Bra to Bathingsuit DIY

Like my new bathingsuit top??  In it's previous life it was a bra!

Do you ever wish you could have a bathingsuit top that would fit as perfectly as your bra?  Well now you can!!

Materials and Supplies

-Old Bra

-Bathing suit fabric (under 1/2 meter)

-Thread to Match

-Sewing Machine

-Pins

-Hand sewing needle

-Bathingsuit Clasp

Instructions

**Make sure you use a stretch or zig-zag stitch for all the sewing**

1.  Cut out a rectangle from your fabric that will completely cover both bra cups with plenty of extra room.

2.  Pin the fabric to the bra around the underwire starting at one side working your way to the middle.  Pin both sides.  Make sure that you have left the fabric a bit loose around the center front.

3.  Cut a slit down the center of your fabric that stops at least an inch above your bra edge.

4.  Cut off your bra straps, if needed round off the top of the bra so that it's smooth.

5.  Fold the fabric down over the top of the bra and pin down.

6.  Sew down the fabric along the top of the bra ending right at the underwire.  Sew down the fabric on the bottom of the bra starting at the bottom of the side band, and ending on the opposite side.  Make sure you do not sew through the underwire, or you will be going through A LOT of needles!

7.  Cut off the back bra closures.  Trace a pattern of the side straps that starts from the side of the underwire.  Be sure to include at least a 1cm seam allowance.  Also make the band a bit longer at the back.

8.  Cut out two side bands from your fabric.

9.  Turn under the edge of your side band and pin it onto the bra up against the underwire.

10.  Hand sew the band onto the bra in the same spot.

11.  Fold down the top and bottom edges of the band down over your bra.

12.  Sew down the fabric starting at the edge of the underwire going to the end of the band on both the top and the bottom.  Do this for both sides.

13.  Cut out a piece of fabric approximately 15cm wide by 25cm long.  Make a tubed band from this piece by sewing the long edges together.

14.  Wrap the band around the center front of the bra and hand sew it into place on the inside of the bra.  Make sure no raw edges show on the front of your bathing suit.

15.  On one side of the back band sew in the bathing suit clasp.  On the otherside sew a small loop for the clasp to hold into.  (The loop will look the same as below, just without the clasp in it)

All Done!!

I actually took it one step further and sewed myself some straps.

I can not wait to wear this in Arizona, it is my best fitting bathing suit top I've ever owned!

***Update 4/23/12***

People keep wondering if this bathing suit top is actually "swimmable".  Did you know that most bras are made out of the exact fibre content (Nylon and Spandex) as swimsuits?!?

This is by far my most worn swim suit top...it's been to the ocean in Mexico, swimming in the local lake, relaxing in countless hot tubs, swimming in chlorine filled pools in Arizona and much more, and it's still holding up perfectly!

Be sure to check out the rest of my DIY projects HERE!