Jalie 3135 - Swimwear Sewathon Part 5

There was a brief hiatus in swimwear sewing and then I started up for round 2... And so here's part 5 of the 2017/2018 Summer Swimwear Sewathon, with 3 (!) versions of Jalie 3135

If you haven't already guessed I LOVE this pattern. It's really very simple to make and the drafting and fit is fantastic. I've made it as swimmers previously (last year) and as a leotard/skinsuit

The first of these three was sewn back in January when my nephew came to stay. He's pretty much the same size as A so I had him try on her cheetah suit and it fitted perfectly - I think he was pretty unhappy about not getting to keep it.

He chose his colours, and had electric blue Carvico VITA lycra for the body and a navy leftover generic lycra for the collar and sleeves.

 I added a little label to designate the back and save confusion with real wetsuits that zip up the back. - but also cause it was navy, had an aeroplane on it and was cute. I'm afraid I've long forgotten who gifted me these, but thanks! xx

I hadn't planned to make any more swimmers for A, as she'd scored well in round 1, but I really do enjoy sewing this pattern and the size was already drafted...

Hers is a coral pink Carvico VITA lycra that I recently picked up on super-duper sale from Sew Active Fabrics. (Holy crap, she still has it on sale at only $7/metre! Be Quick) She went nuts for the colour, and I have to say it is a perfect fluorescent peach-pink and really easy to spot your kid in the waves. Which is good, 'cause she has wave jumping bravery way beyond her skill or strength. We fished this fluoro blob out from under breakers so many times last week!

Both little kids suits were size J with 1" of extra torso length, using the pattern's short sleeve and leg length markings.

The multicoloured chevron lycra is something I picked up at Rathdowne Fabrics ages ago (previously used here) and of which I still have an unfortunate amount. (bags not me wearing it)

P's original Jalie 3135 swimsuit from last year had worn out as it was made of a "regular" quality lycra and was used in the swimming pool all year. He wanted another and was quite taken with his cousin's colour choice.... Only his should be black with electric blue sleeves and collar. As you wish.

The arms and legs on his look longer and I really can't recall if I added length or cut them at the pattern's cutting line. I need to make more notes as I sew - especially when I'm on a mad making bender.

I can say the size is N and also with 1" of extra torso length. I really appreciate that one of the body measurements for these patterns is a torso loop: between the legs and up over one shoulder. For kids who are considerably taller than their width that measurement is invaluable to avoid saggy, baggy, or knackeringly short-bodied swimwear.

This time last year I was promising to take photos of my first bit of Carvico VITA recycled lycra sewing a year later. Of course I forgot to. She still has that suit and it still fits (just). The dark colours have barely changed but the lightest pink has faded considerably. It's gone a weird beige in areas but hasn't sagged, lost elasticity or gone see through. The technical data sheets give fading scores for all the colours and the very pale colours do fare worse than the darker colours. So that suit is almost ready for throwing out but it's still serviceable and I regularly see worse at the weekly swimming lesson.

I'm hoping these ones will last... :)

ROOOOAAAARRRRR - Jalie 3135

You know the best thing about sewing? You can take pretty much any stoopid idea and run with it. And you know the best thing about kids? They're so often completely on board with it.

Cue the Leopard Leotard!*
* I know, it's probably Cheetah print not Leopard but let's not let facts stand in the way of a good alliteration, hey?!

Forgive me if I get a bit self indulgent with this blog post, but this seriously cracks me up. This shit here is exactly why I make stuff.

So, a cheetah print skinsuit needs a back story, you say? Ok, here goes:

This year, A has started doing gymnastics one night a week after school. At the end of each term they have a dress-up theme for the last class of the term. I've made her two leotards so far (here and here), but haven't been up to speed on the last week of term thing. At least not until this term.

So there we were, busy as all get out, nearing the end of the school term and I spotted the poster announcing a "Wild Animal" theme for the end of term....

That dangerous little light in the back of brain flicked on. I had the fabric. I had at least a day or two spare. This could be done, and damn if it wouldn't be hilariously cute. OK, there's no stopping me now.

