So! Today I finally felt well enough to take some photos of my self-made swimsuit. Let me just say, though, that for years I have loathed trying on swimsuits, wearing swimsuits, and generally being near them at all. I’m sure many girls feel my pain, especially if they’re on the curvier end of the spectrum, as I am. But you know, an unexpected thing happened – I think I look good in this swimsuit.

After much searching for a suitable swimsuit pattern, I stumbled across a tutorial on how to make a swimsuit top out of an old bra. I was a little unsure at first – I’m not exactly rolling in bras, and wasn’t sure if I wanted to sacrifice one. But then I thought oh well, I have one I’m not super attached to, let’s give it a go.

I followed the tutorial fairly closely, but instead of covering the back band in swimsuit fabric, I traced them and then cut them off, and made a back band in one piece out of my swimsuit fabric, rather than two pieces with a clasp. I then traced a tank top of mine that fit to make a front and back pattern piece, and sewed those onto the bra. I left a gap between the cups so I could make a fabric tie to put between them. I used one long rectangle of fabric to make the halter neck tie.

It was hard to decide what size I wanted to make the swimsuit – I’m still losing weight fairly steadily, so I didn’t want to make it too loose, lest I become one of those women who lose their swimsuit after jumping into the pool, but I also didn’t want it to be too snug. I can see in the photos it does look a little tight, but it’s actually very comfortable to wear. By the time I go to Vegas in 3 and a half weeks, I think it should fit pretty much perfectly!

Incidentally, there are some HILARIOUS outtakes from this photo shoot. Up until recently, I generally avoided most photographs, so dressing myself up deliberately for photo-taking is kind of new to me. But hey, I’ve watched 18 cycles of America’s Next Top Model, surely I’ve learned something, right? Call me if you ever do a petite plus cycle, kthx Tyra. I can smize with the best of them!