Making A (Avacado) Rash Guard

 Hello Readers. It is avocado week here at I Can Work With That. That's right a week of avocados. There will not be any avocado toast, just clothes. It all started when my daughter gave me some swimsuit fabric she did not want. I loved it and started planing what to do with it.

A new avocado rash guard to keep me from burning in the sun. I was inspired to make a rash guard. I am super pale and the sun hates me. Or my skin hates the sun. Either way, I try to cover up if I can when I go in the sun.

My daughter ordered a mystery fabric box from Mood Fabrics. She did not want this avocado swim fabric! Is she crazy? This was amazing fabric. I took it happily and started planning my new avocado swimsuit wardrobe.

I used the free "Chelsea" Pattern from Fabric Store.com. It is a long sleeve shirt with raglan sleeves. I cut the pattern down to make it more fitted like a rash guard should be. A loose shirt will get looser in the water. I did not want that.

I made the body of the shirt and tried it on to make sure it fit well. This was a good idea because it did need some adjustment.

I cut my sleeves out and made sure they fit well too. Now I just needed to put it all together. I used my serger for this so that the seams would have some give and stretch with the fabric.

I needed to finish all the edges. I couldn't leave the shirt looking messy. I decided to use this folded elastic. It is sort of like bias tape but it stretches. That will cover all those raw cut edges and I liked the blue color. 

Here is a quick video of the elastic going on the shirt. I used navy thread and a zigzag stitch to attach this blue elastic to my rash guard. The zigzag stitch will have some stretch and give to it too.

I tried the shirt on again and there was a serious problem at the neckline. Look at that gaping. That is no good. 

I made some quick adjustments to fix the neck. I basically made 4 tucks along the neck. I made a small tuck at each of the sleeve seams so it would blend in. It looked and fit much better after doing this. 

My youngest and I got in the pool. He wears a rash guard too. He has even lighter skin than I do. We have to use so much sunscreen y'all. It's not even funny. The sun is going always trying to get us. The rash guards are nice because they cut down on the amount of sunscreen we need to apply and how long it takes to get ready. Some fabric has an SPF rating and some doesn't. Check the labels and descriptions if you buy some swim fabric to be sure what you are getting.

Be careful when you look at the glare from my legs. You might want to wear some kind of eye protection. We stayed safe in the sun and had fun too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- This was a great project. I wore this and didn't get burned. That is a win when you are the same color as sour cream. And the avocados are just so fun. I have some fabric left so I might make matching bottoms this summer. 

I am re-posting in honor of Me-Made-May. This top is so nice at the beach. It keeps me covered and I need less sunscreen.

Adding Coverage to a Bathing Suit

 Hello Readers. I found a nice swim top on sale. I decided to grab it knowing I was going to change it up for myself. 

 

I had navy blue swim bottoms this top could go with and I loved the wide shoulder straps. But the plunging neckline was... well, way to plunging.

 

Like this isn't going to hold on to everything securely.

I had this little bralette that was very pretty but it was not comfortable and didn't fit well. It was perfect for cutting up and filling in that deep V-neck.

 

I put both tops on my dress form and marked the lace top in pencil so would know where to cut.
 

I turned it upside down and folded it down the middle and cut a V shape.

Here is my wide V shape. I made it larger than the opening in the top so I would have extra fabric to work with. 

I used my machine to sew the lace into the top. I stitched over the stitches that were already there. It went together really easily.

The addition of the lace gave me more coverage and I felt more comfortable. 

I wanted a top that was able to keep everything in it's place even if I am active. I tested it out by doing the most uncoordinated cannon ball jump ever seen. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- The extra coverage helped make this swim top more comfortable for me. I wore it all summer.