Sewing Skivvies: Mary from Young, Broke, and Fabulous on Sewing her Amazing Swimsuit

I am so pleased to announce that Mary from Young, Broke, and Fabulous is doing a guest post today. I haven't been following Mary for very long - her wonderful outfits kept popping up in the MMM flickr group and every day I resisted for some unknown reason, but then it turns out that she went (goes?) to my alma mater so I knew it was meant to be. 

And it was meant to be! She makes the most adorable vintage-inspired clothing, like this sailor skirt and top, this Leanne Marshall dress with trees! and birds!, and this beautiful version of the Colette Licorice. But don't think Mary is all about the vintage inspired dresses. She made a pin-up Robin cosplay outfit, she's making a quilt out of Nightshade fabric, she made a Colette dress out of Victorian gothic fabric, and, in case you haven't recognized her quite yet, she competed in the Super Online Sewing Match. This girl is on fire! Of course, as this is part of the Show Off Your Skivvies Challenge, I asked Mary to talk a bit about her (adorable) swimsuit and how she made it.

Hey there, skivvy folks! A couple of weeks ago, Kristin asked if I would be interested in writing a guest post about my me-made swimsuit, and I heartily agreed. This is actually my first-ever guest blog post, so please bear with any awkwardness. -_- 

So I guess I fall into the "big girl" category of seamstresses, though I don't particularly feel "big". My apparent fatness, however, is part of why swimwear and I have had a rocky relationship over the years. Last month, I made myself my very first me-made swimsuit for a trip to the beach. I was really excited to go about doing this because swimsuit shopping has always been a fairly traumatic experience for me. The last time I went to a store and bought one, I literally ended up crying in the dressing room. It was always an awful scavenger hunt looking for something that was comfortable, well-fitting, supportive, aesthetically pleasing, affordable, and that I didn't feel too self-conscious in. I always, always had to settle. 

If I found something supportive, if was always a halter-top that killed my neck (36G breasts are downright painful when mixed with a halter-top). If I found something in a color and style that I liked, it wasn't available in my size. Everything was at least somewhat uncomfortable given that my thighs chafe horribly and finding a women's swimsuit that covers my thighs and that I actually like is high near impossible. Even if I found something that suited my bare bones necessities in a swimsuit, it always cost me at least $100. Trust me, there was a reason that I very rarely went swimming or to the beach. 

Sewing's changed all that. A while back, a friend of mine had commissioned me to make her a ballroom dress that was basically a leotard with a Grecian style drape over top. I used Ohhh Lulu's Ginger bodysuit pattern for the leotard, and that was essentially my first venture into swimwear-esque apparel. When I decided that I wanted to make my own swimsuit, I chose to use the bra-top separate version of the Ginger pattern for my bikini top. 

Deciding on the bottoms was trickier, but then it occurred to me to use the new Megan Nielsen Tania culottes pattern for the bottoms. I made up a test version in a knit and I was pleased to discover that they actually looked like a circle skirt, rather than "dorky shorts" (as Megan herself said on the subject). 

Last month, I ordered up some nylon spandex from The Fabric Fairy and some swimsuit lining for the the bikini top from Hancock's. The culottes part was an easy sew. 

My main alterations were eliminating the seam allowances of the waistband to account for the knit fabric (the pattern was created with wovens in mind) and created a dart in the back waistband to prevent gaping (I have a small waist in comparison to my large hips). I cut off the inside part of the dart once I sewed it, and then finished the new raw edge, essentially creating a seam in the back waistband. 

The top was a little trickier. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for the cups since premade cups in my size virtually don't exist for home sewists and swimsuit cup foam cost more than I could afford. I ended up harvesting the cups from an old bra that I had that was falling apart. I probably should have done an FBA for the top, but I wasn't entirely sure how to go about it with the Ginger pattern. 

