A Story about Swim Suits…

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…

CIMG0673

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.

blog red and white houndstooth check fabric

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?

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

10 thoughts on “A Story about Swim Suits…”

  1. Oh, Jeanne, that was just hilarious! My 8th grade shape wasn’t much better than yours, if not worse! I remember trying to gain weight during the summer months so I could look like what seemed to be “everyone else”! Now, I’m trying to lose it all!

    I was never as brave as to try to sew a swimming suit, but did sew myself a dress for our local Fair and Horse Show. Yes, we wore dresses for those occasions in the 50’s! Anyway, it was a full dress, no waistline whatsoever, but has a very long piece of piping, that wrapped and wrapped from the bustline down to the waist or maybe it wrapped from the waist up to the bust, can’t remember. Of course I never thought that once I got it on and wrapped around me that it would ever shift of come completely undone, but that is what happened while at the fair. I looked like I had an oversized blouse on with a string tied around me. Not the look I was going for! I thought it would look like a Juliet type dress, so pretty and just waiting for Romeo! What an uncomfortable evening I had!

    1. hi Linda, I think I know what kind of a dress you’re talking about with the wrap around ribbon or string. That is just too funny. I guess we all have those funny stories when we were younger. Thanks so much for enjoying it. Blessings, Jeanne

  2. Both stories are too funny. What I can’t get past is sewing anything at that age! Bravo girls to both those stories.
    Jeanne, I use to have a beautiful maple wood sewing machine my mother-in-law gave me. I practiced for awhile on it but just never got the swing of it. I gave it away but wish I had it just to display it some where. I’ve never seen one like it since.
    I’m afraid since I am sewing machine-less, I’ll have to find a local seamstress to tackle the pillow shams. Thanks for the encouragement.
    Have a great day!

    1. Hi Paula, yes, I was sewing most of my clothes by the 8th grade. It’s really too bad you don’t have that machine anymore.
      Maybe you can find a machine and give it another try!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. Funny, funny, funny! Great stories, Jeanne! Look on the bright side, at least it didn’t fall apart in the water which is what I think I heard stories of happening when I was younger. Needless to say, I didn’t even think about sewing a bathing suit.

    1. Hi Cindy,
      I may or may not have another story where I put kleenex in my swimsuit! Silly girl!!
      At one time I had 7 bathing suits!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. Jeannie B. in TX

    Swimsuits – those things we used to wear to advertise our “wares” & are now the bane of our mature years ! Yes, I do have one that is Grandmotherly appropriate.

    In the 8th grade I was one quiet & uncomfortable early teen. I sort of walked in the shadows of the “inner circle” hoping to garner a bit of their perceived self confidence. Unlike many in the “cool crowd” my parents were older than average for a 13 years old. My mother still thought I ought to be wearing “little red corduroys” for playwear. One of my older sisters’ gave me a darling sailor style two-piece for my birthday in the spring of my 8th grade year. It was just killer cute. Proudly I wore it to an indoor pool party our class was holding near the end of the school term. I did receive several compliments on the suit which I savored with all my heart. But then, out from behind the curtain of the dressing room came the most popular girl in the class…. yes, she had on the same two-piece. Heaven help me, the room was silent. I seriously could not believe this had happened. Most of the girls in the room handled it all quite well with a bit of kidding and nice comments but a few quipped in about my copy-cat status. I will say that I always was a small kid so in defense and satisfaction at the time, my suit was size 5 and hers was … shall I just say, larger. So, knowing I was innocent of all copy-cat charges I wore that suit many times and held my head up proudly.
    And no, I am no longer a size 5 !!!! yikes.

    1. Hi Jeannie,
      Oh how I feel your pain…sorry… but I did get a smirk on my face as I read your story!
      I wore size 3 jeans on my honeymoon… but like you, I’m not that size anymore…
      Thanks Jeannie,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. Toothpick skinny was my fate too. I recently thought about a swim two piece I made at 13.i don’t know why I didn’t ask my mother to buy me a suit. Prolly because we never had store bought clothes until we were older. Loved both stories.

    1. Hi Jan,
      It’s amazing how many of us have swimsuit stories… or should I say “nightmares!”
      Thanks Jan
      Blessings, Jeanne

Comments are closed.