Headed to the Bahamas...tankini style

Every year, when the trees start budding leaves and the grass starts turning green, I start to dread the oncoming spring season...not just for the allergies that overtake our house, but that means that swimsuit season is right around the corner.  I usually take to the covers and vow that no bathing suit will be seen on me in public.  However, I do believe this is the year that I change that!  I decided that I was going to have an adventure and applied to test the Bahama Mama Peplum Tankini and Bottoms from Peek A Boo Patterns, and can I say I feel like a swimsuit queen in this suit!

Okay, so some quick details about the pattern before I give you my two cents on it:

- Pattern sizes range from XXS-XXXL (00-24) so this covers a pretty good range of sizes
- Top has options for a fitted or full skirt
- Built in shelf bra with optional cups (there's even a tutorial on the blog on how to use an old bra for extra support)
- Bottoms have a low rise and high rise option
- These are interchangable with the Bahama Mama boy shorts and tankini top from last year
- Colorblocked racerback style top so you can mix and match up colors

I opted for the full skirt and added the cups in the shelf bra for the top for some extra support and the wind gets going pretty good here in Oklahoma and that sometimes brings a little chill on the water so, um, well, um...yeah.

For the bottoms, I did make the high rise bottoms since I like to have that added coverage if the skirt happens to float up when we're in the water.  I was a little nervous about the rear coverage, and I was over the moon that I was well covered from behind as well as in my tummy area.

Overall, the construction was pretty easy.  I did add the cups to the shelf bra, and I would definitely suggest you try that on and make sure that the cups are in the right spot on your top before sewing them down.  If you are wanting to use an old bra instead, Eleri from the Sew and Tell Project, blogged a tutorial on how she did this for her swimsuit.  I didn't do this but hers turned out awesome so if you aren't wanting to mess with individual cups, I would definitely check out how she did it.

For me, the best part of this suit is how amazing I feel in it.  I'm 5'1" and after two littles, I'm a little more curvy than I remember so I've opted for the shorts and t-shirt option until now.  Every single photo I saw from the testers was amazing, and we were a group of widely varied shapes and sizes.  I don't think there was a single tester that didn't feel ready to hop in the water after sewing this up!  In fact, as you can see above, I did decide to at least step into the water, and OODELALLY, that water was COOOOLD!  My husband was my photographer that day, and he stood there and laughed at me while he continued to click the button....

Really, if you are looking for a great swimsuit that will fit you the way you want, I would recommend you take a look at the Bahama Mama Peplum Tankini.  The beauty of this one is that you can mix and match the pieces with the Bahama Mama Tankini and Boy Shorts from last year so really the possibilities are endless!

Now for the best part!  It released today (31 March) so you can grab your copy of each pattern on sale for Thrifty Thursday for today only! After today it goes to full price.  The pieces are sold separately so you can get one or both.  The top is available here and the bottoms are available here!  Amy also has a Facebook group that you can join in case you hit a head scratch at any point.  There are a lot of ladies in there who can help you out if Amy isn't available!

So, if you've read this far, I really appreciate you sticking it out with me!  I promise you won't be sorry you picked this pattern up so head on over and grab yours today!

Happy Sewing and Blessings!

Kim