Who’s ready to save a fortune on their competition bikini? This girl! Before you can get started sewing, you’ll need to stock up on supplies. The full list of everything you’ll need and links to where to buy it are listed below. Have a question about anything on the list? Just leave me a comment at…
Bikini Competition
Tips for Choosing a Macros Coach – IIFYM Dieting
It’s a new year, which means New Year’s Resolutions, a lot of which are likely to focus on weight loss. I’ve been an advocate of the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros, also known as Flexible Dieting or just Macros) lifestyle for three years now. It helped me reach my target weight after years of…
Competition Bikini Fabric Pattern and Color Options
Whether you’ve decided to make your own competition bikini or are purchasing one from a company, it all starts with choosing the right fabric for you. I previously shared why 4 way stretch is so important and 3 rules for choosing a competition fabric. Today, we are building on that advice and showing you specific patterns…
Cutting Out Your Competition Bikini Top
The feedback on our DIY Competition Bikini series continues to amaze and overwhelm me. When I started making my first suit two years ago, I struggled to find anything about how to get it done, so I just kinda made it up. This pet project – to create a resource that enables even an amateur…
3 Tips for Picking the Perfect Competition Suit Fabric
Whether you’ve decided to buy your competition bikini or are going to make your own, picking a fabric can be one of the most fun – and most stressful – parts. I’ve shared before why four way stretch spandex is so important. Still, the 4 way stretch fabric options are endless! Here are 3…
Understanding Competition Bikini Fabric Stretch
I wrote a post back in February about selecting the perfect fabric for your competition bikini – and your feedback was great. Since that post, I’ve received a few emails and messages on Instagram asking why 4 way stretch was important and whether a 2 way stretch could work. So today, we’re talking more about fabric…
The Scale is a Liar
It’s easy to let weigh-ins control you when you’re cutting tracking macros. While coach says to only check-in once a week, it’s easy to slide on that scale once, twice, or a dozen times a day. Every time the scale fluctuates, you worry. You hop on another scale in the guest bathroom to see if it’s…
Competition Bikini Suit Designs
The most cost effective way to purchase rhinestone crystals for personal use is in 1 gross {12 dozen} increments. This may sound like a lot of stones, but it doesn’t go as far as you’d like.
So what does this mean for the actual design? I’ve replicated some popular suit designs below, sharing what stones I used and where you can buy them from. Please note, these designs are based on an A/B top and small bottoms. You’ll want to increase the number of stones slightly for larger cup and/or bottom sizes. I also over buy by about 25%, just in case stones fall off or I want a different look when I start laying out the stones.
Competition Suit DIY: Ordering Rhinestones
Whether you’ve decided to sew your own suit or buy a simple suit from a reputable competition bikini manufacturer, adding your own rhinestones adds a lot to your stage look and can save you HUNDREDS!
CHOOSING A STONE TYPE
I don’t use true Swarovski crystals for my suit. I know, it sounds crazy, but here’s why: Swarovski uses a precision cutting technique that gives you those gorgeous facets that reflect light. And, that comes with a price. You’ll pay about twice as much for Swarovski stones, compared to Preciosa Viva 12 czech crystals.
If you’re producing these suits for sale with significant markup or using the stones in something that will be viewed up close like jewelry or a wedding dress, of course it makes sense to use the genuine Swarovski crystals. If you’re making the suit for yourself, save 50% and use Preciosa. You’ll never notice the difference on stage, I promise!
Competition Suit DIY: Constructing the Top
If you’ve been following along, we’ve SELECTED OUR FABRIC and put an order in for connectors. Next up, sewing the suit top.
CUTTING THE TRIANGLES
We’re not going to use a pattern today. Instead, we’re going to use a set of Swim Shapers to model our suit around – even if we’re not going to use them as padding on our suit. Alternately, you can use a triangle bikini top that fits well with minimal bunching along the bottom {you want the fabric on your competition suit to be pulled tight when complete}.
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 from my Etsy 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.
Buying the Fabric for Your Competition Bikini
Whether buying or making your competition bikini, picking the right fabric is critical. A few things to keep in mind when selecting your fabric:
Competition bikinis should always be made with 4 way stretch spandex. Unlike 2 way stretch, which only moves in one direction, 4 way stretch spandex stretches both cross-wise and length-wise. This enables the fabric to move with you and be pulled taught around a fixed object {like your top inserts} without the print “cracking”. If you pull a 2 way stretch fabric in a direction it does not stretch, the ink used to print the fabric will appear to crack, losing its elasticity and showing white or black lines through the print.
I source all of my fabrics from Spandex House. They have tons of 4 way stretch spandex options in nearly every color imaginable, and at really reasonable prices. I used their Avatar print in Turquoise and Black on my last suit, and have the same fabric in Black/Silver, Black/Purple, Black/Royal, and Black/Kelly as options for my next suit {I’m only a little indecisive…}. I also picked up the Scattered Mini Dot fabric in Red/Black as an option for my next suit.