One of the fun things about being a part of a team that has contributors from all over the world is that you get to live vicariously through their posts. Today we have 2 beach beauties sharing their Ruby Jean's Closet Gidget Bikinis (recently revised pattern) from Hawaii and the Atlantic coast! Makes me want to book my flight and go on vacation NOW! But that's not happening any time soon, so I'll just check out their reviews of these super summery suits and enjoy the ocean view. We're giving away a copy of Gidget which on Pattern Revolution Instagram, so if you don't own it yet, enter to win!

* the pattern has cutting instructions on the pattern pieces like how many to cut and where to place, but not step by step instructions in the pattern or a pattern cutting layout diagram.

Alooooooooha!!! Sending you lots of warm hugs from the island of Oahu; I'm here to review the most adorable 'kini pattern! Ruby Jeans Closet's Gidget bikini is a super fresh take on a retro sun suit style. The girls and I set off to one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Lanikai Beach, for the perfect setting to snap some pics of their pineapple-y cute suits! The Gidget Bikini pattern is written for cotton woven fabrics such as quilting cotton, seersucker, chambray, etc. For this sister set I used the following fabrics:

The Gidget bodice features either a center ruffle or a ric rac trim option, shoulder tie straps or halter tie strap option and a cute, retro, sweetheart shape. The back has a center panel of elastic for easy on/off and room to grow. The pattern gives sizing suggestions based on chest size only, so I had a tough time getting the perfect fit for the top and bottoms. My girls are pretty slender for their height, so I followed the pattern recommendations for width and increased the length to their normal RTW size. Once adjusted, the top fit perfectly! The shoulder tie straps kept falling off, so I ended up tying them across the back after we were done with photos. I would recommend moving the straps in towards the center of the bodice at least 0.5 - 1 inch to help keep the straps in place, or just use the halter strap option.

The Gidget bottoms have an elastic waist and leg hems for a comfortable fit, and are lined. I had to adjust my waist elastic quite a bit (about 3 inches for each of the girls) and even then the bottoms were quite roomy. Like the top, I mixed lengths and widths to find the perfect fit for my tall, thin ladies. My favorite feature was the cute bum ruffle

The pattern directions were pretty straight forward and easy to follow. Getting the perfect fit took me quite some time, but I would give about 2 hours to sew up the Gidget. I had some trouble printing the original pattern, but was pleased that Linda made some revisions to the pattern to correct the printing issues when she received our original feedback list. I love the end result of the Gidget bikini pattern- so fresh, so cute, and so fun! My girls had a blast playing in the sand and sun in their new suits!

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Living at the beach has its perks and obviously the main one is lots of time in the water. Whether it’s in the ocean or our backyard pool we have “mermaids” swimming around daily. The need for swimsuits is REAL. When I saw the Gidget girls’ bikini for the first time I fell in love with the vintage look. The adorable ruffled baggy bloomers, the over the shoulder ties and sweetheart bodice are perfect for the littles. I chose to use mermaid fabric of course! This print is called Monaluna Little Mermaid. It is an organic fabric in the perfect shade of blue. It is lightweight and ideal for the water.

The pattern has two versions one for baby sizes and one for girls 3T-6t. I made a size 5 for my girl. I chose the size based on the chest measurements provided in the pattern. The fit of the top was good on her. The shoulder ties were a bit too close to the armpits in the back on my daughter, so I will adjust those next time or choose the halter straps option instead. The bodice has an elastic casing in the middle back part only that requires 4 pieces of elastic and I found this a little difficult to thread and keep in place while sewing onto the sides of the bodice. The ties are constructed by folding in ¼” on both sides and then folded closed and stitched up the side. I think next time I will the sew straps more like bias tape. While the bodice is fully lined the seams are exposed.

The bottoms are baggy, perfect for the diaper wearing little ones. But for my 4.5 year old a little too big, although, I realize it is the look of the vintage bikini. I cut my bottoms the 5 length but the 4 width to create a less baggy look. There is an elastic measurement for the hips where it is threaded into the waist but since they sit on the hips one must focus on that measurement. I cut mine shorter for an accurate fit. The pattern tells you to do check fits and adjust elastic to get the best look. The legs are constructed by using a bias cut of fabric and sew on as bias tape but it calls for ⅜” elastic and I found it a somewhat difficult to thread that size in the casing once it was sewn on and folded ¼” and then folded over the leg opening and sewn in place. There are openings at both seams where the bias meets that must be handstitched to finish. Again, the bottoms are fully lined but the seams are exposed.

If you are using DIRECTIONAL fabrics the pattern piece for the bottoms is one large piece where the front will be folded up therefore either the front or back will be upside down. Keep this in mind when choosing prints. I wanted my blue mermaid so I cut the pattern piece and cut the fabric adding in a seam allowance for the overlap. It worked fine.

The directions and photos are easy to follow and all steps are thoroughly described in detail. There are pattern pieces for all parts and no measurements for rectangles but since those pieces are small it is perfect.The pattern takes some time to sew due mainly to the construction of certain parts. The overall look is darling and it does create the vintage appeal of the pattern. I look forward to creating another in my own way.

Here are more Pattern Revolution reviews of Ruby Jean's Closet patterns!