If you’re making the 8101 swimsuit I thought I’d provide a little fabric inspiration to get you’re creative juices going for the 8101 swimsuit. I had a lot of fun doing some virtual fabric shopping picking out different styles of print and colours!
Let’s start with some solid colours – I really like having contrasting straps and ties, especially with a solid colour, you’ll only need 1/5 yrd of fabric in the contrast colour.

Source: 1. Coral & Mint 2. Gold 3. Scarlett Red  4.Mermaid Scales  5. Milliskin Matte in Purple and Gold 6. Mint & Navy
*Yes I realise that number 4 isn’t a solid, but it’s just so pretty and reminiscent of a mermaid, don’t you think?
I like milliskin for solid colours as one side tends to be shiner than the other, even with the milliskin matte so you can play around with having the straps made from the reverse side to the body of the swimsuit. I would note that it can be a little less than opaque when fully stretched, so if you’re going for a light colour you may want to line the whole swimsuit to ensure coverage. I also find milliskin tends to have more stretch to it – it usually has 20% spandex in it’s composition compared to more regular nylon lycra that usually has around 10%, so if you do get a milliskin I’d check the stretch and see if you need to size down for it.
If you’re more of a print kind of gal then check out some of these below. The leopard with the black band contrast keeps catching my eye.

 
Source: 1. Blue Stripe 2. Cheetah Print 3. Colour Streaks 4. Stripes & Fruit 5. Green Plaid 6. Honeycomb 7. Liberty of London 8. Pink Gingham 9. Stars & Stripes
I couldn’t resist the 4th of July themed one as the holiday weekend is only a few weeks away in the USA.
They all use the 8101 sewing pattern as is with the except for the blue diagonal stripe, where I decided to add a centre seam to create a chevron pattern with the diagonally printed stripes. It screams original Barbie to me, so I might have to make myself one just like it now!
Please note that the prints aren’t 100% to scale in these illustrations and that I haven’t actually seen or handled most of these fabrics in person, so make sure you order a swatch to check suitability before buying. For more information, the fabric requirements, supplies list and sizing chart are all listed on the 8101 Product Page.
What fabric are you going to make your swimsuit in? i can’t wait to see them pop up in the wilds of the internet… Happy fabric shopping!