{Raspberry Creek Fabrics} Suit Up for Summer 2022

Hooray! It's SEW ALL THE SWIM season! In 2018, I took the plunge (HA!) into sewing swimwear and I've not looked back. It's my favorite thing to sew and probably my 'most worn' makes. I'm happy to be back on tour with Raspberry Creek Fabrics for their swim tour -- I love sewing their swim!

raspberry creek fabrics always has an amazing selection of swim prints but I think they outdid themselves this year. As I looked through the album, my list of favorites began to grow. How could I even begin to choose?! I enlisted my girls to make the selection -- at 11 and 13, they need to love it to wear it.

As my teen looked through the album, she fell in love with the tonal sage green tropical leaf print. I tried to show her a few I had on my favorites list I thought she'd like, but she was insistent. Then she saw it had a coordinating print for her little sister. I love that they still love to coordinate, even out in public! My youngest agreed that the gray and sage dinosaur leaf print was needed in her life. I added the sage and white grunge stripe print to tie both suits together. Of course, don't forget the lining -- I am grateful RCF makes it a one-stop shop for all my swim needs.

As soon as these prints arrived, I knew my daughter was spot on for the selection. They are gorgeous and the sage green color is such a pretty shade. Despite making her loads of suits over the past few years, I went on the hunt for a new pattern that would work with her petite frame yet be cool for her new teenage status (well, in 2 weeks...). Enter gigi by jalie patterns. Not only does it come with 2 top front options, 2 top back options and 2 bottom options, it covers sizes from a 21" chest through 50" chest - that's 27 sizes! She got to completely customize her suit which she loves to have control over the decisions.

The color-blocking aspect of the pattern made it super easy to incorporate both prints.

She loved the double closure back option and I think it offers great support and will stay in place during all her swimming and flipping.

My favorite reason for sewing swim is being able to achieve the perfect fit -- something that's impossible from the store.

To say she's in love is an understatement. She's smitten with every single detail and cannot wait to try this at the pool.

... and then there's my youngest. She couldn't be more different from her older sister. Her latest favorite swim pattern is zoe by jalie patterns. I found this pattern a couple years ago and nearly quit while cutting out the pattern pieces. It seemed so complicated and I really doubted my ability. My daughter just knew I could do it so she cheered me on. Once I was finished I couldn't believe I made it! It's such a statement suit. It also has the same amazing size range as the Gigi.

For this version, I added a folded zipper cover at the top which mimics a RTW suit we saw when we were out shopping. It provides just that extra bit of comfort at the top of the zipper.

The pattern looks complicated with the inset sides, but it all comes together so easily.

I love that she loves what she loves and wears it with pride. I've made her several dino items over the years, but I think this is her favorite by a mile.

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Raspberry Creek Fabrics Swim Fabric details:

58” 225 GSM 82/18 poly spandex, at least 60% 4 way stretch.

50+ UPF protection. Perfect for swimsuits, rash guards, tennis skirts and more. The 18% spandex in this fabric means you will not end up with a sagging swimsuit at the end of the day.

Shopping RCF swim is easy and fun! The listings contain the main colors in the title so you can easily find coordinates with the same color so you know they match! The also have several coordinates such as stripes, dots, ginghams and more. You can also find solids and matching boardshort material. They seriously make it so easy to get all you need in one order. click here to head to the shop.
While swim can seem intimidating, I find it's similar to sewing knits without the annoying curling of the fabric. Here's a few tips/tricks I've used over the past 4 swim seasons:
☑ Figuring out your preferred stitches will help you be successful. I like to use a long zig-zag on my regular sewing machine for finishing my elastic topstitching, despite owning a coverstitch machine. ☑ If your stitches are skipping, you need a different needle! I can tell when I forget to put my ball point needle in because be zigzag will have random straight stitches peppered throughout.☑ I tack all my seams together with tiny dabs of tacky glue before heading over to my machine. It's easy to apply a small amount with the tiny nozzle and it dries quickly so it won't gum up your needle.☑ In lieu of expensive clips and pins that will poke holes in your fabric, use bobby pins from the dollar store! They slip on without having to move the fabric and the have the perfect amount of grip to keep your layers in place. They are also way cheaper than clips. (Of course, don't sew over the bobby pins...)☑ Don't tell anyone, but I use regular braided elastic from the store... shhh!☑ When topstitching your elastic with a zig-zag stitch, make sure you aren't sewing too close to the edge of the opening. This will cause your elastic to flip out. Remember that one side of the zig-zag stitch should "fall off" the elastic edge on the inside edge. I use a 2.5L 4.0W zig-zag and line my edge of my suit with the edge of the foot.☑ For visual tips and tricks, visit my youtube channel or the LLK/Styla Sew Along group where I've hosted swim sew alongs for the past couple of years.

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For more inspiration and swim-sewing tips,

be sure to check all the other stops in the tour!