Sewing Zenith and Quasar Yoga Swim Spandex for an Active Mommy and Me Swim Style

I recently received some Yoga Swim Spandex (YSS) from Zenith and Quasar, and I have some fun projects to share with you today! The YSS base is perfect for swim OR activewear, and I decided to make outfits for my oldest daughter and myself that worked for both. For today’s post, I will talk about the patterns and adjustments I made to them, how I feel about this fabric, and I will also randomly talk about life throughout it all. SO, have a seat 🙂

The Back Story

When we were making our summer bucket list, I asked my daughter what she wanted to do this summer, and she said “Go down a water slide.” I felt like an awful mom in that moment when I realized she is 10 and still hasn’t experienced the joy of a water park. SOOO, needless to say, I put it on the calendar, and now we are planning to go to Hawaiian Falls in 2 weeks! She told me she did not want to wear her regular swimsuit, but she wanted something that she could play hard in and be active.

I immediately knew what I wanted to make her! I also immediately corrected myself about being a bad mom. I always have this feeling of needing to do more or be more for my kids, and I have to remind myself to be grateful for where I am and what I have been able to do (because it will never be everything, I am just one human and some days keeping everyone alive, fed, and dressed is enough!) I also pray God to just show me if there is something I am missing. Anyways, let’s talk about what I made and this fabric!

The Moxi Shorts

For mine and my daughter’s shorts, I used the Moxi shorts pattern by Greenstyle. The pattern is drafted for stretch woven (my fave being the stretch chiffon from Joann), but they also work in a swim knit, if you size down. She now measures a size 2 in the pattern so I made her a size 0 without any adjustments.

The pattern has an optional compression shorts or an optional brief. On her shorts, I made the optional brief and used swim lining for the brief. I didn’t make a brief for my shorts, but will show you what I am wearing underneath my shorts later in this post.

I used swim knit for the binding on both of our shorts. I have had the Moxi pattern for over two years and have made MORE than 12 pairs! But, I still have not made a swim pair because I have been intimidated by the binding part of the pattern when sewing swim. I do feel confident with my swim sewing abilities, but I really didn’t feel confident making bias tape out of swim knit! It is not going to iron flat, and it will slink all over the place. I searched the Greenstyle group and saw the recommendation to use FOE, and I just have to admit, I don’t like sewing with FOE.

Using a Swim Knit for Binding

On my daughter’s pair of Moxi shorts, I cut a one inch wide strip of fabric (along the cross grain, just like you would cut any knit band or binding so that the greatest stretch runs with the length of the strip). I used the cut chart in the pattern for the total length on this strip. Then, I sewed it right sides together along the length of the shorts. Next, I folded it to the back. Finally, I topstitched it down from the right side with a twin needle.

On my pair of Moxi shorts, I did the same thing, but I cut my strip 1.25 inches wide. The extra .25 inches gave me a little more wiggle room to apply it, but I did end up having extra on mine to trim off.

This method is the same way you apply a single fold binding (like finishing the neck or armholes on a tank). The only difference is that I don’t stretch the binding like I would on a knit tank.  I do give the binding a very small amount of stretch, though, when going over the side seam so that it lays down correctly and doesn’t gape.

This finishing looks a little different than the regular Moxi shorts because the binding finishes at 1/4 inch instead of the 3/8 inch in the pattern because I applied the strip with my serger, which has a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Even though the binding finishes slightly smaller, it was so worth it because it went on FAST and looks so CLEAN! Even though it was swim, it did not shift or move, and I did not cry a single tear or need to get out my seam ripper! I finished these shorts in about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours!

If you prefer the look of the wider 3/8 inch binding, then cut your strip a little wider and use a 3/8 inch seam allowance when you apply it to the right side.

For my Moxi swim shorts, I was a little undecided on size to make. I am between sizes, so when I make the Moxi’s in stretch woven, I use the smaller size. So, I wasn’t sure whether to go down an additional size, and I didn’t want my shorts to be too small, especially in the crotch. So, I used my normal size, and then I ended up needing to take the legs in a little. Everything else felt perfect, but my legs gaped more than they would in a stretch woven. Here is how I took my legs in – I just overlapped the lower back piece a little more than normal when sewing it to the upper back piece.

This is the same adjustment you would make for a small butt, for any extra that you have in the lower bottom of your shorts, or if your leg openings are too wide. You can also see what my binding looks like on the inside because I did not change my bobbin thread!

Our Tops

For my daughter’s top, I made her another Reagan Rash Guard from Made for Mermaids. She loves the one I already made her (and blogged about here) and asked for one that was a little shorter. She didn’t want the crop length so I just cut it exactly between the crop and full length. I used the crop band and elastic lengths in the chart since the pattern is a straight cut. The elastic helps the top to stay down, which is key for going on water slides.

For my top, I used part of a pattern that is in the works at Greenstyle Creations. I am super excited about this one and can’t wait to see it go into testing. I have already made one in cotton lycra and loved it, and I can’t get over how perfect it is in YSS. It will work for the pool in the summer and for the gym all year long.

I am wearing a Power Sports Bra under my top. I think the strappy version is just my favorite.

Swim Bottoms

Underneath my Moxi Shorts, I am wearing the high waist option on the North Shore Swimsuit bikini bottoms. These were my favorite bottoms when I did the Sew Along in late May so I was excited to have enough scraps left over to make another pair. (You can find the full sew along with video support for sewing these HERE).

I love the feel of the YSS fabric by Zenith and Quasar. It is a bit more stable feeling than regular swim so if you are a beginner, I would recommend this as a swim fabric to start with. I love that it works for more than just swim, so I am not limited to sewing with in in just one season. It is also a bit more soft and not as slippery feeling compared to most swim, which makes it a breeze to sew with.

I LOVE this suit. It makes my heart so happy. I feel like I can really run around in it and not have to worry about wardrobe malfunctions. I also am excited that everything I made works for the gym, for the pool, and for everything in between. I also keep thinking that if I ever signed up for a triathlon, this is what I would wear, but first, I would need to learn to swim more proficiently so that’s not happening anytime soon. Haha! When I swim, it is more like hanging out and watching my kids and keeping them alive.

What Happened to My LEG?

Do you see the big gash on my lower leg? I wished I could tell you some exciting story about how that happened. My husband said I should write that I was attacked by a shark, but in reality, it was a laundry basket. My son tore part of a laundry basket, and when I walked by, the torn edge cut me. OUCH!

Being a stay at home mom to 5 kids has it’s rough days, and today was one of those, but here I am still smiling, and I took my kids to the beach club and got them raspas when it was all over with. So, I feel like I am winning, even though my leg still really hurts!!

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Resources

• The Zenith and Quasar YSS I used on my suit is called Hummingbird Hideout. The YSS I used on my daughter’s suit is called Geo Splatter. I found the black in my stash. It is a swim fabric from Made Whimsy (or possibly somewhere else?)
• The shorts pattern I used for both of us is the Moxi Shorts. The high waisted swim bottoms I am wearing is part of the North Shore Swimsuit pattern. The rash guard my daughter is wearing is the Reagan Rash Guard.
• You can find the sew along for the north shore here.

Disclosures

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own. I also received this YSS fabric for free (after paying shipping).