Swim Lessons: Beginner Week - Swimwear Fabrics

 If there's one thing that can make or break sewing swimwear, it's the fabric.  It is crucial to use good quality fabric.  Today we're going to share some of our favorite places to get very good quality fabric for sewing swimwear.  

When buying swim fabrics, look for nylon spandex, poly spandex, tricot, or athletic fabric.  Also, swim lining is very important, and sold under that name.

Buying fabric online (without being able to feel the quality) can be a tricky thing, so it's especially important to buy from a source that stocks high quality.  We asked the designers in our community for their favorite places to shop for swim fabrics.  We can confidently recommend the shops we are sharing here today, as we have used and loved their swimwear fabrics over and over again.

Boardshorts fabric

Knitfabric.com stocks a great variety of board shorts fabric.  The ones that we've used are slightly sueded on one side, which makes them MUCH easier to sew with.  The prints are adorable, and the solids are so good too.

We absolutely adore the board shorts fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics!  It is super good quality, great to work with, and lasts through many, many wearings.

The Fabric Fairy has a huge selection of board shorts fabrics.  They divide it up into prints and solids, and the variety of both is astounding!

Swimwear fabric

Does it get any cuter than the swimwear fabrics at Raspberry Creek Fabrics?  We don't think so.  Plus, if somehow you can't find the fabric that's perfect for your project, you can design your own!!!

CaliFabrics has a wide variety of fun swim fabrics.  Look for nylon spandex or poly spandex and usually a recommendation for swimwear in the description.  All these fabrics are also deadstock fabrics, so you get to feel great about that too!  We can recommend their solids very confidently too.

Knitfabric.com is a swimwear source we turn to over and over again.  They have cute prints and amazing quality solids in every shade of the rainbow.  You can also find some textured swim fabrics like seersucker.  Plus many of them have UV 50+ protection.

Carriage House Printery (choose one of their designs or print your own)

The Fabric Fairy (hello, hugest selection of solids plus prints galore)

Mimi's Custom Fabric (save us some of the rooster fabric, please)

Spunkin Honeyhead (the only glitter swim fabric we've seen + more)

So Sew English (textured, glitter, ombre, and more!)

Stylemaker Fabrics (designer swim fabrics in solids and some large scale prints)

Purple Seamstress Fabric (tons of prints including Star Wars!)

Mood Fabrics (exactly what you would expect from the one and only MOOD!)

Spoonflower (most designs can be printed on their sport lycra)

ISEE Fabrics (ribbed swim + more in gorgeous earth tones)

Melanated Fabrics

Little Cocalico (choose one of their designs or create your own)

Mily Mae Fabrics (tons of options and crinkle texture we've not seen elsewhere)

Boho Fabrics (THE prettiest florals)

Surge Fabric Shop (fun and also offers bundles with smaller coordinating cuts)

Amelia Lane Designs (beautiful solids and fun prints)

The Fab Clique Fabric Shoppe (tons of solids and great bundles too)

The Styled Magnolia (fabrics that hold up to chlorine very well)

Europe: 

Minerva (located in the UK, but ships everywhere)

Ma Petite Mercerie (France)

Canada:

Shear Perfection (swim and board shorts fabrics)

The Fabric Snob

Blackbird Fabrics (most are recycled fabrics)

Also check out this article by Helen's Closet Patterns on swimwear fabrics in Canada and beyond.

Australia:

Clover & Co.

Birds of a Feather Custom Fabrics

Also check out this article by Megan Nielsen on swimwear fabrics in Australia and beyond.

Wow!  What a great list of places to buy swimwear fabric.  Have we missed any?  

All swim patterns in the shop are 20% off!!!  

Use the code swim20 at checkout.  Code expires July 1st, 2022.

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