I think that Kwik Sew 3605 is the best pattern out there for girls/teens bathers – I first used it over ten years ago.  If you didn’t know already, Kwik Sew have now gone out of print (sob) so it looks like this pattern will now only be found on the second hand market.  I bought extra copies a few years ago to use as my daughters grew.  This is probably the last time I’ll be able to sew it for either of my two daughters; this pair is at the top of the size range.

Another fit photo from January! The fabric was in my stash, and Stella didn’t get a great deal of say in what I used. My swimsuit fabric stash contains prints and only one or two solids. I sewed the XL for Stella, which is a girl’s size 12-14. She’s around a women’s size 6, and it seems to fit.

The clip closure at centre back allowed me to fine-tune the fit around Stella’s rib cage before sewing it in place. The bottoms are fully lined, as are the cups of the top.

This is actually a relatively straightforward pattern to sew, although I might be saying that because I’ve had so much experience with it. The bottoms legs and waist are elasticated, as is the band for the top.  This is the first time that I’ve made the view B bikini top; in the past I sewed the longer view A tankini top.  My girls have always wanted the view C bottoms, not the higher cut view D.

You can find the previous versions I’ve sewn here and here and here.  We are fortunate that Clare and Stella’s eldest cousin has a daughter who is ten years younger than Clare and is the happy recipient of everything that my two grow out of. Most of these bathers are getting a second outing (bathers often wear out but some of these past pairs were still in good nick).  The handover of clothes is slowing down a bit now that my two don’t really grow out of things, but I’ve loved being able to pass my home sewn things on and either see them worn again or know that they’ve been further redistributed.