Sewing project: electric blue bikini

Just like I mentioned in my last post, back in April I finished sewing a bikini for my dolls, and I just thought it could be a great idea to share it. As some of you know, I'm not an experienced sewer, so this is by no means a tutorial. But I thought that by sharing my journey, I could get some constructive feedback from my readers who are more experienced sewers, and maybe inspire someone to learn how to sew. 

A bikini wasn't exactly what I was planning to sew next, as I already sewed one last year with Atelier ni Shasha. I was feeling a bit lost as to what to sew next, and was too busy with school to tackle anything new, so sewing took a backseat. Until one day when I was doing some wardrobe cleaning, I found an old t-shirt in electric blue, and I thought it could be a nice color for some swimwear. So, I decided to re-do the bikini since I already have the pattern and I know how to make it. At least I would be getting some practice, and any practice is better than no practice. 

So, for the materials I used an old H&M t-shirt that doesn't fit me anymore. Last time I also used a t-shirt, but this one felt a bit more elastic. The patterns are from Atelier ni Shasha, which I didn't purchase myself, but they were a prize for winning her giveaway. If you're interested, you can purchase it on her Etsy store. I'm not affiliated with her store or anything, but since I got this for free, the least I could do is link to her store. 

I started this project months ago. As you know, I've been quite busy with school these past few months, but back in March I had a few days off, so I decided to start this project. I started with the bikini bottoms, because that's the easiest part. The lack of practice recently showed up, and I did such a sloppy job on the first seam. Luckily, it was in the crotch area, so it won't be visible. Here's a pic of the bottoms half made.

I made a few mistakes sewing this bottom, and the back part doesn't fit properly. Luckily, because it's the back part, it won't be noticeable in photos. I can always make another bikini bottom once I have some more time.

Sewing the bottom took me around 3 days. But then, school was back in full swing, and I did have to wait until Easter break to start sewing the top, which is the hardest part. First, you have to sew the two triangles together, and then stitch all along. While the stitch looks quite neat to me, I do think that the triangles aren't completely symmetrical and that one ended up being bigger than the other.

Sewing the band is the hardest part. Back when I sew the original bikini, I did accidentally sew this inside out, and had to re-do it. So, this time around, I made sure to be extra careful and double-check that everything was placed correctly. 

One of the trickiest parts for me is figuring out the length of the band, because the first top that I made had a band that was too short and wouldn't close, and the second one it was too long. But this time around, I think I got it just right.  I also made the band slightly wider than last time, because I had so much trouble flipping it around and then it looked a bit "bulky" on the doll.

Once the bikini was finished, I sewed a snap button and tried it on the doll. Here she is.

Despite having used Shea for the fitting, I actually made this for my latest Looks (that still doesn't have a name) so here she is wearing the bikini. 

Despite the flaws that I mentioned, I think it looks quite good on camera. The color suits her beautifully, and I like how the top fits her a bit tighter this time. I think I could have made the band slightly skinnier, as this fabric is more elastic than the one I used last time.

For comparison, I took a photo of both dolls wearing their bikinis. Yeah, I think I definitely like the electric blue more. 

I wanted to see how this new bikini would look paired with the cover-up I made last time. Turns out I actually prefer this combination to the original one, as there's more contrast between both colors.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this project. Definitely, there's room for improvement, but it's much better than that first tank top that I sew. One of the biggest challenges I faced with this project was drawing on the fabric. Since the other bikini was made using a light-colored fabric, I marked the fabric using a sharp pencil. But, because this was darker, it wouldn't show up, so I ended up using one of those white chalky pencils that got blurry pretty quickly and I couldn't get sharp lines. If anyone has any recommendations for this, like washable markers, please let me know. 

I was also planning to sew a summer dress, but I didn't have enough time for that. I did make a pattern out of the dress Fashionista 185 is wearing, but I still haven't tried sewing it. I will try to make a scrap version first, in case I need to make adjustments, and then make a version using good fabric. I have some plain white and yellow fabric lying around. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please, let me know your thoughts in the comment section, and if you have any advice or tips for me. You're always super helpful and kind with my sewing posts. 

Currently, I'm working on my next post, which will be a photo compilation. Since I started the internship I haven't had as much time, as I'm working in the mornings and have been running errands in the afternoon. But hopefully soon I'll be able to organize my spare time better and work on some content for the blog this summer.

See you soon!

Monster Crafts

This post was first published on themonstercrafts.blogspot.com. If you see it published elsewhere, it's been plagiarized without my consent.