Summer is just around the corner and if your family is like mine, that means you will be spending a lot of time at the pool. And that means swimsuits. Every woman’s favorite thing to shop for, right?! Ha Ha.
Two years ago, my tankini top gave out, but I loved the black boy shorts that came with them so I searched for a new top to go with the original shorts. Then last summer those shorts gave out, so I had to find a new pair to match the top I had just bought. Ack! What a mess!
One thing I noticed while shopping is that it is nearly impossible to find a tankini top that is 1) long enough to cover my stomach and 2) has a high enough neckline to cover my chest. I figure I have quite enough skin exposed when wearing a swimsuit as it is without having such a plunging neckline.
So what’s a girl to do? Here’s my solution:
Here’s how to add cleavage coverage to your swimsuit:
- Buy a little bit of coordinating swimsuit fabric. Or cut up an old swimsuit if you have one that would work.
- Make a hem along one edge of the fabric. This will be the top part of the triangle that you sew in, and it will show, so make it pretty.
- Put on your swimsuit top. Pin the fabric so that it covers everything you want it to. Make sure that it lays flat and the hem across the top is straight.
- Remove the swimsuit top and sew the fabric on using a stretch stitch. I sewed from the front side and followed the original stitching on the suit so that you can’t even see where I sewed the fabric on. You can see from the pictures that my sewing machine did not like this fabric and the stitches are really messy on the back. I have worn this suit for two summers now and it is still holding together, so who cares?!
Now you can swim with confidence!
Okay, who am I kidding… does any woman feel confident in a swimsuit?! Ha Ha.
Comments & Reviews
Oh, I am so glad you posted this! Last year, I purchased a cute tankini top on clearance but knew I would need to fix it up in the chest area. This is exactly what I was wondering about, so I'm glad to see it works! (O:
Thank you, this is a great idea! We are so glad that you linked up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday.” We hope you’ll be back soon! -The Sisters
Another fantastic place to look for modest swim suits–with higher necklines included–is hapari.com! They are WONDERFUL!
Great idea! I fund an entire camisole once made out of swim material–still bummed it got lost! A great place to find modest swim suits–with the higher neckline already included–is hapari.com! They are absolutely WONDERFUL–the customer service is like nothing I have ever seen! Love them!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I have struggled so much finding a modest top and the ones that are modest are outrageously expensive! I am soooo excited to try this! 🙂
Or are ugly. Lol
Haha. So true!
Thank you so much for this! I've been looking for a modest swim top for a while, but it's more difficult to get things in the UK. However, I have a swim top I love, it was just too low cut!
No longer!
http://i.imgur.com/seS02Ll.jpg
I had an old pair of bottoms that I used for the fabric, and used their top hem so I didn't have to do one myself. It's also hand sewn because I don't have a machine – took a couple of hours! Thanks so much,
Emma
Yours looks great! Thanks for sharing the picture with me! I am so glad you found this post and it helped you. Even the "modest" swimsuit companies seem to make necklines too low…we just have to take things into our own hands!
So glad I'm not alone in doing this! It's really quite easy. I did ask the fabric store for swimsuit material so it would look okay. I've done it how you did and again I made several folds, sewed the sides & then sewed it to the swimsuit. I feel so much more confident without my cleavage showing!! 🙂
Awesome Becky! I'm right there with you… it feels so much better to me to be able to play and swim and frolic on the beach and not have to worry about how much is showing!
Thank you so much for this. It worked perfectly!
I am very bleaaed (lol) in the chast department so I need to alter almost any suit. I have done mine with a cover up material which worked great!
Same problem here!!! I just bought the fabric to sew in but haven’t started yet. Thanks so much for the tips!!
❤️. Thanks