inside: Learn how to turn a one piece swim suit into a two piece suit. This sewing hack uses my girls classic suit, but you can use this sewing hack to turn any one piece suit into a two piece suit.
I love my girls classic swimsuit pattern. It’s done well for my daughter over the years. The past couple years she’s been asking for a two piece suit and this pattern works well for that as well. Today I thought I would share how I turn this one piece pattern into a two piece suit. You can use this sewing hack with any pattern, or buy mine below.
Two piece swim suit sewing hack
This suit turned out so so cute, but I’m going to admit right at the top here that I used photoshop to put Rose on the beach. We took these photos in our home and the weather is NOT swim ready {although we are dreaming!} So just pretend with me that we recently took a beach vacation {although we haven’t in a long time} haha!
We blew up our innertube and took photos yesterday to show how cute and practical this suit is. One of the things I’m most proud of with my swim suit pattern is that is has great coverage and fits really well. The perfect suit that will not slip or slide and stays put while you play and swim.
I’ve been sewing this suit for Rose for many years {and variations of it} and it’s perfect every summer. I had this fabric in my stash and also used a lining fabric for a fully lined suit. I’ll give some fabric and lining links below.
To see photos of tiny Rose in this suit or purchase this pattern click the buttons below.
Other swim patterns and tutorials to try
- How to sew swim elastic perfect every time
- The best swim patterns for kids
- Free swim shirt sewing patterns
- Free toddler swim suit pattern {only one size}
How to turn a one piece suit into a two piece
Ok! let’s dive into the the sewing! This won’t be a full sewing tutorial as whatever pattern you are using for your suit should have the full instructions. This will just be some basic tips that you can use to create a two piece suit from your one piece pattern. The buttons below will give you more information about my girls basic suit which I am using here in this tutorial.
- Swim fabric from Raspberry Creek and knitFabric {dot} com
- Swim lining fabric
- These are some places I have ordered quality swim fabric {the kind that holds up well to water and sun, but there are probably many other places to get swim fabric.
New to sewing swim? Check out this tutorial for sewing swim elastic.
Here you can see my lining fabric, swim fabric and elastic. I’m using 3/4″ elastic for the waist and chest and 1/4″ for leg and arm openings. I do not use any special elastic. I have not had trouble with it breaking down. I find that the fabric wears out before the elastic, so I don’t bother to buy swim elastic.
Here are my trace off pieces from the original swim pattern. I traced a size 12 in length and size 8 in width.
Now it’s time to create the bottoms. Match the bottom hip sides. Use a pair of underwear, other swim suit or measure the rise of your child to determine how high it should go. Add 1″ for elastic then cut.
Here are the bottoms cut and the elastic casing folded over.
Let’s do the same for the top. Line up the underarm, and again measure with a sports bra, swim top or measure down from the shoulders. Cut enough for elastic casing to fold over. I had about 1.5″ of extra middle paper after cutting away the top and bottom.
Now you have your four pieces and are ready to cut. Cut one of each from swim fabric and from lining mesh. Remember to check out the original girls swim post and the shop listing if you want to purchase. Also see my tutorial for sewing swim elastic for tips.
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