The top ended up fitting well enough, though I'm a little wary of spillage when I wear it near my period (my boobs grow like half a cup size during that time of the month). Like I said earlier, I'm a G cup, so women below that size shouldn't have a problem sewing the Ginger top without an FBA. 

I still need to practice sewing that place where the cups and lower bodice come together because I can never seem to get it right. It's the one place where the fabric stretches to the point of distorting the print a bit. 

I'm also a little iffy about my strap casings, but that's mostly personal laziness. I made the casings before I really knew what I wanted to do with the straps. I found this elastic in my stash that's really strong and seems to be chlorine safe and turned out to be perfect for the straps, though not as wide as my casings. I didn't feel like turning them inside out and re-sewing them again, so... Yeah. I just have to deal with the loose casings twisting a bit over the course of wearing the swimsuit. 

Everything else on the top sewed together well and I didn't have any problems finishing it with the elastic. Fitting in the underbust elastic for extra support was a little tricky, but that had more to do with my stubborn sewing machine giving me grief. I'm glad I put forth the effort to add the elastic because it really does give a nice amount of additional support. 

So now the body issues stuff. Believe me, I am no stranger to body insecurity. I've never been what society would consider to be a "skinny" girl, but I've never been what I consider to be "fat". I've always been at this in between size that caused me lots of frustration before I started sewing. I was too big for stores that sold stuff for my age group (like Forever 21), but plus-size stores carried clothes that were too big for me or I just plain didn't like. 

My upper thighs have always been an area on contention because as I said before, I chafe horribly there. Short shorts and pretty much all commercially available swimsuits are all terribly uncomfortable for me. I have a bunch of biking shorts and whatnot that I wear under my skirts and dresses in my quest to prevent chafing. 

Once I made this swimsuit, I was excited to finally have swimwear that i could wear out and about without having to worry about being in pain the entire time. A bitchy "friend" of mine told me upon seeing it, "You know that your swim bottoms are practically capris, right?" I kind of wanted to smack her. All the other feedback I got regarding my swimsuit was overwhelmingly positive. 

Let's talk about these pictures, shall we? 

I'm continually amazed by what sewing has done for my self-confidence. If someone had told me last year that I would be swing dancing in front of other people in a swimsuit a year later and then posting the pictures on the internet, I would have laughed at them. Because of my ability to make my own clothes, I feel better about my body now as a 190ish pound 22 year old (the "biggest" I've ever been) than I did as a 150 pound 17 year old (the "smallest" I've ever been as an adult-like creature). 

I look into the mirror and I'm happy, and I think a large part of that is because my personal style and image is no longer limited by what the fashion industry deems appropriate for me. I can literally wear whatever the hell I want. If I want purple scalloped shorts and a dinosaur print top, then I can damn well make and have them. Pretty stylish clothes are available to me in ways they weren't back when I could only find them in "small" sizes. It's a lot easier to be body positive in relation to yourself when you're able to dress yourself in a way that makes you happy. 

But yes, back to the pictures. This was at a lindy exchange in South Carolina (kind of like a swing dance convention) and on the last day we had a cook-out and a slip and slide. I didn't actually take part in the slip and slide, but I did wear my swimsuit (like most of the other attendees). After all, it was like 90ºF outside. I admit, I was a little nervous taking off my cover up top, but once I did, I got so, so many compliments. 

The culottes looked kind of awesome dancing, and the top was plenty supportive, despite the bouncy dancing. I got tons of commission inquiries and compliments from attractive members of the opposite sex and for the first time ever, I felt hot in a swimsuit (and I'm not just talking about the weather). 

So I guess the point of what I'm saying is that if you don't like swimwear and don't feel confident wearing it, then make your swimsuit yourself. I was able to show off my favorite parts of my body and hide the parts that I don't particularly like. I was able to address all the issues I have with commercial swimsuits (chafing and neck pain) and actually choose my swimsuit's print and color, rather than settling for what fit. 

 

Ok, so how do I end this thing? *awkward silence* 

Here, have a bucket of sloths.  

