Vivi Lou Is Ready For Summer!

……..Love Notions Releases the Clearwater Summer Essentials for Girls!!

Last summer, Love Notions released the Clearwater Summer Essentials for Ladies and it was a smash hit! I like so many others dove into sewing my own swimwear for the first time ever! Well~ Love Notions customers begged for a Girl’s Clearwater and it’s here!!!

BOTH the Girls Clearwater and the Ladies version are on sale for just $6 ALL WEEKEND!! Even more exciting is the release of the new Clearwater Summer Essentials Sewing Course! Tami (the owner of Love Notions) puts together wonderful online sewing courses. It’s like having your own on-demand sewing teacher that holds your hand every step of the way! The course is $25~ and you can get either the Girls or Ladies Clearwater pattern for free with this purchase. (If you want both~ you can order the other for just $6) REMEMBER~ Use my code 10MARYMAC for an additional 10% off.

The Details

The Clearwater Summer Essentials is an athletic wear AND swimwear bundle! It’s a collection of versatile patterns that can be combined to create many outfits for whatever your “little” may need.

5 Separates to Choose From

• Tennis Dress/Swim Dress
• Tankini Top
• Sports Bra/Bathing Suit Top
• Briefs
• Bike Shorts

AND….

• Designed for knit fabrics
• Something for Everyone!
• Built in Sports bra for the dress and tankini
• Bike shorts have a gusset panel AND side pockets!
• Amazingly simple to sew
• Modest curved front neckline
• Level: Confident Beginner

Sizing & Fit

The Girls Clearwater is available in sizes 2T- 16. The dress, tankini and sports bras choose size based on the chest measurement. If in between sizes, choose the smaller size. For the bike shorts and briefs choose the size based on the hip measurement, again if in between sizes choose the smaller size. Grade to a large or smaller waist if needed.

Remember to check the height each size has been designed for~ lengthen and shorten as needed.

Do not be confused by the finished garment measurements. It’s import to remember that swimwear/activewear will have negative ease in order to fit properly. (Hence one of the reasons I suggest a muslin-trial garment)

Vivi Lou’s Sizing & Modifications

For Vivian I made a straight size 4T. This is exactly where her measurements fell. The only adjustment I made was to make the legs elastic on the briefs 1/2″ longer. When testing the pattern, the legs on the tester version were just a tad too tight on her. This is why it’s important to make a muslin, especially if the child you are sewing for has “chubbier” thighs!

Fabric and Notions

The Clearwater Summer Essentials pattern is designed for knit fabrics only. Light to medium weight fabrics with at least 40% 4-way stretch are needed. Look for fabrics sold as “Activewear” or “Swimwear” fabrics. These fabrics will give you the most success. Check the fabric content~ you should use fabrics that have at least a 10% spandex/elastine content. These will provide the best stretch and recovery. 

Swim lining is required for some of the essentials. You can purchase a lining that is specifically designed for swim/active wear. You may also use your main swim fabric as lining, but it is a tad thicker.

Compression or power knit can also be used for the bra lining. This will give the best support, if needed for the larger sizes.

Notions

• Thread
• 3/4″ knit elastic for the bra lining, larger sizes may want to use 1″ elastic.
• 1/4″ or 3/8″ swim elastic for the sports bra, tankini, dress and briefs.

Sew Mary Mac’s Tips for Sewing the Clearwater

• Make a muslin!!
• Use 1/4″ or 3/8″ rubber elastic for the neckline, armscyes and legs of the briefs. This elastic as a lower profile and will be less bulky. Your kids will outgrow these pieces before the rubber elastic will deteriorate.
• Double check the leg elastic length BEFORE sewing. Some littles have super thin thighs and other are a bit chubbier.
• Page 9, Step 5~ Stitch the neckline elastic to the swim fabric, not the lining. This helps to keep the lining in place so that it doesn’t peek out at the neckline.

• Page 9, Step 5~Mark 1/4 points on the elastic AND the neck edge. Then match 1/4 points and pin, then sew as directed. This will help the elastic gathering to be even around the neckline. (Like you would for a neckband)
• When sewing elastic to the swim fabric, be sure to only stretch the elastic and NOT the swim fabric. Doing so can cause extreme rippling which may not flatten out when worn.
• Sports Bra: Page 17, Step 8~ When folding elastic to the inside be sure to pin in place before sewing. Since you are stretching the elastic as you sew, it is very easy to get “ripples” that are noticeable when worn. Below is how many pins I used!! The other picture shows how I got a ripple on my muslin.

