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A New Swimsuit with Stylish Fabrics

I love summer clothes. HATE actual summer weather. Crazy much, probably. Just think of me like Olaf without his personal flurry. ;) And...


I love summer clothes. HATE actual summer weather. Crazy much, probably. Just think of me like Olaf without his personal flurry. ;)

And you're all probably thinking, why does she hate summer so much. It isn't the sweating and the mosquitos (although those are high up on my list). Its the sun. Yes, I said it, its the sun. You see, despite my beautiful tanned skin, I'm allergic to the sun. And no, that isn't some pathetic excuse to not go outside.

I am actually 100% not lying. I'm allergic to the sun. You can read more about it here from the mayoclinic if you need to know more. Sun exposure on my chest, shoulders and back in the high heat of summer means hives on my chest, shoulders and back. And while it is happening, it feels like my skin is catching on fire. I kid you not, full on hives that feel like my skin is on fire. The first time it happened I thought it was some sort of weird sun burn. But no, not sun burn, hives. <sigh> And after 6 weeks of the rash, I went to the doctor for some heavy duty steroids to make it go away.

So what's a girl to do? If I had my way, I'd probably hide away from the sun forever, like a vampire. But my kids don't like that sort of thing, so I'm forced to improvise. And improvise I must, because we LOVE water play in our family. Whether it is wading in a stream, swimming in a lake, sprinkler parks, amusement parks, you name it, we LOVE it.

So of course, I need a swimsuit. I feel awesome about my body and would love to rock a bikini, but not out in the sun. I guess I'll save that for indoor swimming. So that means a rash guard and bottoms.

I am super excited to be working with Stylish Fabric this week as a blog sponsor. They have an overwhelming selection of fabrics to choose from in so many different categories. Obviously for this post I was going to need swimwear fabrics. Stylish Fabric has a really great selection of 52 colors of solid tricot to choose from. The quality is excellent. But my favorite part is that you can get a sample swatch of ANY of their fabrics so that you can be 100% sure that you are getting exactly what you want. They also offer wholesale discounts after 25 yards of a single fabric and list on each fabric whether it is reorderable. Knowing that you can get more of a color you love is always a plus.

I have to admit, I've been eyeing all the new swimsuit patterns that have been coming out. They're all so cute and summery and make me water happy. But not really for me in the sun. But, when it was time to come up with a rash guard plan, I knew EXACTLY what I needed. A raglan. And because of my raglan series (seriously, you have read it all already right?) I knew exactly which one it would be.

A swim rash guard needs to be snug. REALLY snug. Else wardrobe malfunctions that you will NEVER live down. Let's not go there. So of course, the perfect choice was the Greenstyle Centerfield Raglan. It was by far the snuggest fitting raglan in the entire series.

I did my standard adjustments of shortening the bodice 1/2" above the bust. This was the one time that it 100% failed me. The bust point on this pattern was a little higher than others, so I have extra bust wrinkles. That said, I'm ok with that. Next time, I'd definitely not take out the extra length. I made the exact size based on my bust measurement. Greenstyle drafts for a C cup. My overbust +3" is 36". My full bust is 37, so that put me in exactly a size small with no adjustments. Even the hip and waist matched up really well after I took length out of the waist.

For my bottoms, they're the Stitch Upon A Time Scrundlewear. While a lot of people like to add elastic into their swim bottoms, I've used the "scrundies" before as swim bottoms with no added elastic and had ZERO problems. I will say, the "scrundies" show a tiny bit of my outer butt cheek, but they never slide around, so it is ok with me. If that does bother you, you might like the Jocole Bottoms better. I used those last year for my swim bottoms.

So there you have it, sun safe swimwear that is both cute and functional.

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3 comments

  1. Great post. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Totally adorable! I have used raglans for rash guards mostly cause I just feel better running around in something that isn't flashing the world (or might should I have a wardrobe malfunction! :)

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  3. Looks great. Rashguards are really great for their practicality in the sun.

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