Seriously, go check out Mary's blog already!

Show Off Your Skivvies: Gaining Confidence and Power

So after I posted my long rant, I was feeling pretty confident about everything. I already have a few things in mind that I want to make (and I'll post soon about where you can find great patterns and ideas), but after a few hours, I was like, "UNDERWEAR??? I can't post pictures of myself in my underwear! What was I thinking?"

Another swimsuit picture - just to get
me more comfortable with posting them.

But then after a bit of panic, reason came back and reminded me that if I'm willing to pose in a bikini, I should be just fine in underwear. Also, if I do get terribly nervous for some reason, I can still post them to the flickr group since it's strictly just us lovely sewers in there.

We shall see!

However, when you've grown up with body issues like I have, thinking about stripping down for essentially the first time may make you a little light headed and somewhat nauseous and want to back out. (I mean, gosh, that just happens when I go to the beach - let alone post photos for people to see!) The whole point of this is to make us feel more confident and more powerful, but to be honest, thinking about doing something like this can also have the exact opposite effect.

Friends, I understand.

Do you watch Ted Talks? I really enjoy what is essentially a series of lectures. But because that's what it is, I always put off watching them. But bookmark this page right now because you NEED to watch this 21 minute Ted Talk.

Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist who studies prejudice and stereotyping and in this specific Ted Talk, she tells us about an experiment she did with "power posing." Common psychology knowledge (I think?) is that women tend to shrink themselves up and make themselves small whereas men, especially "alpha males," take up a lot of space.

The result is that men get more attention, are usually more liked, have better grades/salaries/positions in life, and annoyingly get to take up 2 seats on the train (and a 3rd if they have a briefcase!).

We know all this, or at least scientists and psychologists do, as well as people like me who dream of going to grad school for psychology. But what does that mean for the rest of us who feel powerless and increasingly resentful and angry?

Okay, so Amy Cuddy explains in the video that holding one of the power poses for 2 minutes (say, in the bathroom or elevator or wherever you feel comfortable) can not only make you feel more powerful but it actually changes your hormones:

It increases your testosterone (so you feel more powerful and capable) and it lowers your cortisol levels (so there's less stress and anxiety).

This is a huge breakthrough, especially for someone like me who is trying to take control of my life and not just be lost and confused and end up a casualty of a bustling NYC. I was actually watching this and I thought, "This is a great idea. I don't think I'm going to do it."

Then Amy casually let it slide that one of the weakest things a person can do is hold their neck, especially as they're collapsing into themselves. I DO THAT ALL THE TIME! And I'm always stressed out and upset and, you guys, I fake confidence a lot, but mostly I just want to run and hide. And what Amy was suggesting was also faking confidence, but her way had real results! Eventually I can become more confident and powerful like I used to be.

So I've been doing the power poses every day this week in the shower. And I don't know if it's actually working or if it's a placebo effect (does it matter?), but I feel so much better. In fact, yesterday was the day I forgot to do them, and it was by far the worst day I've had in awhile. Coincidence? I think not.

So I want to share this with you. Already feeling confident and powerful? Do it anyway - the world needs more badass women. I don't want to hear any excuses. Do it every day, and do it right before your photoshoot in your underthings if you need to.

I can't wait to see everyone's creations! I'm hoping to bust out some French Knickers this weekend, and if I'm lucky, I'll start a swimsuit or two. I found an awesome tutorial about making undies from your fabric scraps too - so maybe that'll become another project? I'm going to put together a resource list soon if you are looking for ideas.

And be on the lookout for a swimsuit pattern giveaway from Ashley tomorrow! It will be posted on Craft Sanctuary so check back!

Body Image Issues and a Challenge: Show Off Your Skivvies!

Settle in, this is a long one.

Disclaimer: I can't speak for anyone but me so my apologies if I come off that way. I am a young, white woman living in America so I'm not sure if this is relevant to everyone who reads this, but maybe? There is also some language ahead, but please stick with me because I eventually come back around to sewing, I promise!