Tips for Sewing With Swim Fabrics

• Cut accurately. Swim fabrics can be slippery. A rotary cutter and pattern weights may be the best way to go with swim knits.
• Sew with polyester thread. This thread will hold up to choline and salt better than cotton threads.
• Skip the iron! It’s so easy to melt synthetic swim fabric. Try “finger pressing” or use a nice thick press cloth with steam if you must iron.
• Don’t stretch or pull your fabric while sewing. This will affect the final result and fit of your garment. 
• Use a stretch stitch such as a zigzag, triple zigzag or lightening bolt stitch. Check your machine manual for other stretch stitches your machine may have.
• Make sure to use the right needle! Some people sew swim with a basic ball point(jersey)needle that is used for knits. You may find that a STRETCH needle may work better for you. Stitch needles are recommended for fabrics with a higher spandex content. If you are getting skipped stitches, give this needle a try.
• Use ball point pins to prevent tiny hole and snags to your fabric.
• Test your machine/stitches on your fabric to find the best stitch to use. Make sure your stitching isn’t stretching out your seams as you sew.

If you really want to take a deep drive into learning to sew with swim fabrics, I suggest visiting this blog post my friend Whitney wrote for Raspberry Creek Fabrics. She is the queen of sewing swimwear! Her blog post is filled with everything you need to know about supplies and sewing swim!  Visit that blog post HERE.

Ladies Clearwater Summer Essentials is on Sale Too!!

For all the details on the Ladies Clearwater~ visit this blog post. I have all my sizing modification information there for you along with some tips for the Ladies version.

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Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate all of you that visit!  If you enjoyed this blog post, consider subscribing to my blog to stay up to date with all my posts!  

Mary Anne 🙂

Remember to follow me over on Instagram to see all my latest makes!  @sewmarymac

You can also follow my Facebook Page~ Sew Mary Mac. On this page you will find information on my makes from all pattern companies. If I know of any good sales(pattern or fabric) I will also feature this information. I have had many of my loyal followers send me friend requests on Facebook. I do post in the Love Notions group under Mary Anne MacLean, however this Facebook account is private. There is no sewing content on that Facebook Account.

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You can purchase the Girls Clearwater Summer Essentials pattern here.

You can purchase the Ladies Clearwater Summer Essentials pattern HERE.

You can purchase the Clearwater Summer Essentials Course HERE.

These are affiliate links. It costs you nothing to purchase from these links, it just helps fund my fabric addiction which allows me to test and review more patterns.

To receive an additional 10% off the pattern price, use this coupon code 10MARYMAC. This coupon code can be used at anytime on any pattern….even a $6 Feature Friday pattern. This code is good through September 2025. My code does change quarterly, so please always check the newest blog post for an update if you find a code isn’t working.

Fabric Resources

All of my swim fabric was purchased from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

Vivian’s Tropical Floral print fabric is from the 2025 Swim Release. You can find that fabric HERE.

My Navy Vine Floral swim fabric is from the 2024 Swim Release. You may order this as a custom order HERE. (This link may not be working at this time. I am in the process of getting this fabric uploaded to the retired Club fabrics)

The Navy Shell print was a custom print I had created at Raspberry Creek from a file I purchased off of Etsy. Sadly this designer is no longer selling her files. I did find that some of her designs are available at Baby Bee Fabric, but I have never ordered from them so I can’t vouch for their quality etc.

Raspberry Creek Fabrics Swim is high quality and UPF 50+. It’s the perfect weight for tops and dresses and isn’t too clingy. And of course- it’s perfect for swimsuits! The best thing about RCF Swim is that it is available in the cutest prints with coordinating checks, stripes, polka dots and solids!  I also find RCF swim easy to sew with. It’s thick enough that the edges don’t roll and isn’t too slippery

RCF has a large selection of swim fabrics to choose from.  You can see the entire swim collection HERE. You can also select any of the thousands of designs in the Designer Library to be printed on swim. I just ordered 4 custom prints for more Tinley Skorts. (They are my favorite thing to wear for bike riding and pickle ball.)

I love sewing with RCF swim fabrics. It is by far my favorite swim fabric to sew with. I love it for LDT dresses, Tinley skorts, and Constellation pullovers~ and now swim suits too!

Other Online Stores for Swim

Surge Fabrics

Discovery Fabrics