Summer is coming which means swim fabric galore! I know I bought a ton in the reprint round and am excited to snag more for retail! Generally, when we think of swim fabric, of course, we think about swimsuits. Well did you know it's great for athletic wear too!? Especially summertime athletic wear or leggings for warmer weather in general.
The reason I love swim fabric for athletic wear is that it's great for breathability in turn keeping you nice and cool. It'll wick away moisture and not show sweat the way cotton lycra does. It also has SPF built in to protect you! Talk about a win-win! To stretch my coveted swim prints as far as I can, I usually coordinate with either athletic solids or swim solids. I do have a ton of pairs of full print swim leggings that work great as well if you aren't' into color blocking.
Now I know working with swim can be scary but it's honestly not too hard. Here are a couple tips. First one- TAKE IT SLOW. I mean like... very slow. Make sure you are using tons of clips and always checking your layers as you sew through. It's so easy for it to slip. You can also use a sewable basting spray to help you out. I've used it to help with slippery binding and I also use it for doing appliques as heat n bond takes away some of your stretch which is necessary for swim garments. If you are using your swim fabric for things like leggings, some people prefer stretch thread, especially for performance wear. I generally use regular but I'm also pretty flat back there so don't really have a problem :P. If there was a way to grade down for the booty and back out for everything else I'd probably have to do it :P. Overall the biggest tip for swim fabric though, as said before, is clip clip clip and don't be scared! You got this!
Check out these Greenstyle Stride Tights I made with epic Zombie swim, Athletic Black Solid from The Fab Clique Fabric Shop, and variegated thread from Fabric Anthropology ! It was my first time making them and I'm obsessed! They are super comfortable and fit like a glove. The pattern comes with pocket and gusset options as well and 4 lengths to choose from. I can't wait to make a bunch more. Best of all I still have plenty of Zombie fabric left to sew up a swimsuit for you guys and give you some tips and tricks for that! If you are super bored I actually did a live stream for all you rockers out there while I sewed these up that you can view here.
Okay, I lied that wasn't best of all. Greenstyle Creations has very generously offered a free pattern to one of you lucky readers! They have tons of amazing athletic wear patterns to choose from as well as non-athletic too! It'll be perfect for all your reprint fabric coming in. Just enter the raffle copter below for your chance.
Stay tuned for later this week I'll be sewing a swimsuit out of zombies for you all! Thanks for reading!
Happy Sewing and Rocking,
Michelle
56 comments
I really want to sew up the Agility tank in swim.
I am so excited for my swim to come in. I want to make some athletic wear and maybe a dress!
Waiting for my swim fabric so I can see the ttp from p4p. I’ve sewn my daughter a couple of different suits as practice now it’s my turn!
Ive never ordered swim but ive seen a lot a few people use it for athlete pants.And i love it. I might need to get some
I am still afraid to sew up swim as I don’t own a serger yet! But hoping that soon I’ll be able to!