I never had a serious weight problem. I was a healthy child and mostly a healthy adult. I did gain about 35 pounds after college, but most people don't really consider that overweight, and if I show them pictures, I look almost exactly the same as I did now. Luckily, kind of, I'm a pear shape, so I can hide all of my weight in my hips.

One of the few swimsuit pictures I have of myself (from 3 years ago) because I don't normally take off my cover/dress.

I'm sharing this because even though I looked adorable as any child does and like any normal person as an adult, I still have scores of problems with my weight. I tried to go on a diet when I was 6. I told my dad I needed stomach surgery when I was 9 or 10. (My poor dad.) I rarely dated in high school because I didn't think I was skinny enough for anyone to even consider dating. My mother is very much overweight (though incredibly gorgeous - I get my looks from her) and yet I heard for many years that "no one would love [her] because [she's] fat."

This is an absurd statement and I refuse to address how ridiculous it is, but hearing that and internalizing that for years, among other equally ridiculous statements, while I was growing up did not help my love life or really, my life and body image in general.

Me after college. 

And after college when I gained those 35 pounds? I tried losing it by going to the gym every day while restricting myself to just 1000-1500 calories/day. I did not lose weight. But after about a year or two of crazy dieting ideas and lots of exercise, I did get food poisoning and I lost 20 pounds in 2 days.

I was so excited because I looked amazing skinny. Plus, everyone wanted to know my secret because I looked good thin. After explaining about the food poisoning and how I wanted to wait before resuming dieting and exercising so I could recover and be healthy, no one could understand why.

No, this isn't a healthy way to live. But worse than that: I know I'm not the only one who experiences this because I have talked about this with other women. Lots of them.

Via

Now I'm at the lowest weight I've ever been at, I'm happier with how I look, and you know what? My cellulite hasn't gone anywhere. My thighs still touch. I have a belly pouch that swells several inches for a few hours after each meal. I'm completely disproportionate. And yet I feel amazingly confident in clothing. But not without clothing. I hate undressing. I hate going to the beach. I still have a lot of body issues even though I've gotten a lot better.

However, today, at this point in my life, I am fed up with it and want to stop. And I want everyone else around me and in the media to stop.

Of course it's not that simple, especially living in this culture. Why do we sexualize women, starting with when they hit puberty? Why does our worth always seem to tie into our looks? Why does the media, and to a larger extent men and even other women attempt to police our looks and wardrobe? Why do we listen to them?? (Seriously, I understand having beauty icons, but how did we take it so far?)

Another disclaimer: I do not claim to be above any of this. As I stated before, I am a woman living in America so I am in this just as much as everyone. But my point is that women should do what they want, look how they want, be how they want, and they should be free from criticism in as far as looks are concerned. (Criticize my seams all you want...)

I know that the world will never be perfect, but why shouldn't we continually strive for a better world?

I'm a pear shape. Describing my body as a piece of fruit that has no arms or legs or even a head has always seemed strange to me, but I definitely fall into the pear category. As a pear, I have heard my entire life about how I need to camouflage my hips and thighs. I can wear swimsuits, as long as I wear a skirt or sarong to cover up my "problem areas." A-line dresses generally are the best thing for me to wear because they emphasize my little waist and flare out so people don't have to take notice of my "unsightly" hips.

I should also stay away from anything loose because it will make me look "fat" and I should stay away from anything tight because it will also make me look "fat."

I understand that most women trying to come to grips with her fruit partner has her own set of rules she must abide by. I'm sure they're all equally ridiculous.

Sexy pears breaking the rules and looking hot.

When the Mad Men challenge comes up every year, I look through all the dresses before I resign myself to doing a Betty dress. I don't have a body like the other women on the show so I don't think I can pull off something tight and formfitting so something that flares out would be perfect for me. This is usually the point where everyone yells, "What about Joan?!" But Joan, in all of her gloriousness, does not have a body that represent me.

