Have people see you in last year’s bathing suit? Heaven forbid! No money for a new bathing suit this year? Don’t worry! No one will recognize last year’s suit once you do a few simple steps which can easily change its appearance. There are many different ways you can change a bathing suit and listed here are a few of the easier ways.
If you visit a fabric store you’ll find all sorts of sew-on applique that can instantly give your old bathing suit a new look. You’ll find themes like cartoon characters, flowers, lettering and more. Hand-stitch or use a machine to sew on the applique by simply sewing around the very edge of the design. If you don’t sew you can also use fabric glue to attach the applique. Since the applique nor the glue will stretch it’s important that you keep this in mind when choosing the location for the new applique.
You can’t get any easier than simply drawing on the old bathing suit to make it look new. Use paint markers from a craft store to make stripes, dots or other designs. Draw geometric shapes freehand or use stencils to create more elaborate designs. The markers are available in metallic types, pearl-look colors and more, making it easy to choose a coordinating color for your particular suit.
Change the look of most any bathing suit, and give yourself a sun tattoo at the same time, by cutting a design out of the suit. Cut the shape of a half-moon, star, flower or other pattern then use a piece of lace or netting to cover up the opening. After cutting the shape you want place a piece of lace or netting behind it. Don’t worry about cutting the lace to the shape of the new design. Sew around the shape you’ve cut while stitching the new lace piece into the hole. Now you can trim away any excess lace from behind. When you wear the suit in the sun you’ll get a sun tattoo in the shape of the design you’ve made on your suit. It’s a fun way to give your old bathing suit a new look.
Small brass rings will give you lots of new opportunities to change the look of an old bathing suit. At the same time, you can make a too-tight bathing suit just a little larger by using the rings. Find the gold-tone rings at most any craft or sewing supply store. They are not expensive and come in several different sizes. Use them on the sides of the top and bottoms of a two-piece suit. Cut the sides of the bra then fold the cut sections over the ring. Fold the front cut section over the ring and stitch it in place. Fold the back of the cut section on the opposite side of the ring and stitch it in place.
You can do the same to the bottoms. You can also use a similar technique to change a one-piece suit. Cut the suit in half at the mid-section. Mark each area where a ring will go. You can choose where the rings will be positioned; make sure they’re spaced evenly apart. Cut tiny pieces of elastic or even bathing suit material to create “tabs” that will hold the rings. Thread the ring through the tab then sew the ends of the tab to the underside of the top section of the bathing suit. Do this all the way around until each of the rings are hanging from a tab, all the way around the lower edge of the top of the bathing suit. Now connect the same rings to the bottom part of the bathing suit by adding additional tabs. Cut the tabs, thread them through the coordinating rings, then stitch the tabs to the backside of the bottom of the bathing suit. The ring technique gives any bathing suit a totally new look and gives you a little better fit, too!
Eyelets can be used to change an ordinary one piece into something more spectacular. In addition, you can fix it so that the top area of the bathing suit will be a little less tight. The perfect bathing suit for using this technique is one that has no ruffles or neckline embellishments. A scoop-neck or v-neck suit work great. Cut the suit down the center as far as you want. You can cut it just a few inches or all the way down to the navel. Fold the cut edges back and sew them down. Poke holes down the two sides, spacing them evenly apart, and matching them up on both sides of the split. Hammer in eyelets to protect the holes.
You’ll find small, metal eyelets at most any hardware store or fabric store. To install the eyelets simply place one in each hole of the bathing suit and tap them with a hammer. The metal pieces keep the holes you’ve made from stretching or unraveling. After the eyelets are in place you can simply take a length of roping or ribbon and thread the eyelets as you would a tennis shoe. Now you can leave the threaded ribbon somewhat open or tie it tightly shut. If you’re still showing more skin than you want to simply cut a piece of fabric and sew it in behind the ribbon.
If money is a little tight this year don’t give a second thought to wearing last year’s bathing suit. No one will ever know it! Use one of the above techniques – or even combine two or more of those techniques – to create a whole new suit that will really get noticed! You’ll be the only one who knows the suit isn’t new and you simply won’t care anymore!
