I’ll get back to Julie’s Hyacinth/Lilac/Wisteria and maybe Periwinkle dress/shorts/bell bottoms/crop top/ etc. shortly, but as I was looking through that 1974 pattern book, I ran across a picture of a bathing suit and started laughing out loud at a memory from 8th grade… I had forgotten that I had already written a post about it, but this is that post from 2015… Hope it makes you laugh out loud too!
Post from 2015:
I am working on a doll dress but didn’t want to show it just yet, so I decided to tell a story that I was reminded of by something in my last post. Many of you were taken by surprise when I showed the green soccer ball fleece I used in my new pillow shams… (HERE) I was talking to my “decorator sister” on the phone today and she said she was a little shocked to see the green soccer ball fleece being used as my batting too. Then she asked me if it showed through? I told her no, it didn’t and that reminded me of a story I told her:
When I was in 8th grade, the big class trip at the end of the year was a swimming party down at Horseshoe Lake in Kentucky. Being the seamstress I was, even in 8th grade, I began to plan on making a new bathing suit. It had to be perfect for the class trip. I found this pattern and decided to make it out of a pretty light pink floral print. It was going to be beautiful…it had a little apron on it and it would be so cute!
I found the pattern I used in my vintage 70’s pattern book…
I was this skinny little thing and wasn’t “well endowed” at all in the 8th grade…in fact, if I turned sideways and stuck out my tongue, I sort of resembled a zipper! I decided to line the bra part of my bathing suit with (again…) whatever I had that would work for some padding. I had some red and white houndstooth check bonded double knit…anyone remember that stuff? It looked like this…I turned the red and white part to the back and used the white “bonded” side facing outward.
So I got my bathing suit all finished and was feeling pretty stylish in it. I thought it looked pretty cute on me and I had a little bit of extra “padding” up at the top which helped my confidence tremendously.
Then I got in the water… well, who’s already beat me to the punch line? That red and white fabric didn’t seem to matter that it was facing inward; once it got wet, it was red and white through and through. I had this nice pink floral swimsuit…apron, shoulder straps and bottoms, but the bust area was this awful mix of red and white checks with a muted pink floral design in the mix. Needless to say, I was mortified and stayed under water most of the time!
So my sister and I had a good laugh over it when I told her. Then she said, “Did I ever tell you about MY swimsuit story?” I told her I didn’t think so. She said she had made a swim suit for something she went to and guess what she made hers out of? TERRYCLOTH! Then she said, “You’ve never seen anything so awful as a terrycloth bikini bathing suit when it got wet!” I guess not!
Maybe everyone has a funny bathing suit story… Do you?
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, that might just be about my most embarrassing moment… I do have a few more… but that was up at the top for now…
Hope you smiled, but I hope no one was as stupid as I was to do a thing like that… Where was the towel when I needed one?
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love it, Jeanne, and yes, it made me laugh. Especially the description of yourself looking like a zipper if you turned sideways and stuck your tongue out. Me, exactly!!
I made my first bathing suit when I was late teens/early 20s, before you could buy swim fabric, so mine was white eyelet lined with plain cotton, and styled rather similarly to yours, with a “skirt”. Of course the bra part of the top was highly structured (since we didn’t have stretch fabrics or bra cups in those days), and as I recalled, it was pretty cute and I did wear it some.
But that all changed when I started taking Stretch & Sew classes at my local S&S store, and made a swimsuit with REAL swim fabric! And it turned out nicely, and I have made several others since then. If I were to start swimming again, I would doubtless have to make another suit, as I have “grown” since I made the last one!
Hi Charlotte,
My family thought I was a bit kooky, I think… I was bathing suit crazy… I think I had 8 one time… I just loved making them… maybe I was just looking for the one that made me “look” better on top1 ;o)
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
So funny…..and embarrasing for you, Jeanne! I have no swimming suit tale to tell, and for sure would not even think of making a swimming suit, since I am not a swimer in the least sense, but I do remember the last swimming suit I had, back in the mid-60’s! Yes, THAT long ago! It was from the Sears catalog, wow, a two piece leopard print suit! And noting like todays two pieces, the bottoms went up to my waist, not a bikini, mind you! At least I had the figure back then, but my swimming days are over!
