The Vernassa Two Piece Swimsuit

I made a swimsuit and I could not be prouder! I have pattern made a ton of swimsuits over the years for clients but have always shipped them off to a sample machinist who has all of the ideal machinery to have them sewn up.

Inspired by our beautiful maker community and after seeing a lot of high end swimwear finished with a zig zag stitch instead of twin needling I decided to give this whole sewing swimwear a go. There are so many great swimwear patterns out there but ultimately my final choice was between Cottesloe Swimsuit by Megan Nielsen Patterns and the Vernazza Two Piece by Friday Pattern Company.

After seeing a swimsuit made by the gorgeous Victoria Smith I selected the Vernazza Two Piece as I loved the little tie front detail. I decided to make the size M with a few alterations that included reducing the side seam by 7cm to achieve a higher cut leg line. I also reduced the width of the crotch seam and front 5cm up from the crotch seam so it would sit nicely between the legs with the higher leg line.

I used 6mm rubber in the leg, armhole and neck openings and 12mm rubber in the waist and midriff band. To make sewing easier I also reduce all of the seam allowances on the pattern to be 6mm to save trimming seam allowance. This also made sense given I was going to sew all of my seams with my overlocker using the 4 threads.

The sewing instructions that come with the Vernazza Two Piece are very detailed. They explain how to sew on your rubber to get an even stretch around all of the openings. I sewed my rubber on using my overlocker instead of sewing machine and then turned and finished the rubber using a zig zag stitch as recommended by the pattern.

I added elastic to the midriff band and waist band as I spend most of my time swimming in the ocean. Ocean swimming calls for a swim suit that can with stand waves dumping you whist keeping your swimsuit firmly in tact.

I made my swimsuit using a bright Liberty swim print from The Fabric Store. The print I used is no longer available but there is a super cute Ditsy Floral that I think would look amazing in this style.

Sewing a swimsuit was a very rewarding process. I have made another version of this swimsuit with a self drafted bandeau top that I will share in the coming weeks. Summer has well and truly arrived in Queensland and I can’t wait to wear this swimsuit all summer long.