So when I chose this year's pencil dress, I figured it would be another disaster. I was planning to go ahead and make it A-line to "fit me better," but then something strange happened.

I spoke about this briefly before but Romola Garai influenced me a lot. She's a beautiful and somewhat larger actress. She's by no means overweight, but at least in America, if she worked in our modeling world, she'd be considered plus-size.

So anyway, she has a set of hips of her, which I love, and she rocks the pencil dress in The Hour.

Interestingly, all the pictures on google are either of her waist up, sitting down, or standing at an angle so you can't see her hips. This is the closest I could find and does not do her justice.

After watching both seasons of The Hour, I hesitantly decided to go forward with my own pencil dress. And it was perfect, at least in the way all perfection is when you stand 5-10 feet away. (Pay no attention to my seams!)

A similar type of terror went through me when I signed up for the 1920s Great Gatsby sewing challenge for the exact opposite reason. Instead of showing off my curves, I'd be covering them up with bagging clothing. What would I look like when the smallest part of me wasn't highlighted?

Via

I was not one to back away from a challenge so easily so I researched tons of patterns and photos and drawings from and inspired by the era. How would pleats make my hips look? Should I nip in the waist and top? Would ruffles emphasize my hips? I even had my brother photoshop a bunch of different designs for me so I could get an idea if I would hate it or not.

Really what stopped the craziness for the Great Gatsby challenge was the fact that the fabric store only had 1.25 yards of fabric left for the material I wanted. Since I was too lazy to go back and get contrasting or complementary fabric, my mind had to stop with all the what-ifs and figure out how to make it work.

Then I came across an article for plus sized clothing in the 1920s and how flattering it could be, and as I looked at the women (and they did look great), I just realized how ridiculous I was being. I just seemed to be hearing over and over in my mind: Just do it. Who cares? None of these women cared. They look great.

And so I went for it. I found a pattern that had minimal cuts (so I could make something else out of it if it was a disaster) and I love the result.

The point is this: We women are taught that we have to look a certain way, we have to act a certain way, and we have to make sure other women look and act a certain way so we don't feel as bad about ourselves. We call each other names and put each other down, and for what? Why? We don't feel better about ourselves.

Why do we constantly compare our bodies to each other when we don't compare anything else in our lives? (And if you do, you should stop doing that too.) But even more importantly, why do we allow ourselves to be treated this way?

I've been there, really, I have. I still struggle with it, and I probably always will. But just because someone's smaller than you, doesn't mean that they don't have body issues themselves. Just because someone is larger than you doesn't mean they have a problem.

I write about my own struggles with accepting my body because I want to acknowledge the problem that's there and overcome it.

But I'm also writing about it because sewing (especially sewing my last two dresses) has helped me overcome so many of my body issues.

Sewing has helped tremendously because for so long I thought many fashions were just not accessible. And honestly, they aren't if I choose to buy my own clothing. In being able to craft and sew and make things work with my body shape, I've really come to love and appreciate everything I have going on.

And as well, it makes me want to speak out to encourage more self-love and remind everyone that we shouldn't be competing with each other, especially over something as fleeting as our looks. We're all in this together.

I really don't want my weight to be an issue, but it's not something I can easily ignore. No matter where I go, I see someone exercising, someone on a diet, someone complaining about their body, someone else getting called fat, someone asking me how much weight I'm trying to lose, and I've even had a stranger tell me not to buy a cookie with my lunch because it has too many calories. (I bought it anyway.)

Look, beautiful women of every size!

Ladies, we're not only making ourselves miserable, but we're making everyone around us miserable. You want to be healthy? Fantastic. I'll support you 100%. But crash dieting and crazy exercising and obsessing over weight isn't going to achieve that.

Furthermore, I'm tired of being policed on what I wear. Fuck these rules and A-line dresses. I want to wear what I feel good in, which is anything I damn well please. I'm sure there are things that make me look awful, but you know what? It's not my job to look good for you.

