Hello all! Today I have to show you my version of Madalynne's Noelle bralette in swimsuit form. This seemingly straightforward swimsuit fought me every step of the way but I got there in the end, just like George did with his dragon.
The fabric I bought two summers ago in Sydney with the wonderful Susan. The store we went to had a wonderful selection of swimsuit fabrics and I thought I'd better stock up because the swimsuit fabric selection in the UK is not so good. I used the blue floral for my Closet Case Files Sophie Swimsuit, and this spotty spandex was a remnant perfect for a bikini.
After seeing Madalynne releasing the Noelle bralette as another free pattern I thought it would be perfect for these polka dots. I decided that it would be perfectly doable to cut out and sew the entire thing at 11pm the night before I was due to leave for a bit of a tour around the UK because I wanted to take blog pics on my Welsh friend MK's beach.
It may not come as a surprise to you that this was not even remotely doable. I managed to cut out both the lining and the outer, and to sew them both together at the bottom with some elastic. It was at this point that I discovered that the bottom was far too loose because I hadn't stretched it far enough. I decided that it was time to call it a night.
I decided to take the pieces with me, along with my fabric scissors and thread, just in case. After all, several of my friends study costume with me and do have sewing machines at home. I got to Amy's and managed to down the armholes with a lot of swearing and snapped thread and skipped stitches. I got to Millies and managed to sew down the neckline, again with a lot of swearing and snapped thread and skipped stitches. It was at this point that I decided that it was not to be, and put it aside to finish it another time.
Not having learnt my lesson, I decided the night before leaving for France that I could finish my swimsuit in time for this trip instead. I only had the straps to do and to take out a chunk at each side seam to sort out the gaping elastic. I did get it finished just in time, although matching bottoms didn't happen. I think that if I had brought a ballpoint needle with me, the whole sewing process would have been much smoother.
After all of that drama I was able to wear my new swimsuit to the cutest little waterfall that we found near to where we are staying and got some cracking photos. Alls well that ends well!
Thanks for reading, to Amy and Millie for letting me use their machines in my time of need and to Ed for taking photos!
Lauren xx
