Jalie 971 Swimsuit and My Athletic Roots

In honor of Father's Day and the Curvy Sewing Collective's Swimwear Month, I'm sharing my recently finished Jalie 971, competition swimsuit and a couple photos of one talented Ancestor of mine who was also an Athlete.

I tried on the suit sans elastics to check the fit after I taped & cut the PDF and graded the pattern between sizes to my measurements.

The areas I'm showing are a bit too loose. I am noticing that the nylon lining with little stretch does limit the stretch of the main body fabric, more than I would have anticipated since both stretch quite a lot. But, I'll follow the pattern to see how it works out.

I wanted black & white trim everywhere the elastic would be. This was the most time consuming portion of the whole project. I hand attched the black & white to every piece of elastic (like a flat, smooth waistband) before I even attched them to the suit. Whew! Was it worth it?

yes, I used a million pins. Most of the pro sewists I know have laughed. But I've had to seam rip one too many triple stitch zig zags. Pins it is until I get used to the skill of using fewer. Which I improve on each time I sew.

Et Voila! Now damn if that striping doesn't make this stand out!

If you look closely, you'll see the bra elastic is wonky. I ripped it out (the knit swim elastic) and put in a firmer elastic. Better!

​ am one happy girl! A whole swimsuit! I made this!!! I swam in custom made swim suits for swim team and water polo in high school. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that years later if be making my own. Wow!

I asked my mom to help me out and take some photos. As I raced outside at their house, the sun warm, summer looming, I was gripped with nostalgia and years fell away. I was racing out to the slip n slide on a summer day to show my mom that cool thing I could do. Wow. I haven't run around outside in a swimsuit like that in years. And it felt really good. At home in the suit. What an experience. That making my own swimsuit was the catalyst... Wow!

This is a very high leg line. Most competition style swim suits are so that the swimmer has full range of motion. This is much higher than the swim shorts brief. It's practically a French cut. However, notice how it looks like a normal low leg line on my body? Interesting isn't it?! I have to raise the leg opening at the front thigh area on nearly every panty, brief or swimsuit otherwise it hits my round, protruding thigh (which I love) and is either annoying or just slides up and bunches in the leg crease. Double annoying. I dig the front leg shaping.

oh how lovely the back is! Look at the sweet coverage and near hug this gives me. Sweet! I do fear that the back leg will creep into a wedgie, over exposing my bum. Uh, no thanks!
​
Next version, I'll curve the back leg, add a little more fabric and reduce the elastic a little so it cups my bum more.

Notice the weird blip at the side seam? When I fixed the shelf bra and elastic, I re-sewed it into the wrong spot. This is not the kind of garment that you really want to be ripping and re-stitching. A good learning experience.

And now for the special family ancestor. My Grandpa. This is his story as I remember it.

Grandpa came to the US from Denmark when he was 16. He spoke no English, had nothing more than a 3rd grade education. He was kicked off the farm to work when he was 5 years old and that was as far as he completed before the need to make money for his family (the reason he left the first time) trumped school. He taught himself English. 

While in the states, the depression hit, hard. One of the ways he was able to survive was to box for food. Whenever chance arose and I saw a copy of this photo as a kid, I was amazed by the broad shape of his chest, his muscle definition and how lean he was. I imagined he wore silk boxer shorts and marveled at how the ruddy, pink cheeks are quite the family trait.

Months ago, as I photo'd myself in my current ready to wear swim suit to compare the fit of it to the Jalie 971 I was making, I looked at the poses I naturally made. I was just being silly. And wonder of wonders, I had posed exactly like Grandpa! Whoa! That made me feel more like an athlete and so very much a part of a family legacy than ever before. You see, Grandpa died 6 months before I was born. So I don't even have memories of him. Yet, I have always felt connected to him. Hmm...

And here I am in the Jalie 971 next to Grandpa. Pretty darn cool, eh?

Happy Father's Day to each and every dad and man who has played the role of father figure, no matter how small. You leave an impression. You leave a legacy. Thanks for doing what you love and loving what you do!