Today, I thought we could look into some basic pattern alterations for fitting the 8101 swimsuit.

Lengthening or Shortening the Body

For versions 1 & 2, the simplest way to alter the bodice length is to take the bodice pieces and divide it into 3. Then cut along the creases and then spread or overlap by as much as you need to.For version 3, the bikini, take the bottoms and divide it in half, the cut and spread/overlap.

Smaller Cups

The pattern comes with 3 cup sizes started at a B/C and going upwards. I received a couple of questions about how to alter the cup size for smaller cup size range.
Take the B/C cup and lining pattern pieces in your size. Find the bust apex by drawing in the stitching lines on the cup lining pattern piece and measuring 1cm (3/8″) up from that point. Then find the mid-points of the three long edges and join them to bust apex – which is 1cm (3/8″) – cut and slash along those lines.

Additional Cup Support

Whilst on the topic of cups, some of you may want to add a little more ‘oomph’ in that area, either to create a smoother breast shape or have some additional strentgh to support the breast, especially if you’re on the larger end of the cup sizes.
If you have swim cup inserts (something like these) you can slot them in between the lining and outer fabric before basting the two together, free floating inside the cup. If you want them to stay put, you can sew the cup to the wrong side of the lining, with a zig zag stitch that follows the perimeter of the foam cup.

If you have yardage of foam, then you can use the lining pattern piece to cut the foam, trimming away the 1cm (3/8″) seam allowance from the sides and the top, sew the dart and place that in between the lining and the outer fabric, and will be sewn into place when you turn the elastic and topstitch it down.
There’s some great tutorials already out there in the wilds of the internetz including a round-up of information for sewing swimsuits from a ‘Swimalong’ that happened back in 2013, so I won’t be re-inventing the wheel on this one. Check out this post on how to sew foam into shape, and this post on how to sew the swim cups to the lining.
I made a bikini top with this pattern for a client with a DD cup, so I used a swim cup inserts to give some defined shaping to the cup and also added a layer of power mesh as an under lining on the cup and front portion of the bra band. I decided to go for a power-bar style shape to keep the breast shape projecting forwards and inwards rather than spreading outwards – it worked a treat!
 

Raising the leg line for a Higher Cut

The swimsuit comes with a low cut leg and full butt coverage, but if you want to show a little more cheek you can raise line and have a more contemporary cut.
To start, mark the vertical stitching lines 1.5cm (5/8″) for the side seam and fold the ‘flaps’ under for the time being, it will make the drafting of the leg opening much easier.

You’ll want to raise the side seam from the bottom edge, about 5cm (2″) or you can measure any of your bathers that has a cut you like and use that. Mark that off on both the front and the back.
On the Front leg opening redraft the leg opening in a smooth, shallow curve. Sometimes I like to do this free-hand to get a feel for the curve then finalise it with a curved ruler.
On the back leg hole find the midway point and measure in 5cm (2″), then draft in a new leg opening from the side seam to the crotch passing through the mid-way mark.
Just to note that this will affect the shape of the crotch curve, so you’ll likely be shaving off the corners.
The last step is to true the side seams together and make sure they blend smoothly together.
This pineapple bikini has a higher cut leg at the sides and when the side seams are scrunched it gives a more modern shape.
Alrighty, that’s it for today, the last installment will cover converting the bra band and straps!