Swimsuit set: Ava top & Margoux panties

Hello!

I wanted to share a more recent swimsuit ensemble I made. I made the Ava top by SewSwimmingly, and the Margoux panties by Evie la Luve. The panties pattern is originally a lingerie pattern. But it works so well as a swimsuit pattern too! I'll go over what I did differently to make it swim appropriate. What I needed to make this ensemble was lycra, lining, rings, boning & foam (for the top).

Here’s some pix!

Wore this in Costa Rica, @ the beach!

I made the Ava top in a size XS & the Margoux panties in a size S, according to my measurements. When I finished assembling the Ava top, I found that I was unable to tie the back & that it was too short.. so I did have to modify the back to be significantly longer so that I would be able to tie it. I wasted a little bit of fabric, but thankfully this was an easy fix. I watched the video sew along by SewSwimmingly. This was my first time ever using boning.. I would have liked for the instructions to mention the necessity of filing down the sharp ends of the boning. As a first timer, the thought didn't even come to mind! Otherwise, the instructions were great.

This was my first time making the Margoux panties. I used lycra & swimsuit lining, along with 8 rings for the straps. I actually omitted the crotch lining piece, since I figured that with two layers of fabric, it would be line anyways. So it consists of just the front and back! I serged the lycra front & back, & swimsuit lining front & back separately. Then, with the wrong sides facing each other, I serged the top and leg openings together.. This makes it easier to attach the binding. Plus, no basting was needed! For the binding, I cut out long strips of 1.25" lycra, and zig zagged them to the openings & cut-outs. I added the rings to each strap attachment. The straps were 1.25" long strips serged together and turned inside out. I attached one strap to each ring. Then, I tied each strap together in a bow! I love how it turned out, and it's super comfortable! I think it would look great at a rave, and I def intend on using this pattern again in the future.

Thanks for reading!