First task was convincing P, who had technically been the one to spot, and grab, this fabric remnant from Nick Ciancio's sewing machine repair shop, to let his little sister have it. His plans for it, I kid you not, had been a skin tight, one sleeved, off the shoulder top. As much as I would love to indulge his Bowie-esque fashion sense I did convince him to wait until he was invited to a George Of The Jungle themed birthday party. That had yet to happen. The fabric was going to be A's....

The pattern choice was a no brainer. It had to be Jalie 3135, the full skinsuit with hood version. I'd previously made a short sleeve, short leg, collared version for P as swimwear and I love the fit and cut of the pattern. For A, I traced her size, J, and added 1" in torso length.

I wish I'd added a bit of sleeve length, but since she immediately put it on and refused to take it off I never did get to hem the sleeves and legs anyway. They're a bit short even without hems, but heck it's a costume leotard.

The face mask dates back to when P dressed as a cheetah to go to the theatre.

From the oddly shaped remnant of fabric I managed to cut everything with just a single bit of piecing of the centre hood panel and the zipper shield. The leftover scraps would have barely covered an A4 page. For just the price of an invisible zip it was a very satisfying exercise.

And, did I say already how much it makes me laugh?...

The same evening that A had her final gymnastics class of the term, P had his school concert performance. We had to rush home from gymnastics, eat dinner, get changed and race off to the school concert. Only A didn't want to get changed. She wanted to stay in her big cat skinsuit. Sure, fine by me. (pick your battles parents, pick your battles)

But what we didn't count on was that there were at least two school classes who were performing that night with a jungle animal theme, and as soon as we arrived teachers descended on A and tried to whisk her backstage to prepare. On no less than three separate occasions she was steered towards the backstage area and we had to explain, numerous times, that she was an audience member....

....who just happened to be wearing a cheetah skinsuit. The teachers smiled. They got it.

 

Summer Swimwear Part 2 : Jalie 3135

I bought this Jalie skinsuit pattern a while ago thinking it would make a good basis for rashie tops for the beach. However, once P saw the skinsuit he wanted one - not just a top, but the whole onesie for the water!

Furthermore he was insistent that it should be navy blue with no contrast colour, no bright stitching, no highly visible bits...  Nothing in fact to make it possible to spot him amongst the waves, or for the sharks to know that he wasn't for eating. At least it would be sun smart. Sigh.

So, it's a plain navy, lycra skinsuit and perhaps not much to write about. The fabric is some of that seemingly endless supply of cheap, navy lycra I bought about 3 years ago. You're probably thinking this is one example of me writing a blog post just because that's what I do every. single. time. I sew something.

But you know, I am insanely delighted with this skinsuit. I couldn't help myself but think how awesome it was whenever he put it on. The fit is superb ("l" width and "n" length - exactly as per his measurements) and it just worked as a beach-y swimsuit.

The front has an invisible zip which I was worried might not handle sand, but has held up just fine. There's a zipper shield that runs the length of the zipper and he was very happy with how it felt when riding his boogie board. I don't think it would be too tricky to move the zipper to the back and put in a chunkier zipper with a pull tab almost like a wetsuit.

Of course then he spotted that lady in the blue suit with a hood - A HOOD MUM!, and now he has his heart set on a full length, hooded skinsuit. I have no idea why, it's not like he's a pro speed skater or even a CatWoman fan, but his fashion sense always cracks me up and I like to say yes probably more often than I should!

While a white-boy version of a burkini may not be on the sewing list, one thing is certain. I'll be using some of the good lycra and making this swimsuit again for next summer. I just can't get over how much I love it. :)

Details:
Pattern: Jalie 3135 Skin Suit, View B
Size: "l" width and "n" length
Fabric: Rathdowne fabrics - navy lycra
Notions: navy invisible zip

Melburn Roobaix - Aladdin Sane style

Where to start? If you know what the Melburn Roobaix is and remember those awesome knitted bodysuits that Kensai Yamamoto designed for David Bowie, then this blog post will make perfect sense to you. Enjoy the pictures!

For everyone else I'll try to explain ;)

I have always, always, wanted to make a David Bowie costume of some description. He was the ultimate genius of costume and character. Seeing the David Bowie Is exhibition at ACMI in 2015 just made me more determined. 

Would it be an Ashes to Ashes clown suit? a Ziggy Stardust quilted Liberty jumpsuit? a powder blue suit? that black and white vinyl jumpsuit? The opportunities seemed endless as did the brilliance of Bowie himself.

