Openwater or outdoor swimming seems to be having a moment, it probably has alot to do with gyms and pools being closed!
I live by the coast and swim in the sea every year. Usually from May to September, but this year we had a very mild October so it made it a bit easier to keep going.
The feeling of exhilaration from the cold water gives a great mental boost, as well as being a useful recovery from a jog!
As the weather got cooler, I put on my wetsuit, but I needed something to throw on after a swim, as it’s often easier to go home and dry off properly there.
Dryrobe and other similar robe brands are very popular – they are basically a loose fit raincoat with thick fleece lining. As usual… I wanted to make my own version, can’t take the easy route😆
I started by tracing the elements I needed from a coat. The hood on my Superdry jacket has great head coverage so I traced the hood and shoulders:
I improvised the general robe shape using a sweatshirt as a guide.
I had bought some raincoat fabric samples from Minerva, but decided to go low-cost for my first attempt at a swim robe, and instead used what I had at home. Their samples are genorously cut across the full width of the roll, so I used them to add some interest to the robe.
The fleece doesn’t extend into the hem because I ran out, so the end is lined with a patterned blanket fabric.
I bound the inner seams with the red outer fabric, and wore it a couple of times before I sewed on the lower front pockets, which are lined in fleece.
I also added my favourite feature: an inner pocket for my hot water bottle!
The other item I needed was a sleeved swimsuit, it doesn’t add much warmth, but it will protect from the sun this summer.
I used sports lycra from fabricland.co.uk. And lined it with black lycra.
I almost titled this ‘new togs’ but do many other countries say togs instead of swimsuit? (or bathers/swimmers) but we use togs as much as swimsuit!
Anyhoo, the pattern I used is below- Vogue 9192. I combined the top from view E with the bikini bottoms view D. I didn’t need to make any alterations, they joined perfectly across the waistline. These were so easy to make that I’m sorry I put it off for so long!
I’d like to make view C sometime too. Recommendations for swimwear fabric stockists will be gratefully received!
So that was my sewing for January. Feb and March were all about knitting, specifically Machine Knitting!. . I’ll share more of my progress soon.
Slán go fóill x
And one more picture before I go…
