I Made Myself A Bikini

It's okay, don't panic!  There will be no photos of me in my bikini!

But I did it..... I fixed my sewing machine and bit the bullet...I made my self a bikini!

I even wore it to the beach this afternoon.  It's been a few years since this tummy has seen the sun and boy did it feel good.

Let's set the record straight, I am not small.  I have had three children and each time I find new lumps and bumps where there were none before.  I am somewhat comfortable in a size 16.  I am not entirely happy with being this size but I am not going to miss out on a whole summer because I ate too much chocolate over winter.

I just wanted something to wear around home.... Something that I could throw a kaftan over and feel a bit funky and fresh.  So this morning I set to measuring and cutting..... sewing and snipping.... unpicking and recutting.... and sewing some more....  Until....

I tried on the bottoms and was so happy that I needed a top to match.  I was trying to channel Grace Kelly in High Society, even though I cannot remember what she was wearing.  The top looks good but needs a little more work to be comfortably worn all day.

When I showed my husband the finished product he was like WOW!  It is quite surprising how flattering they are.  I don't look like other girls on the beach but I felt like a bit of a fifties pin-up girl in my new bikini.  My new vintage cotton bikini looks better than all the lycra one-pieces and tankinis I have bought over the years.  Well I think so anyway, and so does my husband, and well, the rest of them can go jump.  I am over the moon.

A little bit of summer sun and a splash of fake tan and if you want to find me I'll be at the beach.

So stop worrying how you look to other people and wear what makes you happy.  The happiness will shine through and you'll be better off for it.  Enjoy what you've got and if you don't have enough money for one of those suck-it-all-in pairs of bathers that is the must-have this summer, do what I did and make your own!

This is the fabric I used for my swimsuit.  The one picture above is a girls 10, mine is a ladies 16.  I also added a tie in the middle of the bust for some added shape.  I made the back of my top tie with strings rather than the chunky knot that is on the kids bathers.  Less tan lines that way.

Bring On Summer! I am ready......