Competition Suit DIY: Connectors

You’ll need a total of 6 connectors for your suit.  If you want to save a little more, you could skip the connectors, but they add a lot of sparkle on stage – always a good thing!  I buy my connectors from Mode Beads or Bead and Trim.  Bead and Trim is less per unit, but has a minimum order quantity per style of 4-10 – great if you’re splitting with other girls or making multiple suits, but leads to extra materials if you’re just buying for yourself.  The specific connectors I use are all linked below, or you can buy any extras I have in my shop.

First up, the center connector.  This is a small piece between the two triangles.  The size that will look best depends on how wide your chest is.  I have a fairly small frame, so I use a center connector that is a little under 1″ wide like this 3×3 crystal or this one with a larger center stone.  If you prefer more spacing in your top, you might prefer a 3×6 crystal connector like this one.

You will also need two connectors for the halter strap.  You can use any connector between 4 and 6″ long – you’ll be using part of the strap to add the rest of the length you need.  I used this 5″ 3 row connector on my last two suits, although I’m considering something more intricate for one of my next, like this oval loops connector.

Lastly, you will need two more connectors for the bottoms, one for each hip.  The best size I’ve found for these is 5-7″.  You could use the same connectors as you use for the top halter, or something a little different.  Hip connectors with a drape, like this one, look great on stage.  Tip: Keep the drape fairly small if you have well developed glutes – you don’t want to distract from what you’ve built with all that hard work!

Back connectors have become pretty popular over the last couple years.  I don’t recommend them, though.  Try this – put a swimsuit on and tie the back as tight as you can.  Then arch your back like you do in a back pose and pull your shoulder blades together.  You’ll feel the tie on your back get really tight.  Rhinestone connectors don’t have any stretch, so if they get pulled too tightly and there’s no place for something to stretch, they can break.  The only way to decrease the risk of breaking is have extra give in the back, which means your suit is hanging looser than you might want.  Neither sounds good to me – so I’d rather give up a little extra sparkle to reduce the risk of something going wrong.

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For those tracking the cost savings, we had $44 in fabric and sewing supplies on our suit.  A center connector will cost around $2, two halter connectors are about $5 each, and two hip connectors are about $5 each.  We’re at cost of only $66, and if you aren’t planning to add rhinestones, those are all of the materials you need .  For comparison, a suit without rhinestones from Ravish Sands costs $125, Saleyla would charge you $145, and Angel Competition Bikinis tops out the list of popular suit providers at $150.

Savings so far:  $59 off the least expensive of popular options.  These savings quickly move into the hundreds of dollars if you want to add stones, though {more on that later}.   

NEXT UP: CONSTRUCTING THE TOP.  

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