Sophie Swimsuit Pattern
Large Format PDF Pattern Printing
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With curvy seam lines and a 3-piece balconette cup, Sophie is a supportive, infinitely customizable swimsuit with tons of style.
View A is a classic one-piece with a curved shape and elastic straps. View B gives you the option of a bikini top with a halter neck and a high-waisted bikini bottom with full cheek coverage. Tap into your inner designer by playing with contrast fabric and colour blocking, and learn how to add optional underwires and foam cups to make the most supportive swimsuit ever!
Sizes: Currently available in sizes 0-20 only (PDF)
Recommended fabric:
- Body: Swimsuit lycra with 4-way stretch (at least 50% crosswise stretch)
- Lining: Swim lining with 4-way stretch (100% nylon suggested)
See our guide to printing & assembling PDF files here.
View all sewing tutorials, videos and blog posts about this pattern here.
The vintage look really appealed to me. I imagined myself looking quite glamorous in it.
I'm a quite heavily busted lady, so I had to do a couple of changes to make the suit appropriate to be seen wearing in public. To achieve the support I needed I modified and substituted a tried and true, already tested underwired cut & sew foam bra pattern for the pattern’s top and attached that bra to the bottom portion of the one piece. I also made the color block bottoms separately to be worn with a different suit. I had zero difficulties with the directions or assembly of the suits. I wore both suits during a 10 day trip where I had on swimwear from about 10am until 6pm daily.
Why not for me? I found that the vintage styled square shaped leg opening made my legs look quite stout and even shorter than usual. A 10 day trial was sufficient time for them to “grow on me”, but sadly they didn't look any more appealing after I was used to seeing myself in them. Both suits have gone in the trash now that I have re-claimed the parts of the suits I can re-use for other swim projects.
I have made bras before, but was always nervous to incorporate underwires. No more! They are easier than expected and the instructions were thorough.
There are a lot of steps, but I found it to be really worth sewing and a super enjoyable process. I really liked how the steps didn't have to be done by a serger and I really like the cup shape. If I could go back I would make the straps a lil thicker to give it even more of a vintage feel. There are a lot of options for color blocking the pieces and I used an old leopard print bikini top to make the cups! I think I will make the one piece in the future because it reminds me of a swimsuit my mom's old barbie had :) I am a 42 C
Sophie Swimsuit Pattern
I love the cut of this suit and I learned a lot in making it. I have made 2 so far.
Sophie Swimsuit Pattern
I enjoyed making this, and the final fit is good.
The lines printed on the pattern really helped in grading between sizes I'll definitely be making another one.
I did feel there was some ambiguity about exactly where the seam allowance begins, for the zig-zags stitches
Overall very positive
Good pattern overall with good instructions. I did need to make a couple of test garments to perfect my fit. As I totally expected I needed to make some adjustments which is par for the course in sewing my garments. Easily done and am pleased with my personalize garments based on this pattern.
I bought this pattern to make an underwire bra with the swimsuit top pattern. I haven't started it yet, but I wanted to buy the pattern while I was thinking about it. I have enjoyed making and wearing Closet Core patterns.
I had been wanting to try this pattern and was so excited to sew it! I'm an expert level sewist, so the instructions are fairly straightforward but the sizing leaves much to be desired. I wish the sizing worked within a usual cup/band formula instead of trying to create a new system. I tried sister sizing and making adjustments within this sizing scheme and ended up with a big mess. The cups are enormous in circumference but very flat. Sewing the bikini top was such a disappointment that I haven't bothered finishing the bottom and am dismantling the top for parts. This pattern seems to work well for others, but definitely not for my small band/large cups body type.
I've had my eyes on Sophie for 4 years but was too afraid or to late in my summer sewing list to attempt it.
This year it was my top priority and I've made two. The pattern is well fitted, explanations are so so clear. Next year's already planned and maybe the foam bra version too.
My sewing past mostly involved easy things (like curtains) and mending clothing, so this was far more challenging than I'm used to. I haven't yet finished the project, but I'm about 70% through and have been pleased with the pattern and the instructions and feel quite capable. My only complaint is that editing the pattern for a larger bust has been hard and discouraging. I increased the cups (somewhat) successfully only to later realize that the bands no longer matched up and will need to be redone. The pattern didn't promise to fit my size (F) so I won't hold that against it, however, the whole reason I'm willing to make my own bathing suit, which is an extremely time-consuming and rather expensive pursuit, is because I am not an average size. This is to say, if the pattern doesn't support people of unusual proportions, then who is this pattern for? If I was an average size, I would just buy a bathing suit pre-made. Overall, the pattern is great, just not made with me in mind.