Hello, readers!
Now that you have your swimsuit pattern picked out, you’re ready to shop for fabrics to make it! I am by no means a swimwear expert, but I have sewn a couple of suits and I do a lot of online fabric shopping. It’s best to read the information on your pattern to see what fabrics are recommended and what notions you need to make it.
Fabrics
- Nylon, cotton, lycra (spandex) and poly blends — usually 4-way stretch nylon or lycra blends labeled as swim, active, dance and/or performance fabric
- Swimsuit lining– usually a lightweight 4-way stretch poly blend fabric
- Power mesh– lightweight poly blend stretch fabric)
Notions
- Elastic (rubber or cotton)
- Swimsuit hooks (for bands)
- Ballpoint stretch needle
- Bra cups or foam (optional)
- Underwires (optional)
- Boning (optional)
- Rings and sliders for adjustable straps (optional)
Where to buy:
- Chain/local fabric stores
- You can find many of the notions and the fabrics that you need for sewing a swimsuit at stores like JoAnn’s Fabrics. The swimwear fabrics are usually located in the dancewear section and are sometimes limited in colors and prints. You’ll find most of the basic elastics needed for sewing swimwear.
- Etsy/eBay
- You can find swimwear fabrics and notions from many sellers.
- Amazon
- Good selection of swimwear fabrics and notions.
- Fabric Fairy
- Large selection of swimwear fabrics, linings and notions.
- Fabric.com
- Swimwear fabrics, linings and notions.
- Hart’s Fabric
- Good selection of swimwear fabrics.
- Mood Fabrics
- Small selection of colorful swimwear fabric with some elastic.
- Girl Charlee
- A selection of colorful printed swimwear fabrics and linings.
- Spandex World
- Huge selection of fabrics and linings in many colors and prints.
- Michael Levine (Low Price Fabric)
- Good selection of swimsuit fabrics in some hard-to-find prints and notions.
- Funki Fabrics
- Large selection of swimsuit fabrics with colorful prints.
- Fabricland
- Good selection of inexpensive swimwear fabrics and notions.
- Imagine Gnats Shop
- Selection of swimsuit and athletic wear fabrics in solids and fun prints.
- Zenith & Quasar Fabric
- A curated collection of swimsuit fabrics.
- Peek-A-Boo Fabric Shop
- A small selection of cheery swimsuit fabric.
- The Emerald Studio
- A selection of swimwear kits with fabric and notions to make a one or two piece suit.
- Wawak Sewing Supply
- Although Wawak does not carry fabrics, they do have an extensive supply of notions that can be used to make swimwear.
- Bra-Makers Supply
- Selection of swimwear notions, including elastics, underwires, foam cups, and hooks.
Do you have any more resources to add?
I have successfully bought chlorine-resistant fabric and swim suit notions thru taggerwear.com. It’s a Canadian site, specializing in custom made swim suits and gymnastic clothes. However, there is an on-line store and it does sell both swim suit patterns and fabric, including chloroban fabric.
Another vote for Spandex House! Also: the Purple Seamstress is a great shop and she’s wonderful to work with. I’m just placing an order from both. They have awesome stuff!
Also: next month I’m hosting a sew-along for a Jalie-kini! If there is an appropriate place for me to share this to the CSC, let me know!
Sew Sassy http://www.sewsassy.com/ has lots of swimwear elastic and notions, swimwear lining (including lining without spandex), plus a limited range of swimwear fabrics.
Fabric Depot http://www.fabricdepotco.com/ (the Texas-based mail-order-only company, not the Oregon-based store with the same name) has lots of swimwear elastic and nations, swimwear lining (including lining without spandex), plus an extensive range of swimwear fabrics, especially prints.
The only place I know to buy chlorine-proof polyester swimwear fabric (52% Polyester, 48% PBT) is SpandexByYard http://spandexbyyard.com/. They have five solid colors, approximate width 60″, at only $14 US per yard. (Previously, I had only found poly/PBT swimwear fabric at about $30 Canadian per meter, at a web site that apparently no longer exists.) SpandexByYard also has an extensive range of nylon/spandex swimwear solids (shiny, matte, or raschel), plus swimwear lining (including lining without spandex).
I would say that nylon/lycra (spandex) fabric is the best for swimwear, with spandex content of 10% or more. Also when buying online be wary–if you see the fabric weight as 5 oz or less, it will be very thin and likely unsupportive. JoAnn’s fabrics also sometimes have this problem. Oh ! JoAnn’s recently started carrying a line of nylon-spandex fabric meant for cosplay costumes, but the fabrics are of a good thickness, though very limited in color. I would definitely consider those good for swimwear.
Spanex house is another website for fabric, though I have never ordered.
And Spoonflower offers Sport Lycra, which at $32 a yard is not cheap, but still more economical than a rtw option. Debbie of Lily Sage and Co has made tiger swimwear out of this fabric, if you want to see what it looks like.
For those in the UK Fabricland have a good selection of inexpensive swimwear fabrics and notions as well as patterns for swimwear and fitness wear which can be modified. The website is a bit basic at the moment but if you call them the staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. http://www.fabricland.co.uk/
‘The website is a bit basic at the moment’ …!
Understatement of the year … unless you consider a dinosaur to be basic!
I do love Fabricland, but although they are one of the best, most reasonably-priced *and reliable* sources for swimwear and similar fabrics that I know of in the UK, it needs to be pointed out that they are a *mail-order* company, and do NOT offer on-line sales,
Yes, the staff are pleasant and helpful on the phone, and very happy to send samples, too. I use them often for odd bits of haberdashery and fabrics that I can’t get locally, and have never been disappointed.
Thanks, I’ll get that added!