I got my husband to take some pictures of my 1930's bathing suit while we were at the beach this past week.
It was only in the 50's so I was not willing to get in the water so you don't get lots of fun pictures like![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
koshka_the_cat posted of hers. That also means I didn't get it wet so I can't report on how it behaved. It's tight and thick stockinette. One of these days I'll soak it in the bathtub just so I'll know how it acts, and I'll report here whenever I get around to that.
When comparing it on me to the pattern image, it's clear that the shorts and skirt are really a little too short for me. I don't know if that's just because I have a long rise or because I've got fuller hips than the pattern expected. I added two inches to the hips that I narrowed out below the waist, but maybe it's still stretching further than it was intended to and has to give up some length to get the breadth. The waist ribbing sits a little low, and the top edge of the bodice therefore also sits lower. I don't like the way that the back waist ribbing dips, though I did find that same feature in a period photo so it's less annoying than it could be. I will point out that the front and back are made identically up through the ribbing while sewing pants/shorts patterns are not identical. They have more horizontal depth on the back piece than the front piece and more height on the back than the front. Or maybe I just have to get it wet, it will stretch, I'll tighten the straps, and everything will be better. Who knows?
I'm trying to take lessons from this on the 1949 suit I'm working on right now. I did an extra two repeats (~1.5") on the front of the shorts. Once I get to the waist on the back, I'm going to pin the seams and see whether I need to add more at the center back to keep the ribbing from dipping there. It will be much more obvious on this one because the ribbing is solid green while the rest of the suit is done in green and white stripes.
It was only in the 50's so I was not willing to get in the water so you don't get lots of fun pictures like
koshka_the_cat posted of hers. That also means I didn't get it wet so I can't report on how it behaved. It's tight and thick stockinette. One of these days I'll soak it in the bathtub just so I'll know how it acts, and I'll report here whenever I get around to that.When comparing it on me to the pattern image, it's clear that the shorts and skirt are really a little too short for me. I don't know if that's just because I have a long rise or because I've got fuller hips than the pattern expected. I added two inches to the hips that I narrowed out below the waist, but maybe it's still stretching further than it was intended to and has to give up some length to get the breadth. The waist ribbing sits a little low, and the top edge of the bodice therefore also sits lower. I don't like the way that the back waist ribbing dips, though I did find that same feature in a period photo so it's less annoying than it could be. I will point out that the front and back are made identically up through the ribbing while sewing pants/shorts patterns are not identical. They have more horizontal depth on the back piece than the front piece and more height on the back than the front. Or maybe I just have to get it wet, it will stretch, I'll tighten the straps, and everything will be better. Who knows?
I'm trying to take lessons from this on the 1949 suit I'm working on right now. I did an extra two repeats (~1.5") on the front of the shorts. Once I get to the waist on the back, I'm going to pin the seams and see whether I need to add more at the center back to keep the ribbing from dipping there. It will be much more obvious on this one because the ribbing is solid green while the rest of the suit is done in green and white stripes.
