someone please tell me why don’t i have these two take photos together more often??
i’m cheating a bit with this post, since i actually made his swimsuit a week ago. but the opportunity to have them both pose in their handmade suits was too much to resist. and i made hers last night, so it counts.
ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!
oh and did i mention she’s lost both front teeth since school has been out? she’s super proud of her gap and lisps on purpose now.
so. E’s is a second cosi swimsuit, and it should look very familiar to you, because i totally copied Trine! for a navy blue suit, it just seemed so perfect with the center gathered panel – simple, classy, beautiful. i just had to make the exact same thing! since Trine and her family live in Denmark, i doubt our girlies will run into each other, though i’m sure my little gal would be tickled to match a big kid like Wilma.
her first cosi was a size 5 and a bit long on her, so with this one i trimmed the top of each piece at the size 4 line. i also scooped out the back about an inch, since her first one seemed to hit on rather than under her shoulder blades. she’s learning how to swim! gotta have range of motion!
i also fully lined this suit using this tutorial from papercut patterns – so simple and worked like a charm, i highly recommend it! no inner exposed seams, and serging the lining to the exterior before doing the elastic attachment made it really painless.
i took a cue from an old j.crew suit of hers and zigzagged the elastic to finish it; i think it actually worked better than a double needle.
now onto this fella. oh boy. this suit makes him feel like a superhero, which is good because that was my goal – it’s superman-inspired colors! the pattern is the euro swim trunks pattern by running with scissors. i won it in a blog giveaway maybe a year and a half ago, but this guy was still in diapers and i didn’t think that’d work very well. but now at age 3.5, it’s perfect!
store-bought swim trunks always fall off little guys, which just isn’t cool. after making these for him, i’m firmly in the camp that boys under 5 should all wear trunks like this instead of board shorts. he can kick and swim and run and they never sag or drag. i made the size 3 and the fit is great. the needle i used (jersey) skipped stitches and looked messy on the first try, so i re-hemmed them using a stretch needle and it worked much better.
PSA: now would be the perfect time for you to revisit my friend Jess’ initial Film Petit post, in which she made a Steve Zissou version of this pattern and had the same opinion on euro trunks for little boys. it just makes sense like one pieces do for girls – so much less hassle! plus every time i ask O which swimsuit he wants to wear, he chooses these.
i tied twill tape into a bow and stitched it on after inserting the waistband elastic, so it’ll never come untied. all fabrics and notions used here came from Mill End; the navy was in the Annex (remnant area) for $6/yd, I think!
i love that place.
somehow i’ve gone from being totally scared of sewing swimsuits to LOVING sewing swimsuits! spandex really isn’t that hard to work with, it just takes a little practice to figure out the stitches/supplies/settings that make your machine happy and give you the best result. for me it’s this: a serger for the inner seams, and a walking foot plus stretch needle for hemming. zigzag seems to give me a cleaner finish than a double needle.
oh also – prewash your fabric! i didn’t think i needed to with spandex, but the colors bled onto the tie and O’s skin the first time it got wet. oops!
that’s all i have to say about these! peace out.
skirt as top 
I think these are the cutest things ever!!
The navy blue works so well. Makes it look very elegant. If I were making one I’d copy the colour too 😉
Omg. Epic photoshoot. Those kids are hilarious!
Not brave enough yet to use spandex but very interesting to read what works for you. Love the styles. My grandson is 2 and I know what you mean about baggy swimming shorts they struggle to keep on their little hips. You’ve made an amazing job of both outfits and your children look wonderful. Thank you for the article.
They are hilarious! My youngest has been in his swimsuit since I made it. We go to swimming lessons in the morning and then he refuses to take it off until bedtime. They are the comfiest swim trunks around!
Get out! These pictures are the cutest!
The suits are great! I’m actually a big fan of plain old zigzag stitch on swimwear. A lot of store bought suits actually use it so I don’t feel it looks too homemade, plus nothing beats a zigzag for some good stretch!
they are just amazing, your kids and the suits! So awesome. I’m jealous of them! Makes me want to stop and go find swim suit fabric!!!
So great, Kristin! And I love the photos of your kids together! The best!!!
awwwwesome!! I really want to make a suit for the girls. This style is my favorite from this pattern. Love it!! O looks pretty darn cute in his new trunks. They both are always adorable:)
Looks like they had a blast w the photo shoot and their swimwear looks awesome!
okay, when you look back to where you were with sewing six years ago, does your jaw just drop open? Because you have learned SO much! Swim suits! gah! The fit on these is fantastic and they are equal parts cute and practical. Love the photo shoot. Siblings are so much fun. 🙂 xoxo
Hooray! Thank you for posting about those little boy shorts–I saw that pattern, and then promptly forgot where it was on the internets. My older boy lives in the Boden version, but it’d be way more fun to sew them! (Those kids are mighty adorable, by the way!)
THE BEST!! Love the suits, totally cute and I would wear E’s if it were in my size, and you gave it to me. And then the pictures?! Cutest kids ever! Love it
Nothing to say, but this just makes me so happy.
these are adorable! I’ve been making Henry some “bike short” style suits this summer (he likes them a bit longer) and he loves them! I just finished another suit for both kiddos today with navy material and I was thinking that it seemed like my hands were getting a little dark…ummm…maybe I ought to wash them first then, thanks for the tip!
They are Hi-larious!!!! So funny and adorable. And the suits look great!
i forgot to comment on this one! HAHAHA! they both look great – that solid navy suit is awesome and so super stylish. and little boys in eurotrunks, well it doesn’t get any better than that!
Yep! You definitely need to do more photoshoots of the 2 of them together.:) The swimsuits look great!
Love love love her navy swimsuit and link for lining is perfect as am about to embark on making a suit for my daughter .
oh, I really love this post. Seems like your kids had so much fun during the photoshoot!