Beverly Bikini Sewalong

Named Clothing Beverly Twisted Bikini Sewalong

Here in Sydney the weather is warm and it’s bikini time! Spurred on by Jillian from Sew Unravelled and Kirsty from kbfield we approached the team at Named Clothing to have a sewalong of their Beverly Twisted Bikini.

Named have set up a 20% discount code on PDF and printed patterns of the Beverly Twisted Bikini that can be redeemed until the 10th of February. Just use the code sewbeverlybikini at the checkout.

I’ll be taking you step by step through the construction and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. You can share your makes on social media using the hashtag #sewbeverlybikini so we can see all the gorgeous bikini’s being created.

Grab a button for your website and later today I’ll be back with some guides on choosing the best fabrics for your bikini and all the notions you will need.

Welcome to the Beverly Twisted Bikini sew along! I do hope you are going to enjoy making your own bikini. Don’t forget if you want to join in, you can use the discount code sewbeverlybikini at the named clothing site to purchase the pattern.

Before we get to cutting out the fabric, check your sizing and assemble your pattern.

Some of you may find you will be a different size top to bottom, I’m cutting a 46 bottom* and a 44 top. Part way through the bottoms I’m going to try them on to see if I need to adjust the sizing as I like quite a firm fit on my bikini bottoms so I can swim with no worries. The seam allowance is included in the pattern (I’m using the PDF, if you are using the paper pattern please double check if seam allowance is included before cutting) so you can cut or trace without having to add the seams afterwards.

We are going to start with cutting out the bottoms including the lining. Before cutting your lining, read the post adding the elastic to the bottoms as there are 2 methods of lining used there and it makes a difference to your cutting. I’m using this stunning red paisley from Pitt Trading with a contrast centre front panel in a matte dark red also from Pitt Trading.

Here are all my panels ready to go. When cutting be sure to cut with the greatest stretch going around the body. If you are dealing with a tricky print and want to avoid unfortunate print placements try cutting out your pattern piece in tracing paper. Cut it as a whole piece not place on fold and you will find you can see through the tracing paper to the print and avoid the poor print placement choices.

Starting with the Twist panel we are going to put right sides together and sew along the top edge. I’m using my overlocker but you can use the stretch stitch on your regular machine if you would prefer.

Turn the tube right side out and give it a press

Using a straight stitch add rows of gathering or basting stitches to either end. Pull the bobbin thread to create the gathers until you’ve gathered it in enough fit into the side of the centre front panel.

Twist the panel once and pin or baste it into place. Make sure you hide the seam of the band so it won’t be visible on your finished bottoms. Pinned in place you can see it buckles the front panel slightly. Once I put them on this buckling was not noticeable at all and the twist sat nice and flat to my body and didn’t sag forwards so don’t worry about the buckling.

Position side panels and sew in place.

Take front lining and crotch lining, sew seam.

Place front panel and back panel of main fabrics right sides together, matching at crotch. Take front and back lining fabrics, right sides together match at crotch and place them on top of the main panels.

Stitch through all layers.

When you open them up the seam you’ve just sewn should be tucked inside the lining so no exposed seams are on the inside of the swimmers.

*If you need to check your sizing, pin or baste your side seams and pop them on. You want them to feel firm but not tight. The stretch of your fabric must be used, if they feel loose when they get wet they may not stay in place. Mine could be a little firmer so I’m going to take an extra seam allowance from the side seams.

Using the same technique you’ve just used to sew the crotch, sew the side seams so all internal seams are encased inside the lining.

Thank you for the great response to the sewalong, I hope you are enjoying it?

A few people have requested a more high rise style pant bottom for a bit more coverage. So here’s how to achieve a higher pant.

First trace out the size that you require according to the size chart included in the pattern. For the adjustment we need the front, side front and back to start with. Mark in 2 places where you are going to add the extra height.

Why 2 places? you want to keep the balance of the style intact and if you just put it all on the top it can result in a weird look or odd fit.

On your body measure from crotch to the desired height of your pant. Measure the current pattern pieces. If you need to add say 5cm in height then split that measurement between the 2 lines marked for adding the extra height.

Here the grey lines indicate where the extra height has been added, don’t worry about the side seam we are going to fix that in the next step.

Next we are going to reshape the side seam. You are aiming for a nice smooth line from hip to waist. Since the pant is now higher the waist will need to come in a bit to account for the tapering of your body towards the waist. If the difference between your hip to waist is large, measure your waist and taper in the seam according to your measurements.

The blue line is the smoothing of the side seam and the gradual taper for the waist. I’ve taped both the front and side front panel so that the front panel doesn’t get too wide in comparison to the side panel. It’s all about maintaining the balance of the design.

Double check all your adjusted seams to ensure that all match each other in length so your bikini will fit back together correctly. Re mark all pattern markings including the positioning of the front twisted panel.

Now you have a higher rise bikini pant! Once you’ve got the outer panels all sorted, follow the same principals to increase the height of your lining too.