And then he died in January 2016.

I became more determined. I just needed an excuse. Enter Melburn Roobaix

A bicycle ride might not seem the logical place for silly dress ups but the Roobaix is no ordinary bike ride. It started out a bit like an Alley Cat race - the couriers who knew the backstreets of Melbourne like nobody's business, scooted around town collecting waypoint information along the route (which there wasn't one) and finished at the pub.

By 2006 it had grown into an "official event" and took it's inspiration from the famous one day race Paris-Roubaix. In the real Paris-Roubaix, serious, elite cyclists race hard across northern France and into Belgium and go terrifyingly fast across the rough, cobbled forest roads. As one of the spring classic races, the weather is often horrendous and the mud and dirt on the cobbles can lead to absolute carnage. The race finishes on the velodrome at Roubaix, sometimes for a solo rider, sometimes in a final, exciting sprint.

In Melbourne we ride in winter to try and simulate the Belgian spring and the course takes in as many of the historic bluestone cobbles back lanes as can be found. It's a hilarious day out. At the end (on a velodrome of course) we drink beer and eats our frites with mayonnaise just like the Belgies do.

My first Roobaix was way back in 2008, and I was seven months pregnant with P!

Getting a push up the notorious Col d'Ugly

Deciding which bike to ride is half the fun and there are some incredible feats of engineering that have no right to be called bicyles that come out for the day, alongside some high end machines, absolute classics and some old hardwaste junkers like my shopper bike seen above. It's every sort of person, on every sort of bike and lots of people dress up.

Last year was the tenth anniversary of my first and only Roobaix and I thought my pedalling partner from that year should join me. He did, and we had a blast. Even though he vetoed any costumes. :(

So this year we were all set to ride together again, and this year he said I could make costumes and we both agreed it had to be Bowie!

Then we realised the date clashed with the kids being on holiday with their granny and it would have to be Flipper who would ride with me and so he would HAVE TO WEAR THE COSTUME! (to say the kids found this funny is a huge understatement)

Which Bowie outfits would lend themselves well to a long winter's day in the saddle?  Those awesome knitted Yamamoto jumpsuits of course, with a few changes as concession to our age and shape and in order to keep warm!

I downloaded Adobe Illustrator and with a bit of help from a clever friend I worked out how to design my "knitwear" fabric. 

To avoid having seams anywhere we didn't want them when riding I tried to get the fabric printed such that the nude sections would be in the right places and the skinsuit panels could be cut as one.

I've used the Jalie 3135 skinsuit that I've sewn so many times as swimmers for the kids. I made some errors in adding too much torso length and so we both ended up with much baggier, wrinklier skinsuits than I'd imagined. But perhaps I'd imagined less wrinkles overall and it wasn't just the skinsuits that made me feel less fabulous in reality! :)

To try and reduce the torso length I left off the crotch gusset section, otherwise the pattern is unaltered.

Designing the fabric was quite a brain teaser, especially my own which wasn't symmetrical. I had to be sure that the left front would match the left back and meet across the front and back with the right side. Flippers was easier for being symmetrical but I wish I'd given him a higher cut leg! After all, David almost had his bits coming out the sides of his leotard!

Since these were cycling skinsuits I purchased a pair of chamois inserts from Aerotech in the states and sewed them in. If that isn't the worst sewing job ever! Imagine sewing a three dimensional curved padded insert into a  4 way intersection of crotch seam. It needs to have a concave curve from front to back and a convex curve from side to side. 

I sewed my one in and did an abysmal job. I sewed Flipper's in and did a bit better, then I ripped mine out and tackled (pun intended) it again and finally got it right. I'm afraid I couldn't be bothered redoing Flipper's. It would be comfortable even if it looked a bit puckered and wrinkly. Sorry old fella :)

Sadly my flesh colour was a lot pinker and baby flesh than either of us in reality and so the semi-nude effect wasn't realised. I was feeling a bit glum about the skinsuits not being as cool as I'd imagined but then we put them on for a funny photoshoot and cracked ourselves up.