HI Linda,
It hasn’t been in the ’60’s that I was in my last bathing suit, but I shudder to think of me being in one now… the dreaded swimsuit search…
Your bathing suit sounds like something from a James Bond movie… some of those were pretty stylish!
I think my swimming days are over too… and I’m not quite 65…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the vintage patterns. I remember your swimsuit pattern although I never made it with the apron part. 🙂 I do recall my first bikini though. We were in Hawaii on a vacation probably about 1964, and I found the perfect suit at a great shop on Waikiki. It was something that was not carried in the stores at home, and I loved it. It was white pique cotton with small blue embroidered flowers. The bottom had a zipper if you can believe and it landed a few inches below the navel. The top was simple and maybe buttoned in the back. Can’t remember, but I’ll have to look because I still have it! Doesn’t fit of course. 🙂 I can remember the sunburn I had in a stripe around the middle from the usual at the waist suits to the new lower bikini line. Ouch.
HI Joy,
Oh we don’t “have” to see it on you, but it would be fun for you to drag out and show us… sounds fun!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a hilarious swimsuit story but how embarrassing for you. I made a couple swimsuits in high school. We had swim class so I needed more than one. They were made from cotton fabric because knits were not a big thing back then and most of my bought suits were cotton or what they called sharkskin.
I don’t have a funny bathing suit story but a story about what happens to t-shirt knit fabric when it gets wet. Fortunately the outfit was on my then three-year old granddaughter. After Jaiden was born I made her several cute dresses not realizing her mother absolutely refuses to iron anything. She gave my son’s ironing board away. I got tired of seeing Jaiden in rumpled cotton dresses so I decided if I was going to make things for her I should use knit fabric. I found this wonderful pattern system called “Sewing Modkids Style”. I was pretty proud of myself making these adorable clothes that don’t need a lot of care.
At the time my son and his family were living next door. I looked out my window one day and my daughter-in-law and the grandkids were outside playing with the hose. I looked at Jaiden and her shorts that had a “yoga” waistband were soaked and slowly creeping down her legs. Her mother was not pleased. I asked her what did she think was going to happen when shorts with that kind of waistband got wet. After hearing her answer which included a comment about how things I made usually being a problem (her tongue lacks a pause button), I must confess I decided to no longer be the doting grandmother who sews for her grandkids. I went back to sewing for my dolls. I get along great with my daughter-in-law as long as I keep my sewing to myself.
HI Barbara,
After reading your story, I hope my grandkids (if I ever get any) will love to have grandma sew for them…. too bad your DIL doesn’t understand your love and sewing… I bet that stung in the beginning… :o(
Oh well, your dolls love what you make the, so just think of it as more time with them… :o)
Thanks Barbara,
blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, what a funny story. I am sure at the time it was horrible.
My childhood embarrassing stories involve tripping and falling.
One week until May!!!
HI Dorothy,
Not only was it horrible, it was mortifying… I was the president of my 8th grade class…
Yep, one more week till May… wasn’ t I supposed to have my cabinets finished? Oh dear… I’m blaming it on my sisters now… :o)
But I’m getting close… I better look up that cake recipe I’m going to make and share with everyone…
Blessings, Jeanne
That was a very funny story Jeanne, I never made a swimsuit. I did cut one out about 30 years ago but never finished it and I still have the pieces. I could use them for the leotard in the Friday Freebie today lol. I think there are lots of embarrassing stories in my past
but I try to forget them lol
HI Anne,
I think you should finish your swimsuit… just so you could say, “It once took me 30 years to make a swimsuit!”
I better look at Pixiefaire today… I forgot…
Thanks Anne,
blessings, Jeanne