Up Next...a Tankini

So I settled on Kwik Sew 3238 as my one-piece-looking tankini. I'm really after the halter top which is better for enhancing my above-the-waist attributes (my shoulders - hah!) and distracts from the hips.

This has a few reviews on PR with lots of modifications recommended. One of the major ones is changing the single dart to gathers or a couple of darts to avoid the Madonna cone boob which many reviewers have ended up with. Another thing is that the contrast band under the bust pulls up in the middle, but I realized that was due to the angle of the pattern, so I added a wedge to fix it hopefully (that's what I'm pointing at).

And here is how I combatted the cone boob. I tried 6 or 7 bastings to achieve a natural curve at that dart that doesn't poke out. I stuck with this because my 2 halter tankinis both have a single dart in each cup that looks just fine, so I knew it could be done. I cut out the liner on one and looked at the dart. The cup on that RTW suit isn't as deep as this pattern's, but I didn't know how to fix that, so I just curved my stitching very carefully, and went further up than usual. It looks fine, but I shan't demonstrate due to the risk of embarrassing any male readers.

So I'd love to work on this more tomorrow, but I just got the electric ice cream maker I ordered, and I plan to be doing this tomorrow night!

Have a happy 4th, and happy bithday, Jester! (Yes, my brother and I have birthdays 3 days apart [plus 2 years] so there are matching outfits from our joint birthday parties before we were old enough to protest. And Scott, remember that year that we sat on the front porch waiting for your party guests, and no one came because it was the 4th of July? Character-building.)