Last week, we kicked off our customisation competition by telling you all about how the warehouse staff customised Ethel's Emerald DeVille set with flowers and crystals. This week, swim is in the air, as we've been getting your opinions on Facebook about our 2015 styles. So, while we're in the mood, we thought we'd tell you all about one of our customised swimwear outfits:
Catwalk model: Ditzy
Hair & makeup: Sammm Agnew and team using Face Lace
Jewellery: Prong
Outfit: Azure Delores Swimdress
We loved customising this swimdress! With all that lovely, clear fabric to work with, one of the hardest parts about customising this was trying to avoid going over the top, and making sure that the colours didn't clash.
Would it surprise you to learn that Joe also wanted to use his favourite lace on this?
By that time, though, we'd already found the white lace and bows, and they matched so well - the lace even had a curved edge that perfectly fitted to the inside edge of the halter neck straps - that we all knew we had to use them.
We were also pleased to see that the inside edge of the halter neck barely stretched, so we knew we wouldn't need to worry about the lace ripping out. We did think the swimsuit would look great with something appliqued or embroidered on the skirt, but we knew we'd have to be very careful about how much the material might stretch.
Joe recovered from his disappointment at not being allowed to use the purple lace, and had sewed the white lace on before we'd even really noticed! He used white thread and very small stitches and worked into the hem at the edge of the fabric, all of which made the seam virtually invisible.
The white lace and bows gave this blue swimsuit a cute, nautical edge, and Ditzy then accessorised it with a more rockabilly styles set of leopard print wedges, leopard hair bow, and really quite spiky necklace - trust a Deadly not to go for classic pin-up!
Swimwear fabric can be easier to stitch to than lingerie fabric, as it's significantly thicker, but do remember to either choose a seam that doesn't stretch, or allow for the stretch when sewing to it. Of course, this stretch is also what gives swimwear its flexibility, and if you want to show off your work, it's easier to get away with a swimsuit than flashing your knickers. Yes, some of us have researched that.
Fancy trying this at home - or just thinking about your holidays? Well, thank Ditzy for this week's customisation competition offer then - 15% off swimwear! Just pop "ditzy15" in at checkout, it'll work until Wednesday the 4th June 2014.