If you’ve got any questions or need clarification on anything just ask and I can help you out.

In this installment of the sewalong we are tackling the elastic on the bottoms. The most important thing to remember when using swimwear elastic is to not stretch it. It is to be put in under tension (by very gently pulling it) but not stretched. If you’ve pulled so hard that the width of the elastic has decreased then you’ve pulled too hard.

Start by pinning your lining in position. Here on the front you can see the lining is cut without the seam allowances. I’ve done the back differently so you can see 2 ways of attaching the lining/elastic.

I’m using my overlocker to attach the elastic. Line up your elastic underneath the foot but not right on the edge of the garment. It’s actually easier to cut off a slither of the fabric while attaching the elastic. If you line the elastic right to the edge it is way too easy to cut into the elastic and that way causes dramas.

I always attach my elastic in the flat and once I get back to the start point I just lap the elastic over and run the overlocker off the edge. It’s by far the easiest and flatest way to do it. Flat is good as elastic joins tend to poke in and get uncomfortable.

The instructions had you cut your lining slightly smaller than the outer garment. This means the elastic sits only on the outer fabric and not on the lining.

Personally I find this method slightly more difficult as you have to make sure the lining tucks in when you do the topstitching.

An alternative is to cut the lining the same size as the outer fabric and catch it as you add the elastic in. I find this easier to sew and it stays in place no matter how active a swimmer you are as it’s anchored evenly across the entire pant. This is the back where the lining was cut the same size as the outer.

Once you’ve attached your elastic it’s time to fold it down in preparation for topstitching. Lycra plus clear elastic often makes for it difficult to pin through. You could use quilting clips to hold it in place or even just clothesline pegs.

For topstitching you can use a twin needle, a zig zag or a 3 step zig zag. I’m going with my 3 step zig zag as I like the way it looks. When you are topstitching you don’t have to pull or stretch the fabric, you do have to ensure you keep a straight edge. Where the elastic is tucked under it tends to like to roll, if you let it you end up with a ropey looking edge and get puckers. Make that edge nice and smooth as you topstitch and it will look beautiful and professional.

After topstitching I’ve gone back and checked my lining to ensure it is flat and even. On the back where the lining was cut the same size as the outer. It sits flat.

On the front where the lining was cut smaller it looks ok but there are a few places where the lining hasn’t been caught into the topstitching. You can see it on the left hand side of the crotch and the upper left hand side of the waist.

Here is the finished pant.

I hope everyone has been having fun with their swimwear sewing? This is the final installment in the sewalong and it’s been pushed back to today as I had so many requests for more time as people wanted to join in.

Don’t forget to share your makes using the hashtag #SewBeverlyBikini so we can see all your beautiful bikinis.

So let’s get started on the top. The outer of mine will be the same beautiful red paisley I’ve been using for the bottoms and the lining will be the solid darker red I used for the front contrast panel on the bottoms.

Stitch your darts into the outer and lining fabrics

Sew the side seam of the outer panels.

Iron interfacing into the seam allowance of the lining.

Sew the side seam of the lining. Note that the side seam is 2 different widths for the lining. The front panel has 2cm and the back panel has 1cm.

Press the seam towards the back, turn the extra seam allowance of the front panel under to create a little channel.

Stitch the channel down.

Placing the lining and the outer right sides together prepare to sew along the top edges of the panels. Go up one side, along the narrow top edge and down the other side.

As you sew the panels together you will also be attaching in the elastic. I’m using my overlocker and the same method I used for inserting the clear elastic into the pants.

Once you’ve done both sides, turn them right side out.

Take your boning and cut it to length, be sure to cut it shorter than the full length of the channel as there is a seam allowance at the bottom.

Before inserting your boning, quickly run it through a lit match so the flame seals the ends. Then insert it into the channel.

Lay the underbust band down, wrong side up. Matching the notches, line up the 2 front panels and pin into place. Once pinned this line is then stitched.

Fold underbust band in half, tuck under the seam allowance and pin into place.

Topstitch underbust band.

Using a safety pin thread your elastic through the underbust band. Make sure it stays flat and doesn’t twist. Once inserted stitch the elastic in place at either end.

Thread the ends of the underbust band (now with inserted elastic) and thread it through your bikini clasp. Pin in place and then securely stitch. My camera has made my clasp look pink! it’s actually not but just looks weird in photos for some reason?

Try your bikini on, check where the knot is. You may need to secure it with a few stitches. Experiment with different twists to see what suits you best.

and you are done!

This has been so much fun, I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves, learnt some new skills and ended up with beautiful bikinis!

As always if you have any questions just let me know and hopefully I’ll be back soon with a round up of all the fantastic swimwear we’ve created!

Huge thank you to Named Clothing for allowing me to do the sewalong and for providing me with the pattern, also to Pitt Trading for providing my amazing fabrics and trims. Finally thanks to Jillian and Kirsty for asking me to do the sewalong in the first place.