Dandelions n' Dungarees Ruched n' Ruffled Swimsuit in The Feisty Freckle Fabrics

Let's talk Swim fabric.  Usually I just sigh loudly and get whatever Joann's has, because there isn't anywhere local that carries it, and it makes me nervous to buy it online, because you never know what you'll get, ya know?

Then I got the chance to try some fabric from Feisty Freckle Boutique.  If you're looking for really nice quality swim/dancewear fabric at good prices -- I definitely recommend this shop.   Let's start with what I made...

This is the Ruched n' Ruffled Swimsuit from Dandelions n' Dungarees. 
Quick notes on this patttern...
It comes in sizes 2-7.
Has two main variations, one and two piece but within that you can change up the options a bit to give it some different looks. 

I have to say, I am not an expert with swim fabric, and I would call this an intermediate pattern, since the whole suit is lined and it takes a bit of time to get it all together properly, but I think with some tenacity that an advanced beginner could pull it off well!  Especially since I find that Elise's instructions are easy to follow along and end up with this result that always looks better than I thought I could make.

I made both versions of this pattern.  For the one piece I used the fabrics I was sent from The Feisty Freckle, and for the two piece I made, I used fabrics from the local chain store.

 
Inara has been wearing these suits non stop for days, and here's what I've noticed.  The solids from both places are comparable in the colorfastness, but I find that the solids from The Feisty Freckle are a little thicker than the black solid I used on the two-piece, and it gives it a really nice weight and recovery. 

Now for the patterned print. We've worn the suits in salt, fresh, and chlorinated water.  The print on the two piece is sort of embossed on, if that makes sense, and it's sort of rubbed off in some spots now, though its hardly noticeable, it is a bit annoying.  The one piece, on the other hand, looks just as bright and clear as it did on the day we made it.  The weight is really nice as well.  Overall the one piece seems like it will hold up more to her constant wear and tear (she is ROUGH on her clothes lol), and I think it will do so without looking faded and stretched out even after she gets a good year of wear out of it. 

To jump over to the pattern for a moment, I just have to point this out as a mom... Inara has a bit of a tush.  The end result with bathing suits is that we have a hard time finding ones that cover her butt well but don't look all weird and saggy.  This suit totally takes care of that issue. It covers her derriere (heehee, how often do you get to use that word?) completely and stays in place through the very active play of a 6 year old.  I call this a big win.

As for the prices, I was VERY pleasantly surprised with how affordable the fabrics are for such nice quality product.   So you get nice quality fabrics and good prices, and the owner was really great about helping me match up colors to prints, which is always stressful when ordering fabrics online.  

***UPDATE***
After a summer of wear... I have to say that I am REALLY pleased with how the fabrics from The Feisty Freckle Boutique have held up.   We went to water parks, the ocean, pools, and lakes... and the suit still looks like new and fits perfectly.  I definitely recommend these fabrics for use in your swim and dancewear.  And if I can convince Inara to take gymnastics we are going to make a leotard out of this  and this!