How to Sew Elastic into a Custom Bikini Top

You must sew elastic into a custom bikini to ensure that it moves with your body properly while you are wearing the suit. You also want to make sure the top stays in place and keeps your chest covered during activities like swimming.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bathing suit elastic
• Coordinating colored thread

1. Buy bathing suit elastic. This elastic withstands the wear and tear of the water, swimming pool chemicals such as chlorine and the damaging effects of the sun. Bathing suit elastic comes in either clear or cream colored.

2. Decide on elastic placement. If you want the elastic covered, simply fold the edge of the suit over the elastic and pin it in place before sewing. Once you've pinned the elastic on, move on to Step 4. If you don't care to have it covered, move on to Step 3.

3. Put the elastic on the inside of the fabric of the bathing suit top. Start with the bottom portion of the bikini top and line the elastic up evenly with the bottom edge.

4. Sew the elastic on to the bikini top. Set your sewing machine to surge and slowly begin sewing along the bottom edge of the bikini top.

Tips & Warnings

• Sew on a test fabric first. This gives you practice in handling both the swimsuit material and the elastic at the same time. It's a good idea to practice first because elastic is stretchy and swimsuit material is slippery, making them difficult to handle.
• Avoid pulling on the bikini top and elastic. This will cause shirring and causes the thread to bunch up and ruin your fabric. Allow the foot to feed the fabric naturally to avoid this problem.

Resources

• Find some advice on sewing bikini elastic at patternschool.com.
• Get some swimsuit elastic sewing tips at sewnews.com.