Bootstrap Raglan Knit Dress Turned Rash Guard

I have this dream of dressing and living like a surfer girl. Rash guards - though totally not practical yet in my life - have been on my mind, like heavy man.  When I saw this Bootstrap Raglan dress, I knew it would be perfect for a Rash Guard!

I also had a vision of color blocking the dress like so many fun kids clothes and Roxy outfits I've seen. 

Using the hemline from Jalie 3245, Raglan Shirt and Racerback Tank, I shortened the dress to be shirt length. 

And here are some of the cute colors and prints I bought from a children's clothing designer who has since gone out of business. 

And... voila! Really simple to sew together, even without the instructions. However, I have sewn for years, so a simple top like this is easy for me to look back over past sewing pattern instructions to figure out techniques for construction if need be. 

I'm not wearing the most supportive underbits, which would be similar to most of my swimsuits. So you may notice a few draglines that might not normally be there if I had a more supportive bra on.

This Rhodie (the pink flowers behind me) is one I have loved for years. ​ I always wanted to wear the flowers in my hair, but the stems are kind of sticky. It's one of my favorite shades of pink.

Just look at how lovely this fit is in both front, back and at the armscyes. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Even across the small of the back where I typically have to make lots of adjustments for a swayback and protruding rear.

How did I get it to do that?!  These are the only fit adjustments I entered - full bust, standard arm, narrow shoulders. I believe I used a B size protruding belly.  Everything else was listed as "balanced" and I used the required minimum measurements.  I didn't use the pro fit option for this. Frankly, I'm shocked at how well it fits without entering my personal measurements. I'm really excited to try making this as a dress now that I can see how well it fits!

Two things I'll changed on the next one.  I'm actually going to re-print the pattern.

1. Arm fullness: From "normal" to "Larger"
2. Shoulder Width: From "narrow" to "balanced"

I want to see how this accommodates my larger biceps and shoulder muscles (even though my actual shoulder bone measurement is narrower than their pattern).  Right now, with "normal" and "narrow" it's causing the neckline to pull and the arms are just a bit too tight and are restricting movement a little. 

I'm super happy with this and totally in love with the color combo.  The fit of the swayback area alone was worth the price of the pattern! I'm a total Bootstrap convert!