Ravie de mes deux maillots!

I purchased this pattern so I would have a swim suit for a much needed vacation. It has been over 5 years since I’ve worn a bathing suit. I knew that I might want underwire support so, I decided to try this pattern. My muslin suit was mocked up with underwire, which I decided later that I didn’t want. I made the one piece and the two piece, and LOVE them both. GREAT pattern, great fit and a much needed confidence boost.

Pros: I made a bra! That part was surprisingly do-able! The sew-along helped. Appreciated the details about sourcing some of the specialty notions. Cons: I had trouble keeping track of the instructions and pattern pieces: some were for view A only, some for view B only, some for views A & B, plus the Tankini option. I still may not have the waist band right, but I’ll find out when my arm heals!

To be fair, I've only been sewing for a year and never finished a Cashmerette patterns for advanced sewists before. Only (confident) beginner. My friend told me to get the course and that was definitely helpful but I feel I've been going from the instructions to the tutorial and back a LOT. Especially for me toile, I had to do a lot of seamripping because it's really really easy to get a pattern piece upside down.

But... in the end, I made a swimsuit, for the first time ever. And also for the first time ever, it fits great. I'm tall so I'm used to stretching the fabric of store-bought swimsuits to the max but with this pattern, I just add 5cm at the top and 5cm at the bottom and there's no stretch! Amazing!
So I would recommend the pattern but if you're like me, get the course as well because it's so much easier to see it done than to just guess from the instructions.

I made my Ipswich with the built in swim bra. I also added some extra power mesh in the lower front which was not part of the design. With a little tweaking the swim bra fit well and was supportive. I did find my spandex straps needed extra strengthening so I inserted bra strapping inside and this stopped them stretching too much. I made a size 18G . It’s a complex pattern and needs carefull reading of the instructions. I also advise you label the side panel upper and lower front and back pieces as they are easily confused for each other! I used swim spandex and Maxilock stretch thread from Boodesigns. Bra cup foam, underwires and casing from Boobytraps, both companies in Australia. I made a test run pair from some second hand spandex leggings to save money!

Thank you. This model needed a custom sized suit and your pattern provided what we needed.

I needed a new swimsuit that would look nice and hold up well for snorkeling and swimming on a cruise to the Caribbean. I bought the Ipswitch kit and sewed it up in a weekend. The suit fits very well - I made a 14 G/H.

Best fitting swimsuit ever. I thought it was a bit overwhelming with so many pieces, but really it was easy and fast to make. The "hidden" bra is a definitely plus. I will make a couple more before the summer is over.

I have had a kit for the Ipswitch for several years, but didnt make it until I recently moved into a senior community with an indoor pool and a gym.
So I pulled out the pattern & kit, but found I was outside the original pattern's size range. I was delighted after contacting Cashmerette and they let me download the size I needed.
The pattern not only stitched up easily, and the instructions were clear and concise.
I love the skirt pattern that came with the newer version! Now I am swimming several times a week, and plan on making another Ipswitch in a bright patterned soandex!

The swimsuit turned out greatI Highly recommend the tutorial, Jenny does a great a job with the instructions and it’s nice to see the actual making of it. I will be making more!!

Overall thus is a very good pattern. I love the style converted to a tankini.. I did have problems with the swim bra, but I am very disproportionate with large breaststroke and smaller shoulders. The Willodale bra fit in perfectly to resolve the issue for me. Easy to sew. The only directions I was confused by were the straps. Customer service was great at answering questions and offering solutions.

I just finished my Ipswich, following along with Jenny’s online course. Wow, I learned so much! Making the inner bra was actually not difficult at all and I much prefer a bra to just a shelf bra. I highly recommend taking the class if you’re new to sewing bras or to sewing swim. My only wish is that there were some alternatives to the neckline. I’ll lose my next one by about 3”. My bust sits quite high, so the top of the bathing suit is almost at my neck. I lowered slightly with some ruching.

This suit looks amazing once finished, but it was neither quick nor easy. The first challenge was fitting. While adequate instructions were provided for blending sizes for the waist and hip, no guidance was given for fitting bust. I normally make a do a full bust adjustment on Cashmerette's G/H cups and had no idea how to manage that with the built in bra. Jenny did provide a suggestion (to size up and then shorten the neckband and straps) once I emailed, but it would have been nice to have that included in the pattern. Second, there are at least three types of elastic used in the suit, FOE, swim, and strap, yet most of the time the instructions just say "elastic." After reading through the instructions multiple times, I concluded that swim elastic was meant whenever simply "elastic" was written. It turned out fine, so I hope it was right. Again, something extremely simple for the pattern writer to include clarification of. Lastly, the straps were a nightmare to attach. It would have been helpful to know whether the folded strap "sandwich" was meant to be flush with the edge of the suit (sewn at 5/8th seam allowance), or sewn at 3/8ths like the rest of the suit. I sewed at 5/8ths so that the end of the back band (part 15) looked as much like the picture as possible. Again, a few sentences of clarification would have saved a lot of struggle and half a bottle of wine.
All in all, the finished suit looks great. Subsequent suits will be easier, but oh boy did I almost give up.

