Hey everyone! I have a fun Cottesloe hack tutorial today – tie straps! I like the idea of the straps being adjustable, and I’m sure it’s perfect for any nursing mamas. It can be done with any of the views – one piece or bikini. You can make the straps short and stubby, long and tied in a bow, rounded or pointy. This is just a starting point! I actually made two versions, and I’ll show you both at the end.

It’s pretty simple when you think about it – just extend the straps on the pattern! But don’t fret if the hack still makes you nervous, I’ll walk you through every step I made – from pattern adjustment to construction. Let’s do it!

[Read more…]

If you are making a View D Cottelsoe bikini, we are going to finish up today with the underbust band and waistband! Instead of using the thin 1/4″ elastic insertion method along the waistline and underbust like in view C, we will be inserting wider 1″ elastic inside bands which provides extra support.

You can also add a waistband to the low rise bottoms of View C using the same method I’ll show you here. Just note that the pattern piece for the view C waistband is different than the one for view D, so make sure you cut the right one.

Let’s finish this up!

[Read more…]

We’re in the home stretch with our Cottesloe swimsuits, friends! Today we are going to insert the elastic in all views of our suits. And if you are making view A, B, or C, this is actually your last and final step! Woo-hoo!

Like I said, inserting the elastic is the same for all views, but I’ll be showing it to you on View A. I’ll sneak in a few photos of what it looks like on bikini view C, though! And if you’re making the low back View A with ties, make sure you stick around until the end so I can show you how to finish up those ties once the elastic is done.

OK, let’s do it!

[Read more…]

It’s time to go over the two piece version of the Cottesloe swimsuit! This is actually very basic construction, basically just sewing seams together. So I’ll also go into more in depth, showing you both the low rise and high waisted bottoms – one unlined with gusset, one fully lined. And I’ll also show you the optional lining for the top, as well. It’s a bit of repetitive info from the previous posts for View A &  View B, but that way if you are making a bikini, you have all the info in this post, and you won’t have to go back and forth the reference others! I hope that’s helpful.

So we will go over construction today, and then go over elastic insertion and the optional waistband and underband in separate posts later on. Ok? Let’s do it!

[Read more…]