Last year I made my first real swimsuit, the Logan One Piece from Edgewater Avenue (it's on my pattern picks page if you want to see it). It did not go smoothly. My serger tension settings were all over the place, and the elastic kept bunching up or just not catching the fabric the way it was supposed to. I struggled through it, but I did manage to finish it. Then I put the whole idea away for a while.

This year I went shopping in the fashion district in downtown LA and found some really cute fabric, so I figured it was time to try swimsuits again.

Emily browsing rows of colorful fabric bolts at Trim Expo in the downtown LA fashion district Emily holding the white fruit print fabric and red lining fabric she picked out at Trim Expo

I've been following Edgewater Avenue for a while now. She makes really cool swimsuit patterns and runs five dollar Friday deals pretty often, so I already had a stack of her patterns sitting in my files that I hadn't touched yet. This felt like the right excuse to finally use a few of them.

Patterns Used

Tools That Actually Matter for Swimwear

  • Stretch (ballpoint) needles. Swim fabric is full of spandex, and a regular sewing needle pierces straight through those fibers instead of sliding past them. That's what causes runs, skipped stitches, and little snags. A stretch needle has a rounded tip made for knits, so it pushes between the fibers instead of through them.
  • An elastic foot for your serger. I've always used mine for swimwear. It guides the elastic through evenly as you sew without you having to stretch it.
  • Swimwear-specific rubber elastic. Regular braided elastic breaks down fast with chlorine and salt water. Rubber elastic made for swimwear holds its stretch a lot longer and feels softer against your skin.

The Olivia One Piece

The first one I made this round was the Olivia One Piece, my second swimsuit attempt overall. I used a white fabric covered in a fruit print (bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries) which I think is adorable, but since it's white I wanted to line it with something. I found a reddish swim fabric that kinda matches and used that for the lining.

Olivia One Piece pattern pieces pinned to the fruit print fabric, ready to cut Cut pieces of the fruit print Olivia One Piece with the red lining fabric

Edgewater Avenue's instructions have you do a basting stitch first and then go back and add the elastic. I followed that, but even after basting, the elastic still didn't catch all the fabric in a couple spots. I had to rip a few seams and redo it.

The basting stitch kinda felt like a nuisance either way, because then you have to pick out all that thread after you've already added the elastic. I know some people just stretch and pop the basting stitch instead of removing it, but I don't think that's the wisest idea.

Once I redid it, I got all the elastic on in one smooth sweep. I really like how this one turned out. I haven't worn it out yet, so hopefully the red lining does its job.

One thing I'd tell anyone using a print like this: pay attention to where it lands on your body before you cut. Let's just say the cherries on mine landed in a very specific spot.

The finished white fruit print Olivia One Piece swimsuit, front view The finished Olivia One Piece swimsuit folded open showing the red lining fabric inside

The Finley Top

For the next one, I got some striped fabric from the same store in the fashion district and made the Finley Top, also from Edgewater Avenue. It has a dart in the center bust area, which was fun to figure out since I hadn't sewn a dart into a swim top before.

By this point I'd already worked out my serger settings on the Olivia, so this one came together fast. It did not take me long at all. I had one hiccup where a strap ended up twisted, so I ripped that seam and redid it, but other than that it went smoothly.

Striped Finley top pattern pieces cut and ready to sew, with the center bust dart visible

Bottoms: Charlie vs. Roxy

Then I had to figure out bottoms. Edgewater Avenue has a pair of shorts called the Charlie Bottoms that I was tempted by, but I wasn't sure they'd work for my body type. So I went with the Roxy Bottoms instead, and made the thong version, which is more cheeky and thicker than an actual thong.

It turned out so well. I wore it to the beach yesterday.

Striped Roxy bottoms pattern pieces cut and ready to sew

Here's the finished set, fresh off the sewing machine and ready for the beach.

The finished striped Finley top and Roxy bottoms set laid out together

I'm glad I gave swimsuit sewing another shot. Once I got my serger dialed in, the whole process was so much easier than last year. I've still got a stack of Edgewater Avenue patterns from past five dollar Fridays that I haven't touched, so there's more swimwear coming. Honestly, I'd recommend all of Edgewater Avenue's swim patterns at this point.

If you make any of these, tag me on Instagram @DesignsbyERB. I'd love to see what fabric you pick.