Raspberry Creek Fabrics Swim Tour – #SuitUpForSummer2021

It’s SWIM WEEK over at Raspberry Creek Fabrics, and I am so excited to have been a part of the blog tour this year. Sewing my own swimwear has been a goal of mine for quite a while – it feels like such an intimidating thing to tackle! Back in 2020, I took some direction from Gretchen Rubin and created a “20 in 2020” goal list. Sewing my own swimwear was included in that list, but of course, the summer turned out to look VERY different than I’d anticipated! Instead of travelling and spending summers soaking in the sun by pools and on beaches, we ended up getting most of our UV rays sitting around in an inflatable baby pool in the backyard –  sewing my own bathing suit to wear lost its allure, and I was happy enough to wear my existing ready to wear!

So when the opportunity came to be a part of the RCF Swim Tour this year, I jumped on it! This was the perfect opportunity for me – the deadline meant no excuses, so I couldn’t chicken out and decide that swimwear was too daunting. And the amazing colors and prints in RCF’s swim line this year meant I was THRILLED about what I was making! 

I spent more time than I’d like to admit scrolling through all of the beautiful fabrics and making a list of which ones I liked best and the patterns I had in mind to match them with! I waffled back and forth between making something for only my daughter, only me, only my husband, and all the possible combinations thereof. I ultimately decided that tackling swim was a challenge on its own, tackling board shorts was a whole extra thing – so I decided I’d stick with swim, and sew new suits for me and my girl! At the last minute, I let her take a look through the fabrics that I’d narrowed my selection down to… And she asked me “Mama, where are the ones with sprinkles?” SPRINKLES? I told her I hadn’t picked anything that looked like sprinkles, but as I scrolled through all of the fabrics she quickly identified one that fit her “sprinkle” needs. So I adjusted my plans, added her favorite fabric into the mix, and the rest was history.

As much as I would’ve loved to make us matching suits, I fell in love with these two fabrics and decided that for now, we’d have to own our own separate styles! First up – my daughter’s teeny bikini! For her suit, I used the Little Lizard King Laguna pattern. I had fallen in love with the little surfer vans, and the Laguna pattern with the exposed skirt ruffle added to the top was the perfect way to feature the fabric that I loved and her “sprinkles”! To spread the sprinkles throughout, I chose the Vintage Bottoms with the ruffle detail. I think I say this about most things that I sew for her, but I do think that this is maybe the cutest thing I’ve ever made for her!

My little one loves her new suit. She calls it her “suit dress” and she was THRILLED to use it for her first venture into the hot tub this past weekend. This little girl is typically pretty annoyed with having her photo taken in the clothes that I’ve made for her, but as you can see here – she was CHEESIN’ and modeling and LOVING it. I will take that to mean she’s a pretty big fan of the new suit!

Bathing Suit: handmade by me
Pattern: Little Lizard King – Laguna
Fabric: Raspberry Creek Fabrics – Retro Van Swim with Polka Dot Swim and Solid Lipstick Fuchsia Pink Swim

For my suit, I chose two pieces from Edgewater Avenue patterns. The Jace Top is a free pattern, and it is a fun combo of flirty and sporty. I had downloaded this pattern, as well as the Ranger Bottoms, last year in hopes of sewing my own suit, so I had them easily at the ready. Both of these patterns are reversible, and I chose the blossom polka dots to coordinate with these gorgeous stripes! However, when the two fabrics arrived, I realized that the stripes that I thought were much more blossom-y online were actually much more beige in person. Although the two don’t quite coordinate the way I anticipated for mix and matching, I at least have two separate matching suits! This suit is super cute, and I think it will actually last me through pregnancy and after.

Skirt: handmade by me
Pattern: Edgewater Avenue – Jace Top and Ranger Bottoms
Fabric: Raspberry Creek Fabrics – Earthtone Vertical Stripe Swim with Blossom + White Polka Dot Swim

For my first experience sewing with swim fabric, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn’t half as scary as I had expected! The RCF swim line is fantastic quality. I was really impressed with the fabric, the colors are so pretty and vibrant and they stay beautiful even when the fabric is stressed. Both of the patterns that I used had great, easy to follow instructions and I had no problem figuring out what swim-specific supplies I needed to gather before I got started. The magic of sewing swimwear is that the required amount of fabric, as listed on the patterns, is almost always a wild overestimation of the actual need. You can squeeze a whole suit out of the tiniest bit of fabric. I’m going to be able to sew up matching suits for us, after all!

Thanks for reading my thoughts on this make! The fabric used for this post was generously provided to me by the team at Raspberry Creek Fabrics in exchange for a blog post about my experience working with this fabric; the patterns I used for my suit were purchased / downloaded by me, and the LLK Laguna pattern was sent to me for free as a perk of involvement with this fabric tour! The words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! 

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour throughout the week! Follow the links below to check out some other fabulous swimwear, and be sure to hit the shop and use the code SWIMTOUR to get 15% off of swim fabrics throughout the week!

Sew Mary Mac  Merritts Makes  Wild + Wanderful  Call Ajaire

Made by Kates  Violet and Jewels  Sweet Mama Life  All Things Katy!

Intensely Distracted  Pins & Pinot  My Heart Will Sew On  The Petite Sewist

All My Spare Time  Kara Metta  Handcrafted by RED  Sincerely, Shantelle

Replicate Then Deviate  That’s Sew Kari  Desert Blooms  Boo + Lu

Titchy Threads  Sew A Little Seam  Simple Life Pattern Co.  Pattern for Pirates  Ellie and Mac  

Lowland Kids  Gingham Hive  Striped Swallow Designs  Honeydew Kisses  Little Lizard King  

Jennuine Designs  Greenstyle Creations  Made for Mermaids  Call Ajaire  Hey June  Boo Designs! 

  Sofiona Designs  Love Notions  Lil Luxe Collection  Jalie  Sweet Red Poppy

• XX Elizabeth