You can find many more simple sewing projects by clicking the sewing link at the side of my blog.
It's almost here...the frantic messages
screaming from televisions and newstands about post-holiday "beach
bodies." These next three months or so always strike me as the
most actively body-shaming time of the year in our culture. So in
response, I say celebrate your beach body! It is your body, as it
is, right now. Because people of any size, shape, color, etc.
deserve to get out in the sun and sand, or down by the pool, and bare
some skin!
To that end, this is the second in my
series on Fatkinis. This is a super-simple bandeau-style bikini top. You can find instructions for a halter-style string top here.
First, the measurements.
Measurement A is just above the breast.
A good way to find this point is to look where your cleavage starts.
Measure around the chest, under the armpits.
Measurement B is from under the breast,
over the nipple, to above the breast where you measured for A.
You will need stretchy fabric, but if
you have larger breasts you may want to look for something more
supportive than standard swimsuit fabric. You can even recycle an
old tee shirt, sweat shirt or yoga pants for this. If you use a
thin, light-color fabric, get it wet and drape it over your hand in
bright light. This will tell you how see-through it will be at the
beach. You may have to sandwich several layers of lighter fabric to
keep from flashing nips to the world.
Cut a long rectangle of fabric that is
Measurement B plus 1" wide, and Measurement A long.
You will also need 2 lengths of string
or ribbon approximately 12" long and 4 lengths 6" long.
These can be a different material or you can make it from the same
material by folding over a 1/2" wide strip, stitching on the
long edge, and turn it inside out. Stitch or knot the ends.
Fold all four edges of the long
rectangle over 1/4" and press or baste. Fold the edges over
again 1/4" to hide the raw edge and use a stretch or zig-zag
stitch to hem.
Fold the two short edges over 1"
and stitch with a stretch stitch at the hemmed ends, creating a tube
of fabric at each end.
Thread one of the 12" strings
through each tube.
Tie a 6" string around the center
of the top. This will go between your breasts. This is optional, if
you want a solid tube-top style instead of a sweetheart top, you can
leave this off.
If you need additional support for the
top, you can use a much longer string, knot it tight at the center as
below, and then tie the ends behind your neck as a halter.
Tie the top on behind your back. On
each side, mark the spot directly under your armpit. Take the top
back off again, and knot one of the remaining two 6" strings at
each armpit mark.
Put the top on again and adjust the
ties as needed. When they are in a good spot, make sure you tie them
in a solid square knot. If they're in danger of coming undone or
shifting, put a few stitches in to hold them in place. You can cut
off dangling ends if needed at this point, and use stitches or glue
to prevent fraying.
You now have a complete bandeau bikini
top, so rock it whenever you please!
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