Grandma's Suit

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 My Grandparents came up to TN to visit this past spring. They came for our bi-annual barn dance that my parents have put on since '04. And of course we spent some time at the lake while they were here. Grandma asked if I had a pre-made suit that might fit her. I didn't have one at the time... she had a top that fit her to a tee. We decided to draw a pattern from it and make her a top. For the bottoms I had a pair of maternity pants that she tried on. She loved the way the band around the belly felt. Rather than having a 1" band of elastic to hold the bottoms snug around the waist, she liked the band. I did end up cutting the band not so steep of a swoop like it would have been for a maternity pair.  
 The neckline she requested be square. Now this was the first time I've made a square neckline on a swimsuit. It worked out okay but when she tried it on it seemed to droop a bit. I suppose it was a little too wide. So I wasn't 100% happy with the neckline over all. But Grandma seems to love the suit, so I'm happy about that.


 
 Lying flat on the floor, this is what the suit looks like. Its similar to what I call the Sport Style Swimwear. The stripes on this one are more artistic than any I've done before. Before they were always strait. I liked the look of curving with the center piece.





 
 On my dress form





 



 Stitch detail


 






 



 



  Showing the side of the shirt detail. There's a little vent at the bottom of each side seam.


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Grandma was nice enough to send me some pictures of her wearing the suit.













 Side Shot








This photo shows the bottoms. A skirt and pants on a band that stretches around the waist. Grandma said she liked it because it was snug around her waist but not tight in any one spot.

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