A great pattern. Highly recommend purchasing the video tutorial if you are new to making swimsuits. Fit well right out of the envelope. The only change I would make would be to stretch the elastic under the tush more than suggested. Am planning to make a tankini version.

I planned the "tankini" version of the suit, in one fabric. I make my own bras, so I used my own custom fitted bra pattern.

I had no trouble with the pattern or instructions but for 1 minor thing.. There is no indication of the pattern piece number on the cutting layouts. With so many similar shapes, I think it would have been better to make these graphics bigger and print the pattern piece numbers in the layout. I spent a lot of time going over the pattern inventory and studying everything and labelling each piece on the layout myself. Also, with the tankini download, I was a little uncertain re what pattern pieces to use since some places use view A and some view B and there was no indication for cutting except for the "contrast" fabric.

The top just doesn't work. Even though I made a complete custom fitted underwire bra there is no support through the back to lift and the spandex overlay just squashes me flat to a uni-boob. With 9" difference between my under bust & full bust, a flat spandex front doesn't work. The princess seams add no shaping. This will never be good enough to wear in public.

I'm going to keep the bottoms, cannibalize the skirt to make a real bra with a supportive band & hook/eye covered in spandex, and use leftover yardage for an A-line "skirt" to drape down over the hip w/ an open "apron" back where the hook/eye are.

Took a trip to Hawaii and needed a bathing suit. I hacked it into the tankini. It was amazing. The instructions were perfect step by step. Even though I am a seasoned seamstress, the inner branwas intimidating but I was confident with the instructions. I actually made two swimsuits and they were exactly what I wanted!

I really enjoyed making this pattern. The thought of making my own swimsuit seemed impossible but having a pattern *somewhere* close to my personal measurements made it seem doable. I had to blend between three sizes - which over the number of pieces this pattern has wasn't a small task but I'm really pleased with the finished product. Although I also ended up hacking the pattern to make a more streamlined one piece by merging most of the back and front pieces. Two small issues with the instructions - the pattern didn't relate which bits I could leave out for the optional bra (this would have been really useful at the start of the instructions) and I also found the steps covering how the scoop under the bra strap was finished really confusing. I thought the finish on the inside could have been a bit more concealed - so I plan on figuring out something for the next version. Looking forward to making it again (this time with the bra - which is a whole other world of pushing my sewing skills!). And really happy I purchased the pattern - thank you!

Never thought of making a swimsuit and now I so love the pattern, only wish I could buy the kits, but postage to UK is more than the kits sometimes :-( looking forward to new patterns, a big thank from curvy girl Rose

great pattern, get lots of complements on its style and fit - getting the kit was so worth it as it had all the parts to complete the suit - not afraid to go in the water any more!

I bought the pattern and a kit when they were first released. When I saw the forecast for my vacation week I knew I needed to buckle down and make the suit.

I was a bit overwhelmed when tracing off the pieces and cutting out the pattern - 20 pieces, some little and big. The instructions in the booklet were clear and detailed. It came together easier than I thought it would. The grading tips on the website was so incredibly helpful. Trust the size charts on the pattern packet.

The swim bra as drafted was too big for me. I ended up omitting it in the final suit. I think I will use the shelf bra tutorial in my next suit and there will be more.

I tried it on after I took it off my machine and took myself to the beach. The design is really flattering and holds all my rolls in. It will be great for the beach and swimming laps in the pool. Thanks for the magic. A really well designed suit.

Making my own bathing suit always seemed like such a challenging thing to do. But when I saw this pattern and the online class to support it I decided this made it possible to try. And try I did. The pattern is awesome, the tutorials online are amazing, really exceptional. Unfortunately the suit was not, I took it apart and tweaked it according to the fitting tips and it just never fit right. It has been sewn and re-sewn probably 10 times and it sits unworn on my sewing table. I just could never get the fit right. My conclusion on that is bathing suits are hard. This pattern and the tutorials make a great effort to get you there, but just fall a bit short in the end.