Narwhal Swimsuit

Sherri questioned me a bit on the name for this Narwhal Swimsuit.  In the end I think I just wore her down.  (It kind of reminds me of how my husband and I “agreed” on a name for our youngest daughter, come to think of it.)  If you’re not already aware, Sofiona Designs names all their patterns after items/animals/weather/etc. that we can find local to us.  While we don’t have Narwhals swimming along in the large river/lake we live on, they DO come into the Hudson Bay which we ARE close to.  Sort of.  When you live in the vastly un-inhabited regions of northern Canada a few hundred kilometers isn’t really that far……and I HAVE been to the Hudson Bay.  Long story short: it’s an awesome name, it’s  northern animal, and Sherri’s being kind to give me the name I love (even if I’ll probably never see one in real life).

Speaking of kind, Sharon over at Prairie Love Knits was generous enough to offer us a great deal on the fabrics for both this AND the Moss Dress/Swim Cover so we’d have some beautiful options to sew with for the tutorial.

This suit comes in 2 basic versions:  One-Piece with halter neckline and laced straps in the back; or Two-Piece with high waisted pieced bottoms and halter neckline/racerback style top.

Both the one and two piece suits also include a variety of options for piecing/colour blocking/detailing.

And, of course, the unique backs of each style of suit:

As our tester pics started coming in, we found ourselves delighted by one other idea (and of course HAD to share it with you)!

Now that we’re all inspired by those amazing tester makes, one of the absolutely biggest tips that we want to highlight here is the use of a craft glue stick (the kind you would find on your kids school supply list).  One of the most helpful places to use it is when doing the binding.  Swim fabric is slippery!  While the glue won’t bind it in place like pins and clips will, it WILL help tack it in place/keep it from sliding as you’re trying to fold all those raw edges in and keep a nice even width on the binding.

Once the first long edge of the binding is sewn on, apply a little bit of glue to the wrong side of the other long edge. Fold that edge (wrong sides together) towards center, pressing it in place. The glue should hold it, making it easier to now fold the glued section along the center fold line and enclose the binding/swimsuit raw edges.

We can’t wait to see how you choose to piece and style your own Narwhal Swimsuits!  Please be sure to share them with us on Facebook and Instagram!  #sofinarwhal  #sofionadesigns  #narwhalinthewild