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It's so easy to make a men's swimsuit - child's play compared to a bra! I finished the wearable muslin yesterday and it has been tested in the pool. Verdict: nice fit, but a bit heavy and takes ages to dry. I used some 4-way stretch matte lycra I have had in my stash for years, back from the days when I thought the more stretch in a fabric the better it would be for bras! I don't know what the fibre content is, but it feels heavy. I will pop into the shop later this week to get one or two coloured nylon lycras - depending on the way the max stretch goes, I would need only 28 cm (<-> widthways) or 44 cm (<-> lengthways) to fit in the pattern. And of course, 150 cm wide fabric would offer enough to make several pairs, maybe with some colour-blocking.

Hemel, maar dit is maklik om 'n mansbadpak te maak - kinderspeletjies in vergelyking met met 'n BH! Ek het gistermiddag die badpak klaargemaak en dit is reeds getoets in die swembad. Gevolgtrekkings: goeie pasvorm, maar 'n bietjie swaar en neem baie lank om droog te word. Ek het 4-rigting stretch lycra gebruik uit my kas en dit IS swaar. Ek sal later die week een of twee gekleurde nylon lycras kry by die winkel - afhangende van die maksimum rekrigting het ek net 28 cm (<-> wydte) of 44 cm (<-> lengte) nodig vir die patroon. En sal natuurlik uit 150 cm breedte genoeg kan haal vir 'n hele paar badpakke - ek beplan om kleure ook te kombineer. 

The other thing I learned when looking at a real Speedo swimsuit last night, was that they use a lapped seam with four rows of stitching next to each other. I used a flatlock sewn with my overlocker (to reduce bulk) and I can already see that it is too flimsy. I think I might do an overlocked seam and then topstitch from the right side with a double needle to flatten. I will also look into lining only the front of the suit to reduce drying time.

Ek het gisteraand gekyk na 'n oorspronklike Speedo badpak en sien dat hulle 'n naat gebruik waarin die twee dele links op regs vasgewerk word met vier rye steke parallel met die naat. Ek het 'n flatlock gebruik en ek kan reeds sien dat dit begin lostrek. Miskien sal ek volgende keer 'n overlocknaat gebruik en dit van regs deurstik met 'n dubbelnaald (het geen coverstitch masjien nie).
 

The elastic went on very smoothly and easily. I used the calculation suggested by patternschool.com of using 3% less than the garment measurements (which is already drawn with 12% negative ease). It makes putting the elastic on very easy - not so much stretching to do. I used flat rubber, 9 mm wide, overlocking it to the edge, then turning over and topstitching with a 4.0 mm double needle. I used woolly nylon in the overlocker needle and loopers for a soft finish, and used it in the bobbin as well.

Ek het 9 mm rubberband gebruik en dit was baie vinnig en maklik. Ek het op aanbeveling van patternschool.com 3% minder as die lengte van die kledingstuk gebruik - dit gee dan -15% in totaal, aangesien die patroon reeds -12% gebruik. Ek het die elastiek met die overlocker aangewerk, omgedraai en met die naaimasjien en 4.0 mm dubbelnaald deurgestik. Ek het mousse-garing gebruik in die overlocker en ook in die speol van die naaimasjien.

More photos here.
Meer foto's hier. 

P.S. Blogger has recently upgraded its interface with Picasa webalbums - you can now see and select pictures you've already uploaded to a webalbum very easily. I'm finding this the easiest way to add pics to my blog. The Blog This feature in Picasa takes ages to upload and also gets upset if I try to upload more than three at a time.