I finally have all my supplies and hope to start on my suit next week. I thought I'd share what I got with you and let you know of some of the European and UK-based suppliers that I found useful.
Here is my foam padding (there is no way I'll wear a swimsuit without it :) and rubber elastic. I got both these things from Sewy.
This is my swimsuit lycra selection:
I got the purple swimsuit lycra locally. The lining and the polka-dot lycra are from Sewy and were super expensive. I might not even have enough of the polka-dot lycra to make the Bombshell swimsuit but I can't afford more, so perhaps I'll make a bikini out of it, once I have the confidence in sewing swimwear.
OK, so here is my big fat list of Eruopean-based online swimwear suppliers:
Sewy
Germany
This shop has lots of printed swimsuit lycra, which is really difficult to find elsewhere. They also have plain swimsuit fabric, lining, foam padding, swimwear elastic and anything else you could think of for making your own swimwear. The downside is that the shop is a little pricey and in German only.
Danglez
Netherlands
Danglez is about to close down as I understand but they still have a lot of stock. For making swimsuits they sell bikini closures, swimsuit elastic and foam cups.
Lijfgoed
Netherlands
This shop has some printed swimwear lycra, swimwear elastic and closures.
MakeBra
Finland
This shop only has lingerie supplies but they do have foam lining you can use to cut customized cup shapes.
Merckwaerdigh
Netherlands
This E-bay seller has some swimwear supplies, like printed lycra.
Glitter and Dance
UK
They do lots of lycra-fabric, some of which is certainly suitable for swimwear. They have lining too and rubber elastic.
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A lot of other online fabric shops will have a small lycra fabric section but usually do not sell rubber elastic, lining or foam padding along with it. This is why I decided to order from only one online shop that had everything to keep my shipping costs down.
If you know of any other European-based, and particularly UK-based online sellers who sell swimwear supplies, please add to the list in the comments. Thank you!
I would also like to give a quick shout out to everyone who is participating in Indie Pattern Month.
I pledged to make the Bombshell Swimsuit :) We'll see if this will still be happening this month. The Pinterest board for the challenge is filling up with lovely photos of Indie-pattern makes and a very cute floral Bombshell. Check it out here.