So where and how did I get the fabric? I thought about the international fabric printing companies, but then found Next State Print here in Melbourne. Their prices were super reasonable, I would have no shipping delays and the quality of the lycra is excellent. We were nice and warm, and once we got over the feeling of looking a bit ridiculous, we were actually very comfortable!

I used some extra printed sections of my fabric to make these stuffed ankle and wrist bangles and then Flipper scored a feather boa from Jimmy's Buttons. It delighted me to see him riding around with it flowing along. There's a fun video on my Instagram account here

We had a fabulous day out on the bikes and believe it or not, our costumes were definitely on the tame and ordinary side. I don't know how the KISS glam rockers rode with their studded codpieces! There were too many great costumes to have favourites but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with their pepperoni pizza disc wheels and the pair of jockeys with their bikes complete with manes and tails were standouts for me. You simply must check the Instagram hashtag #melburnroobaix

Next year I think A will be able to keep up and we may have to make it a family event. I'm already thinking up outfit ideas!

There will always be bicycles and sewing and silly ideas. You can imagine I was in my element!

Details:

Pattern: Jalie 3135

Fabric: Active from Next State Print with custom printing

Notions: invisible zippers and chamois pads from Aerotech Designs

and the inspiration of course: Fyxo and Mr David Bowie / Kensai Yamamoto

Holiday sewing

In September we had one of those "once in a lifetime" holidays. Only it wasn't a one-off, but an exact repeat of the holiday that Flipper and I had in 2006. Sometimes a really great trip needs repeating.

I'm over at the Oliver + S blog sharing all the Liesl + Co patterns I made to take on the holiday with us, including gifts for our kayaking guides. Go check it out. The pattern count numbers 6 Metro Ts and 2 pair of Wynwood swim shorts. Plus, I also took my Sintra Dress and my Cinema Dress on holiday.

Just before we left the big kid realised he's lost a pair of swim trunks somewhere, so he got two new pairs of Ottobre Seamus (03-2009) swim trunks

And he'd also outgrown his boardshorts, so I added two new pairs of the Jalie 2678 boardshorts, again with a cargo pocket addition.

Our kayaking trip was a 7 day trip paddling in the Yasawa islands of Fiji with Southern Sea Ventures. We revisited the same village that we'd stayed in 17 years earlier and even met some of the same people again. I can't begin to describe how great the trip was, the company, the guiding, the ocean, the people.... Can't possibly show you all the pics, but here's a selection from each day...

Our guides were so fabulous. Semi, the Fijian local was quietly funny, always organised and calm and just the nicest, hard working guy. He wore an amazing palm frond hat that his mum wove, so I made him a kayaking T-shirt with his hat stencilled on it.

Russell, the Canadian guide is too awesome for words. It only takes a quick look at his Instagram (seriously, check this out) to realise that paddling tourists around the Yasawas must have been pretty dull, but he never showed it. He was funny, organised, hard working and always up for anything. Bit like Barbie there seemed to be nothing he hadn't done, or couldn't put his hand to trying. He impressed P with being a box lacrosse player, wowed A with his ability to pull of a gymnast backflip and all of us when the guitar came out and of course he could play and sing. But, BUT, he couldn't whip cream*  when it came to our dessert at Navotua village. And that alone will never be forgotten! :)

*the lack of a whisk or beater shall not be mentioned

Of course his kayaking top needed to have a white water kayaker and a whisk on it!

I added the hood from the Jalie skating skinsuit pattern 3135 (all my previous versions here) but sadly didn't think of how much higher the neckline is on that pattern than the Metro T I was using. I got P to try in to before I posted it....

And oops, the hood pulls far too much when it's on. Ah well, it can still be some kind of a back of neck sun protection even if it can't be worn.

After the week of "roughing it" (seriously, we were so well looked after, but composting toilets and no internet still counts, right?) we crossed Fiji to stay on a little island just off the coast from Suva. Toberua island resort is a tiny resort with just a dozen bures around a central pool, a dive shop and a beachside restaurant/bar. Everything is catered and during the morning the staff would find us, bringing the menu for lunch and dinner. The barman recognised Flipper from 17 years earlier! P did a pool dive then joined us for his first ever scuba dive. We all ate too much, drank too many mocktails/cocktails and played all day long.

I'd argue this is a once-in-a-lifetime holiday that would easily stand up to a third round!