Draft a Halter Neck Swimwear Sewing Pattern – Digital Pattern Making Tutorial

In this tutorial I demonstrate how to transform the high-rise basic leotard block into a halter-neck swimwear pattern, using Adobe illustrator. It’s a pretty simply tutorial but it does features a couple of key digital pattern making techniques such as;

– How to create a point and move it by a fixed measurement, a technique we use to draft all of our test blocks in Adobe Illustrator.

– How to split a panel into sections using the pathfinder tool. In this tutorial we use the High Rise basic leotard block, but there are four other leg-hole styles to choose from.

This tutorial works with all five styles since we’re only adapting the upper part of the basic block. Visit the DesignLab.London website to view the full range of leotard blocks.

Download the Basic Torso Block to Follow Along

You will need a hip-length basic torso block that features waist shaping and a mid-shoulder front dart to follow this tutorial and draft this basic wrap dress. We have two options for you to choose from!

More Basic Leotard Blocks

See our full range of Basic leotard blocks on our sister site DesignLab.London

Drafting a Bikini Swimwear Sewing Pattern – Pattern Making Tutorial

In this tutorial I demonstrate how to transform a basic swimwear block into a bikini set with two different bikini bottom styles. A high-waisted style that sits at the waistline and a top hip style that sits along the hip line.
This is a really quick and simple tutorial that features a whole range of tools and pattern-making techniques that really help when adapting basic blocks in Adobe Illustrator.

You’ll need a Top hip basic swimwear pattern pack UK4 – 22 from the DesignLab.London website to follow this tutorial. There’s a link to this pattern further down the page. Be aware, that the top hip swimwear block is ONE of FIVE leg hole styles to choose from so possibly you’d prefer to download a different style? Take a look and find the right style/ pack for you and your project. The second part of this tutorial only works with the top hip, mid-hip, and low hip leg hole styles, so maybe watch this tutorial first and then make your selection? 

Download the Basic Swimwear Block to Follow Along

You will need a Top hip basic swimwear block to follow this tutorial and draft this bikini swimwear sewing pattern. We also have other basic swimwear blocks to choose from so take a look below to see your options. All basic block packs, come in UK4 – 22 sizes, and contain both fully-editable basic swimwear blocks (Ai/ Svg) and multi-page PDF patterns (US-letter, A4, A0) 

More Swimwear Pattern Packs

View the full range of our basic swimwear pattern packs UK4 – 22 on our sister site DesignLab.London.