Genius ideas: Jalie's Diane swimsuit (swimwear sewing part two)

In three weeks or so I start my summer.

Let me tell you what my summers are like.

For about half the week I do my job type and regular stuff and for the other half of the week I spend my days with my daughter's three kids at this place, the same swimming/sailing/tennis/rec club where I spent the summers  with my own three children when they were younger.

One of the amazing things about Nova Scotia is that it is a modest place to live with some real lifestyle benefits, particularly for families. A club like this costs about the same as a family membership at the Y but for a family of water people like us it has been fantastic resource. My daughter was a life guard, one son was a sailing instructor, and the youngest learned to swim here and went on to be well-known in the local surfing community.

My point is that in the summer we all spend most of our time wet.

My own summers right now on the days I have the kids are spent up to my waist in water with at least one of them hanging on my body and someone else yelling at me to watch them go down the slide. 

There are always at least two swimsuits on the line in the back yard and at least two damp towels going mouldy in the trunk of the car. I start every day at the lost and found trying to locate whatever we failed to bring back to my daughter in the backpacks, and am living monument to the fact that yes any adult can be worn down for money for ice cream if she is tired enough. Which you know sometimes I am.

The wardrobes for my summer are very specific.

I need swim suits that can be pulled on and hauled on without risk of exposure. I need swim suits that a person can actually swim in because some of us are not old enough to go into the big pool without a grown-up. There are no Mi-tais poolside in my life and no laying on lounge chairs. There are always hats and swim shirts because how can you tell someone to put on their sunscreen, sun hat and swim shirt if you don't yourself?
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So all of this means I have been long time alert for a sensible suit for real water people and when I saw the Diane pattern I knew this was exactly that pattern:

This is a real bathing suit. The front is high enough and the strap across the back means you can do a breast stroke in it (the grandmother's stroke of choice, something about keeping your sunglasses on and also you can keep your eagle eyes on the charges). The leg is high enough to be reasonable but definitely tugless.

A secure little suit, if you know what I mean.

There was a bit of glam optional in a mesh tie and although I was pretty sure you need a waist to articulate it I went ahead and made this version for my first time out.

I figure why not?

I figure why not a lot.

I actually quite like the tie and have persuaded myself it provides a hint of waist because really, a hint is all you are going to get around here.

I'm stalling.

Here is my most definitely grandmotherly body in my Diane. As to how it feels let's just say I already have two more cut out, plus some for the girls:

  

Of course I made a rash guard to go with this, using the mesh laid over some power net for the side panels with Jalie 3668, I am going to have to shorten it to above the tie but that will be easy to do:

Now if the ice melts on the pools we will be in business ...