Swimsuit Alteration

It was time for a new swimsuit this year... the last time I bought myself a suit was... 4... years ago.  When we got married... So it was starting to stretch in funny ways and was just not working anymore! 

Swimsuit shopping: yuck!  I'm fairly confident in my body, but hey, I want to wear more than three triangles of fabric!  For the last several years I have gone tankini, but this time I decided on this awesome suit:

It's fully lined!  What?! (seriously, why don't people line EVERY suit??)  Bonus: it was 50% off!  Sweet!  My only problem was that the v-neck was pretty deep on me...  So, time to make some adjustments!

First I put it on and figured out where I wanted the neckline to be.

Next, I cut a rectangle of black, swimsuit material, big enough to span the gap with room to spare.

Next, I turned one edge under a half inch and used my snazzy double needle to hem it.

Tip: ALWAYS sew on the TOP with a double needle, the bottom will be a zig-zag.

(because one bobbin serves two needles, the bobbin thread zig-zags between the two sides)

In an effort to keep this fabric from sagging (thus defeating the purpose) I threaded a quarter-inch elastic through the hem and pulled it just a little bit taunt.

Next, I pinned the black piece to the suit and top-stitched down the existing stitching to hide the seam and attach the added piece.

View from the inside... not perfect, but it worked!  Once it was attached I trimmed away the extra fabric and tried it on!

All done and ready for a trip to the pool!