This is something I've internalized and struggled with and it seems like more people are talking about it now, especially with the Bombshell swimsuit challenge. And even with Gertie's post about people complaining about arm flaps. For real! Arm flaps, like, where your arm connects to your shoulder - something everyone has if they have arms.

I know I look lean, but I don't have the perfect body by any means. And that's okay because I'm human. I don't want to compare my body to anyone else's because there's no one exactly like me. I like my stretch marks, thighs, and a belly pouch. I'm still learning to love my cellulite, and hopefully one day it will come. I'm starting to get wrinkles, and I know I'm weird, but that excites me.

Okay so after all that, I have a point! An experiment! A challenge!

If sewing something as simple as a pencil skirt or a 1920s dress can change my mind so radically, what would sewing a bra or a swimsuit or a pair of underwear do?

I don't know about you guys, but almost nothing I have going on underneath my clothing is comfortable. I'm constantly adjusting straps (in all places) and checking to make sure nothing's sticking out. And in almost every post I make I mention how much I hate strapless bras. And I hate swimsuits! They bunch up. They're flimsy. There's usually no support. And they're usually way too sexy for me to rock! I bought a one piece (see photo above) and it doesn't fit either! My torso is way too long so the top stretches out and the back droops.

I want to start making ALL of my clothes, including bras and underwear and swimsuits and lingerie and maybe even some bloomers just for fun. And if all goes according to plan (and even if it doesn't), I'm going to model them here.

And I want you to join me!


I've been discussing this with Ashley over at Craft Sanctuary and she agrees - it's time we make our underthings and it's time we showed them off - for the same reason we show off everything we make, success or not.

How are we supposed to know how to adjust a pattern or if something is supportive or whatever if we don't have anything to compare it to? Let's create something comfortable and beautiful for us - just like our fabulous wardrobes.

We're challenging everyone to Show Off Your Skivvies! We have a flickr group* and a button and a twitter hashtag (#sewingskivvies) and we're challenging you to make something that goes underneath your clothing by July 31st and show it off! We'll have a big reveal on our blogs on August 1st and we'll be featuring people from the flickr group each week. We'll also have ideas, interviews, and a giveaway or two so stay tuned!

We're not looking for you to make a corset and thong and pose spread eagle on your bedspread a la Victoria's Secret - we're just looking to take back control of our bodies and make some comfortable items for our closet.

I have a few things I want to make - maybe a lacy slip or some french knickers... and a swimsuit or two from this awesome fabric I found this weekend. Eventually I'd love to make a bra, but I'm not sure I can do all of these things by August!

Future swimsuit - that fits!

At the risk of sounding corny, we are beautiful because of our curves (or lack thereof) and our wrinkles and our moles and our stretch marks. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If they do, they're not worth having in your lives.

So what do you think? Are you in? Have something you want to make? And go check out Ashley's post to get her take on body image - we clearly grew up in 2 different places!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/sewingskivvies/" title="Show Off Your Skivvies" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-B_dKzpLe76mrRlGCEZUBIPKgvjMIkNI6fVtb5SnUspNVJqMJzMGhkQk1aFhRzgjzc4mxlxJebNKp7uuOC1eJLPZkqYWke8bjtC-kv5sxIpFYXXZtG5x4F1JNqxrXCdnHZvj_UmfAmA/s252/show+off.jpg" alt="Show Off Your Skivvies" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And I know you want the button! Just copy and paste the text to add it to your blog.

*One last note: in the interest of personal privacy, the flickr group is set to private.  You must be a member of the group to post photos and to see photos of others!  When you join the group, make sure there is some way for us to figure out who you are (tell us the name of your blog, say hi, link to your flickr profile, etc.).  We're looking for friendly sewists who want to help each other learn, not creepers who want to look at construction photos of undies.  If you DO NOT want your photos to be a part of the "big reveal" on our blogs for any reason, please let either Ashley or myself know by sending us an e-mail!