A few weeks ago I wrote a review of a bikini pattern that my daughter and I used for our swimwear last summer. However we are a family of swimmers and I needed an appropriate one-piece bathing suit for my year-round pool swimming. I’m kind of picky about the type and colors of the bathing suits I use, so I decided to sew my own with the Jalie 3134 racerback swimsuit pattern.

The Jalie bikini pattern I wrote about was great for girls and had a lot of options, but I didn’t love it for a womanly figure (meaning, people with breasts). The Jalie racerback swimsuit pattern has fewer options (only optional contrasting color panels and optional piping on the sides), but I don’t care because this pattern is PERFECT just the way it is!

(You can find this pattern on the Jalie website or Pin it here for later from my summer sewing Pinterest board.)

My one-piece bathing suits:

Last summer I sewed my first Jalie racerback in size W and a matching swimcap (click here to get my free pattern) in purple and black fabric, and it was love at first sight… and at first swim!

(By the way, if you want to start sewing your own swimwear but are afraid of this fabric, make sure you read my tips and tricks on sewing swimsuit fabric!)

The bathing suit fit perfectly and felt comfortable and stretchy!The day after I finished it, I took it for a test swim at my daughter’s pool birthday party, and I was stunned at how comfortable it felt in the water! I could move and twist and play as much as I wanted without feeling any looseness or tightness anywhere.

I was in the water so much that I got a little sunburn, despite multiple heavy slatherings of sunblock. (The picture above was the next day, and you can see my top is a bit red. Whoops!)

I wore this bathing suit and swim cap for 8-9 months for my regular swim practice three times a week, but I noticed that the elastic was starting to get brittle and break apart, making the bathing suit looser and looser by the week.

My error was in using natural rubber elastic. I spoke to someone who has a line of swimwear who uses only this type of elastic, so I suppose the type I used was simply inferior quality. Who knows. But you can see in the picture above how the elastic had broken into a gazillion little bits, meaning it wasn’t actually stretchy anymore.

And so, I was “forced” to make another bathing suit, and decided to make two instead of one, of course with the same racerback swimsuit pattern and size. I made another exactly like my original one to match the swim cap, and a more summery Hawaiian style bathing suit.

But this time I used regular woven elastic, which I much preferred working with and has not snapped since I started using these suits.

And once again, absolute perfection!

My first bathing suit is on the left in the picture above, and the new version on the right. They were cut from the same exact pattern size and fabrics. See what a difference having elastic edges makes in a bathing suits?!

Why do I love the Jalie racerback swimsuit pattern?

1. Racerback. I’ve gone through a bunch of one-piece bathing suits over the years, and I have come to the conclusion that I do NOT like scoopback swimsuits because I feel like the straps will slip off my shoulders. The crossed racerback feels so much more secure and fits perfectly between my shoulderblades.

2. Mid-high rise in the back. Another thing I really dislike are sporty bathing suits with a low cut in the back just above my bum. I prefer doing flip turns and whatnot without fear of flashing my butt at everyone, to be quite honest. This suit’s rise is perfect in the back: not too high, not too low.

3. Contrast bands. I chose black for the optional contrast color in my two bathing suits. I love how it wraps around under the arm to the back and up to the shoulder straps. It just looks cool.

But even better, is that it flatters the feminine form. A beach bathing suit is supposed to show off a lady’s curves. A sporty swimsuit is supposed to squash all curves down as much as possible. But the contrast color in the Jalie 3134 racerback swimsuit pattern is designed in a way to visually accentuate the boob area, making you look curvier than you actually are. Seeing as I’m not very curvy to begin with, this is something that I appreciate.

4. Comfort. This swimsuit is so. Darn. Comfortable. I can move, twist, turn, bend, and it stays perfectly in place.

5. Full front lining. I like feeling that little extra padding in the front of my bathing suits, and all the front and side pieces have linings attached.

6. 27 sizes! Like other Jalie patterns, the 3134 racerback swimsuit pattern is for both girls and women, with 27 sizes. I honestly haven’t made one for my daughter because she has to use her pool’s official bathing suit, but I’m sure it would be fantastic for her, too.

So, my conclusion? I LOVE this pattern so much! It is pretty quick to sew up and looks and feels fantastic! You can choose your favorite fabrics and get a perfect fit. What’s not to love?!

And seeing as bathing suits don’t use up a lot of fabric, use your scraps to make a matching swim cap with my FREE swim cap pattern for kids and adults!

If you make yourself a swim cap (or any other project on this blog), make sure you take a picture and send it to me! Just beware of any potential photobombers in the vicinity!

Once you get sewing your own swimwear, all you’ll have left to do is hop in the nearest pool (or lake or sea or river, etc.) and have a great swim!

If you plan on sewing your own swimwear, don’t forget to check out my 10 tips on sewing swimsuit fabric perfectly. It’s actually a whole lot easier than most people think!

And, once you get going swimming your own swimsuits, you’ll probably want some more fun bikinis! Check out my review of the Jalie Mix n’ Match Bikini pattern with 9 different styles!

Don’t forget to Pin this post here!