Bombshell swimsuit pattern

I decided this week to make myself a new swimsuit.  I made my last one from a self-drafted pattern. It turned out well, and still fits, but because it was the first suit I made myself, it has a few issues.  The legs gape a little, the halter straps aren't quite long enough, and it covers the front but not the side of my bust very well.  So I decided to purchase the Bombshell Swimsuit pattern that I have had my eye on for awhile.  I did a lot of research--read the Sew-a-long posts on her blog, searched blogs on the internet, and read the pattern thoroughly before beginning. These are the two pattern options:

In my research, I realized that very few bloggers who posted pictures of themselves made the larger sizes.  Also, none of them are that short!  I wondered how much I should shorten the pattern, which is made by someone who is 5'6", while I am 5'1".  I ended up shortening it only 2 inches.

Going into the pattern, I knew beforehand that I would make a couple changes. First off, no matter how much people raved that this was a "modest" suit, there was no way I would be as modest as most of these other bloggers.  Either I would spill out the center of the plunging halter, or out the top of the maillot.  I planned on making a couple modesty adjustments.  Also, I wanted more support, so I knew I would be inserting foam cups at the least.  I wanted to use an old bra for its underwirse, but I'm still nursing, so none of them fit.  I just went with the cups.  I had plans for using boning, but once I was making it during the baby's naptime today, that went out the window in favor of finishing it quickly.  I figured the halter would be more supportive, so I chose that view, and I made the triangles larger so they could cross over.  I also put them a bit further back on the sides to eliminate the side boob problem of my last bathing suit.  I had the idea of using white buckles on the straps for some contrast.

After I put together the whole polka dot body, I tried it on.  The suit was horribly short!  I have a pretty short torso, so I was pretty disappointed with that part of the pattern.  I ended up adding a five-inch band to the top, which doesn't really show with the polka dots.  So--wow!  I probably could have just added four inches, but I wanted to make sure I had enough.  If I make it again, I'm actually going to have to add a couple inches to the length.

The finished suit looks really nice.  One advantage of following an actual pattern is that it tells you how to sew a swimsuit correctly, especially with the seams!  My last swimsuit doesn't look nearly as polished.  My husband thought this looked store-bought.

 When the suit is actually on me, I'm not sure how flattering it is, but then again, how flattering is anything going to be when I'm at a weight I'm unhappy with?  I lost all my baby weight months ago with hard work, but now I've stopped working as hard, and well, you don't lose weight unless you work!

 

I cropped out my legs, which are my least favorite thing to show off.  The back view is also not super flattering in the picture I took.  Overall, I think I'm happy with the end result.  My husband thinks it's cute.  My baby likes to grab the halters and yank on them.  My kids think it's super cool.  I wouldn't mind trying view A, though I would extend the neckline higher and definitely have more support then just foam cups.