It’s Summertime! Time for Swimsuits!

I have a couple new sews to show you today! Are you totally shocked that it’s from Simple Life Pattern co.?? Not if you know me and my sewing addiction with SLPco patterns. I’m going to take a quick moment to rave about the company before showing you the new patterns. Just quick. I promise I try to be quick…… And you already know by the title that it’s gonna be fun.

I first ran into SLPco on Pinterest maybe a year ago now. I fell in love with the unique back designs on the dresses. I was getting a tad bored with my sewing options at that time and decided to try one or two out. I am now officially in love.

My second meeting with the company was when I found the FB fan group page. I started getting to know people on there and fell in love with the company even more. (Although someone ranted against Canadians on there a few days ago!! I hardly knew what to do! I guess since I’m Canadian I should probably just say sorry. Haha!) There’s so much to love about Simple Life and if you haven’t tried them already you need to click one of the links to head on over to the website. AFTER you check out the ones I’m about to show you. (All the links for these patterns in the picture will be listed at the end of this post.)

Shortly after finding this company on FB I started seeing announcements that someone named Becca was being added to the team and that she was going to be doing some pattern designing. Little did I know I’d have the opportunity to get to know her and call her a sewing friend. All those that know the sewing community know she’s a real sweetheart. You can find her over on her own blog Sunflower Seams. Or on IG.

Anyway, all this introduction to brag a little about Becca’s two patterns that have been added to the Simple Life lineup. Meet Cordelia and Lorelei. I don’t know about you, but when I saw the names chosen for the two patterns I kinda smiled. They go together perfectly.

First, Cordelia!

Cordelia is a swim cover. I’ve been thinking I need swim covers for the girls for over a year already so this was a perfect pattern for me to test. It’s seriously a very fast sew and it allows for you to embellish to your heart’s content. It has a facing around the collar that is secured with Wonder Tape and when I decided to add the little flowers around the neckline I really wished I had thought of it before I did the Wonder Tape thing so I could hide my stitches between the fabrics. I like having the inside of my garments as pretty as the outside. Just a thought for you in case you also might want to embellish the neckline.

Nevermind the clouds. A sunshiny day wasn’t going to happen for these pics so we were happy for simply no actual rain falling on us.

Then we have Lorelei!

This here is my second attempt at my first swimsuit! The first one is in a pile to be finished for her little sister once I get more swim elastic in the mail! Too small. I have been wanting to make a swimsuit for awhile now and was so nervous! I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I was honestly afraid I wouldn’t be able to achieve the results I knew I would want to see in the finished product. I can report that I am human. I did not achieve perfection. Funny, how that humanity works out. However, it was way easier than I thought and I WILL be making a lot more swimsuits in the future. My girls are both fish so we go through a lot of suits around here. It’s about time I was able to contribute to that need!

Trish was taking a turn doing a test pattern as well so we took the kids out for pics afterwards and I got a couple shots of hers and mine together. You can see more of hers on her IG here.

The Lorelei swimsuit has just a couple things for you to choose from before you make your own fashionable girls suit:

• With or without the side flutter
• With or without the side cut-out

That’s it! Be sure to check all the measurements though. I was a bit too concerned about the width that I forgot the importance of height and trunk measurements. Hence the “too small” version I have sitting in my sewing room.

One thing you’ll notice on the different tester versions of this suit is that sometimes the flutter is facing forward and sometimes it’s like the way I have it here. The pattern is actually written for the opposite of what you see here, but because my flutter fabric has a definite “wrong” side I chose to flip it so the right side would be the most visible. It’s a very easy thing to do and it’s all about your own personal preference.

Both the suit and the swim covers are packed and ready for our summer camping road trip. I know I’m going to miss my sewing machine and some tests while I’m away, but I’m so very glad that Becca has allowed me to be a part of these tests and that she has been so generous with advice for all sorts of things. My sewing brain was so fried when I was doing this suit that the poor girl might want to strangle me now. I had so much going on in my sewing room at the same time. And do you think I could do a simple upload of photos?? I still say that was a system glitch and not a Sherri glitch. Excuses, I know. But good  ones. 🙂

Now just before I go, I promised links to the dresses way back at the start. Here they are in order of how they appear. If you end up buying any of these or the Cordelia or Lorelei, I’d love to hear about it! Let me know what you thought of them! And then don’t forget to tag them on Instagram for all to see! Use #slpco and then the name of the pattern right after. #slpcoemma , etc.

First row:

Emma  

Isla

Jaimesyn See more about that one here.

Mia See more about this one here.

Second row:

Cora

Helena

Lexi I should mention that my version is a bit different than the pattern, but I’ve also done the buttons and I really love this pattern!

Molly See more about this one here.

These are affiliate links. You can consider purchasing these which is simply a form of supporting my SLPco addiction. No one is harmed by this addiction (although I have run over my fingers with my rotary knife a few times) and you will not pay any more than otherwise! Happy sewing!

Fabrics used:

Swim covers – Just some shirting I found at a store closing sale. Perhaps not my first choice had I been near a fabric store for this test, but it’s the best from what I had on hand. The embellishments were found on Etsy at Francy Nancy Boutique.

Swim suit – Sprinkles and Polka dots both from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. I also purchased my swim elastic and lining from them. All products were very easy to use and have the feel of quality.