[ 40s swimsuit pattern and a swatch of the fabric. ]
I decided to document this sewing project a little more thoroughly than most recent ones. Partly because I love writing a good ol’ dress diary, and also because I think it might benefit other who are interested in sewing a 40s style swimsuit as well as myself (from the standpoint of feedback and ideas). This is also a project that isn’t a slapdash sort; in order to get a piece that I really would wear, I need to make sure I take my time to do “boring” things like muslins and checking the fitting (instead of *ahem* just winging it!). So be warned–this could get dry and a bit geeky, but I hope fellow seamstresses (and seamsters!) will enjoy!
[ swimsuit inspiration! Martha Vickers (left) and a young Marilyn Monroe (right). ]
The pattern is a mid 40s Simplicity two piece; I found it on Ebay by a pure stroke of luck–it was in the midst of a lot of otherwise mid 60s patterns! What drew me to it was the design of the bra top and my curiosity as to how the home seamstress would have been directed to construct a swimsuit in the 40s. There are few fabric specifications on the envelope, save facing the bra and trunks with jersey fabric. After some research on my own, I decided to go with a woven material for the outer shell of the suit, underline the bra and add bra cups to it for some extra support and shaping, and adjust the style of the trunks a bit. The fabric I chose is a blue, red and white cotton sateen with a blue jersey for the facing.
My initial muslin of the swimsuit (I did have to grade the pattern down, but it was basically the design as-is) was mixed. The bra top fit pretty much spot-on, but the trunks had some fitting issues. They were a smidge tight over the hips and bagged oddly at the crotch (not untypical of pants patterns from this era) and the hemline was not flattering at all on my chunky legs. Rather than sit there and muddle through fitting, I remembered I had a shorts pattern I drafted last spring that was almost exactly like the swimsuit trunks, just longer. So I whipped that out, made a few changes, and made a muslin. An easy fix–and potential frustration averted!
[ trunks with faux wrap version 1.0. ]
At this point I also decided to experiment a bit with doing some draping/faux wrap at the front of the trunks. This is a design feature I had seen on many images of 1940s swimsuits, and although I was a bit skeptical as to how it’d look on me, I wanted to give it a try. I made up one muslin (the one pictured in this post), but wasn’t happy with how it looked, so I went back to the drawing board (er… cutting mat in my case!) and made a wrap that was shaped similarly to the wrap front skirt in the pattern. I also adjusted the front leg opening on the shorts to angle upwards a bit more, under the wrap (as the inspiration photos show). That’s as far as I’ve gotten this week–I still need to stitch up the newly adjusted muslin to double check things and make a final decision on the wrap! Hopefully, I’ll squeeze in some time this weekend…
Have a lovely Friday, friends!
A very nice start!
I really like that tie-decoration on the shorts -it will probably be a great little hider for when you want to eat a lot of ice cream on the beach;) Excited to see the coming results!
I have never seen that picture of Marilyn Monroe, or Norma Jean Baker, but it’s so cute! I love all pictures of her in brown hair… She looks so much happier in those early days, don’t you think?
Hey!
I just thought I’d let you know I included you as my Inspirational blog #2 on my fresh new blog. I think it’s always nice to know when someone is writing about you and using your photos…
http://wildestjeans.blogspot.com/2010/07/inspiring-blogs-2.html
Love your blog!
it looks so hard to do!!! so nice!
ooooh! This is so exciting!
That’s a very helpful post! I’ve never bothered with muslins and you’ve just explained very well why that’s a silly idea!
More geekery please
Can I also just say how jealous I am of your fabric stash…
super cute, casey! i love the bra top. i’ve been looking for a similar pattern from around the ’40s or ’50s to make a bikini. although i’ve never worn anything but a one piece my entire life. it’d be a change, but i can’t help but think it would be soo adorable.
can’t wait to read more about your bathing suit!!
this is looking so great! I love how you’ve modified the “diaper” bathing suit bottoms into something totally chic but still very much capturing the spirit of the 40s suits, too.
