Back in the swim

I was perusing the active wear section at the Magical Thrift last week and caught a glimpse of avocado fringe between a blue crocheted bikini and a pair of black bike shorts.  I moved the two garments aside and was excited to see this sweet vintage swimsuit trimmed in hip-swinging fringe! I checked inside and saw the DeWeese Originals label and, once again, let loose with that little shriek of joy.

It was marked a size 12/34 and I estimated its age circa late 60s/early 70s.  As I inspected its condition I began to think "Maybe this is wearable!" It was marked a beyond reasonable $2.95 so into the cart it went.

When I got home I inspected the suit more closely and found that the foam in the bra had hardened into little yellow crumbs. I decided to replace the bra liner and, luckily, found one in my repair bin o'tricks.  First, I trimmed away the thin, yellowed cotton and removed the hardened foam.

 

 

Then I hand laundered the suit and hung it to dry.  After it dried, I hand stitched the new bra on top of the original lining and then cut away the old bra cups underneath. 

 

Everything went perfectly except for one unfortunate accident. When I was trimming away the old bra my scissors caught the swimsuit fabric and I made a little v-shaped cut at the left side of the bust.   (Expletive deleted.)  I found some matching thread and handstitched it closed. It's noticeable but not awful. Lesson learned: be careful with those Ginghers! 

After repairing my repair, I steam-blocked the exterior of the swimsuit over an oversized lightbulb in an attempt to round out the bullet-shaped bustline. I had some success but it's still a bit pointy....suggesting sunbathing in cold weather.  Maybe I'll wear it when we go to Maui in the Spring. We'll see.