lengths feel on your body before you cut them. I ended up cutting my leg elastic much larger and waist elastic a little smaller than the suggested lengths.
I did not make the high waisted version of the bottoms but found the regular waist height to be really high! They originally went above my belly button! I took off half an inch on my first pair and I'm gonna up that to a full inch on my second pair; slopping to 1.5" at the center front. In some ways this offers more flexibility as it's much easier to lower the waist than to make it higher.
I made these for my vacation and only got my first set finished before leaving, I now find myself less motivated to make the second pair out of my preferred fabric...this is why I don't do a lot of muslins!
Full disclosure: I tried to build a shelf bra into my first rashie so I could wear it along and it was an unmitigated disaster. Instead of messing with it further, I decided to make myself a swimsuit top. I had already bought the Oasis pattern for bottoms anyway.
I feel I must (again) express how much easier it is to sew swim knit than I expected. It's a little slippery but it's a lot more stable and less inclined to stick to itself than something like double brushed poly. In between making this project I sewed a really sticky DBP and this was a nice change!
I bought 2 yards of each print of swim knit and had enough fabric to make a long-sleeve raglan rashguard, swimsuit top and bottoms, with a little leftover. It was a nylon/spandex blend and had 40% stretch (note the Oasis pattern calls for 50% stretch).
I also bought swim lining and powermesh netting for lining. In the photo below, the lining is the more opaque of the nude fabrics. I made a sandwich of fabric, lining and powermesh for my top and followed the pattern directions for creating a pocket for putting in support cups.
I ordered all of my fabrics and elastic for this project from fabric.com and I liked that they had swim elastic by the yard but I might order it in bulk next time!
Top
I made top style 2. The top's construction is very logical and it came together well. When I make my next one, I don't think I will do the loops in the back and will instead just make a halter style by omitting the loops and shortening the neck strap. It certainly adds more interest how its designed but I find it a little odd in the back the way the loops are pulled by the straps and it's hard to tie yourself in the back the way it is designed. Simple can be good!
Bottoms
I was worried about the bottoms fitting because my fabric only had 40% stretch and the pattern calls for 50% but since I was in the middle of the size range I rolled the dice and made my test garment (the black and white) in my normal size. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit! The waist actually felt a little big until I added my elastic in.
Regarding the elastic, I would only use the elastic measurements as a guide and check how tight the suggested lengths feel on your body before you cut them. I ended up cutting my leg elastic much larger and waist elastic a little smaller than the suggested lengths.
I did not make the high waisted version of the bottoms but found the regular waist height to be really high! They originally went above my belly button! I took off half an inch on my first pair and I'm gonna up that to a full inch on my second pair; slopping to 1.5" at the center front. In some ways this offers more flexibility as it's much easier to lower the waist than to make it higher.
I made these for my vacation and only got my first set finished before leaving, I now find myself less motivated to make the second pair out of my preferred fabric...this is why I don't do a lot of muslins!
Update: It took about a year but I finally made it in the blue firework fabric I originally had in mind! I ended up using the Little Black Bra from George and Ginger for the top and the Oasis bottoms. It's a good basic bottom when you get it fitted! I lowered the front more, about 2" total and the back is still just an inch or so lower. If you compare the two photos you can really see the difference in the height of the bottoms!
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