So far it’s looking terrific. Love that little ring detail in the top!
Looks like it is going to be so cute. I like your inspiration suits, too. Love that picture of a young Marilyn. (She’s always been one of my “idols” maybe because I remember when she died and remember being so sad).
Will be interesting watching your suit evolve. We like geekery:)
Bring on all the geeky details!
It looks wonderful so far!
How amazing!!! I have so much admiration for anyone that can sew, especially a swimsuit!
From Carys of La Ville Inconnue
Looks great Casey! The knot detail on the shorts is so cute! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
-Emma
AWESOME! Damn you’re good!
God I want that pattern!!!!! I’ve been collecting inspiration to just do a free-hand draped version of a 40s suit, but man you found the perfect pattern. And job well done on the bottoms. I know they’re not done yet, but I can tell they’ll be awesome. I can’t wait to see what fabric you use! And any chance you want to let me borrow that pattern when you’re done? : )
Ooh! I’m really excited for you with this!! I like the top, and think that will look great on you. Fun stuff!!!
Love,
Mom
PS: Love Joe!
Wow, looks fab! One day I aspire to be as good a seamstress as you and Gertie – I’ve just started work on my very first dress from a vintage pattern (and – bad me – I’m too impatient to do a muslin first, I just dived straight in, I’m just following the instructions very carefully and making sure to leave plenty of seam allowance for alterations!)
As an aside, I was completely taken aback at how much that early picture of Marilyn resembles you! I’m not kidding, at first I actually thought you’d pasted your own face over a vintage photo as a mock-up of “here’s how I’ll look in my swimsuit when it’s done” or something!
xx Charlotte
Tuppence Ha’penny Vintage
Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Ooh, this looks great! I am so keen to see all the sewing geekery details as I am only just learning and any information is good to know!
The swimsuit looks so cute, I hope I can manage to sew my own one day!
xox,
b. of Depict This!
This is going to be beautiful! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
I am loving this! I ended up scrapping my Alison swimsuit, so I still need to find a good vintage suit pattern. Yours is going to be so great! I should really try trolling eBay I guess. Can’t wait to see it in your fabric.
Oh, looks promising, love the details! And I actually appreciate the geeky sewing stuff, as a fellow seamstress it’s always interesting to find out how other people do it, their fitting issues etc. Keep us posted on the progress!
Oh my! I have that same pattern, and as a matter of fact had to grade it *up* from 34… we should have a trade!
I was just thinking about getting my muslin started, too. Kismet! Looking forward to reading about your progress as I sew along!
Kiki v.
kikivontiki.etsy.com
I wish I was a talented seamstress. You’re so talented. I love the pattern you found. I adore 40s bathing suits, and the one you are using has such a fabulous top and bottom! I hope it turns out the way you are hoping after all your careful work
Casey,
Thanks for telling me about the Thin Man movies. I picked one up from the library and watched it last night. This one was Thin Man Goes Home. It had a cute story line but I don’t think the clothes were as good as the ones you showed from the movie you saw. They did show a window front of a clothing store, and had a couple of bras and a dress and a chenille robe for $4.95. So cool!!
It had some great kitchen scenes though, with vintage kitchen items which I love to see. I think I even spotted a Fiestaware bowl which is my fav!! I’ll have to see if I can track down some more of these cute movies.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know. I hope you are having a super weekend.
Kristy
WOW! Great job! That looks so awesome!
♥ Teresa ♥
Ooooohh! SO exciting! I’ve never made a bathing suit before…this is looking ever so lovely and promising so far!! (All your projects are always elegant beyond words!) happy new week to You!!
oh my goodness Casey I love your suit! I can’t wait to see it made up in the material. I LOVE the stripe-y one on Martha Vickers. The faux tie is such a great touch.
I hope you are enjoying your summer! I have been enjoying reading your recent posts.
*~*~*sarah
It looks marvelous! How is it going? Have you finished it already?
I’m completely in love with your blog, your style and your clothes are amazing! Congratulations on that!