With swimwear season upon us, everyone wants their wardrobe to be beachy keen. However, such a vital wardrobe must-have can be a real struggle to find on a retail level. With our newest free sewing pattern, unflattering fits and guessing games are a thing of the past. The Cordia Swimsuit features a halter neckline, multiple cup sizes, and beautiful lines, for a gorgeous fit every time. Keep cool and covered with our Aloe-infused UV protective tricots, or give one of Mood’s many neoprene options a try! However your Cordia Swimsuit comes together, your new beach look is sure to go over swimmingly.
Purchase Materials Used Below:
- 1 yard Bananas and Leaves UV Protective Compression Tricot with Aloe Vera Microcapsules
- 1/2 yard White UV Protective Compression Tricot with Aloe Vera Microcapsules
- 1/2 yard Nude Shaper Power Mesh
- 3/8″ Cotton Swimwear Elastic
- White Triangle Bra Cups – Size 06
- MDF153 – The Cordia Swimsuit Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise stated. See chart below for sizing specifications. Note, this specific pattern is available up to a size 30.
CLICK HERE FOR TIPS FOR SEWING TRICOT & SWIMWEAR
Since the swim top is a little more complicated than the bottoms, we’ll begin there. Start by attaching the center bodice/strap piece to the curve edge of your side bodice. Be sure to use a stretch stitch, like you see in the lower right-hand image. After the seam is complete, trim your seam allowance and attach both front bodice pieces at the center front seam.
Repeat with your power mesh lining layer.
Attach the upper back band to the front of your bodice at the side seams. Repeat with your lining, and then form your lower band like you see in the lower right-hand image. Attach the lower band to the upper portion of your swim top, lining up the princess seams on the cups with the seams on your band.
If you’re using a contrast strap like I did, attach it to the top of your cup lining like you see below. Tack your bra cups into place at the top, and zig-zag stitch along the bottom of your cups to secure.
Attach your lining to the main layer of your bodice along the top edge and straps, with the fabric faces together. Trim your seam allowances, turn right-side-out, and edge-stitch.
Lastly, fold the raw edges along the lower edge of your top inward, pin like you see below, and close with a stretch stitch. Your bodice is now complete!
To get started on your swimsuit bottoms, sew your side panels to either side of your front panel, like you see below. Repeat to add your back swimsuit panel. Be sure to use a stretch stitch.
Attach your front and back waistband pieces together at the side seams, fold in half along the length, and then attach to the waistline of your shorts with a stretch stitch.
Cut two pieces of swimwear elastic three inches shorter than the length of your leg hole openings. Stretch the elastic along each leg hole, pin along the face of the fabric, and secure with a stretch stitch.
Fold the elastic inward toward the inside of your garment and hem with a wide stitch, stretching as you sew to be sure that you don’t lose any stretch.
Will you be giving The Cordia a try? Take a look at Mood’s tricots and let me know in the comments which ones you’ll be using!
35 comments
super sympa le maillot de bain ,très jolie, merci
I love this pattern! That banana print is adorable but it was completely sold out, so I ended up picking up a sort of similar print, the banana leaf one! Really excited to try it out–I just started sewing about 7 months ago and have never made a swim suit but I’m excited for a new challenge!
I loooove the banana leaf one!! Be sure to tag Mood when it’s all done – I’d love to see how it comes out!
Hey Courtney! So I’m finally sitting down to make this and one thing jumped out at me. The center top bodice and strap piece, cut at size 4/6 measures about 40″ in length (and longer if you were to cut a larger size than that), but the recommendations on this tutorial only call for 1 yard of fabric, so 36″–it appears to be one continuous piece parallel to the Grainline in the pattern but I don’t see how it’s supposed to fit within a yard of fabric.
I adore your patterns, but I’m having problem with finding a size and measurement guide for the sizes in your patterns. Please advise.
Hi Gail, our size chart is located beneath the download form! Unfortunately we don’t have finished garment measurements for our older patterns. When in doubt, measure the pattern and choose your size accordingly! 🙂
Thank you for the pattern!
ThX sooooo much for this second version, I like the first idea and I will try quickly . I’m so exciting to tempting mine because this model is really a great and beautiful swimsuit
I will try it with pink crocodile fabrics… and silk (sure that’s an homewear version…. ) SORRY for my English but I hope you will understand my happiness. Congratulations and happy new year to Mood Sewciety Wonderful Dream Team❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for the pattern!!!
Just downloaded and print this pattern…thanks! I have searched everywhere for good free swimsuit pattern and this is perfect!
I totally agree with Ceegee. Thank you for posting!!!
I’m excited to start with project! What type of thread is best for the Tricot material?
Hi Katharine! I’d recommend polyester thread for tricot. 🙂
On the mannequin these look like boy shorts. Are they or will they have a higher leg cut on a human body? thanks!
Hi Jennifer, these shorts do cover a bit more than your typical high-waisted bikini shorts.
This pattern is beautiful! I’m trying it with a mermaid scale spandex paired with a satiny gold spandex. I’m also adding an open skirt around the shorts and some slim pockets to the side panels of the shorts to make my dream ultra mermaid swimsuit! I’m super excited and I love the boy shorts look. This design looks Much better for active rough and tumble swimmers than anything I’ve ever seen in retail, and is so stylish! As they say on Project Runway, Thank you Mood!!
Excited to be making the bottoms of this and modifying the top to a shape I prefer.
Finding the crotch is quite wrinkled, any suggestions?
I had this same issue and ended up adding an extra seam from leg to let in front of the crotch area, it’s still a little bunchy but much better. I did use a rather loud patter of fabric so maybe that helped as well in hiding the seam.
How would one adjust the cup size of the top? For example, if I bought the size 12 cup insert, what size pattern would I match that to?
Hi Britany, we’re sorry for the delay in responding to your question! We get dozens of comments and questions each day, and so many questions get buried and, unfortunately, unanswered. We are now focusing user support on patterns 2 years and newer. We hope this will prevent questions on our more current patterns from going unanswered. Although this is late, we wanted to respond in case anyone else has the same question: You’re going to need to do a full bust adjustment. We have a infographic here that you can take a look at!
This looks like a perfect athletic suit! My daughter is seeking high-waisted bottoms and this may do the trick. Excited to share this with her. Thank you for your free pattern!
I had no idea there were free patterns, I’ll be making this bathing-suit with a striped white and blue fabric with royal blue sides.
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern for free!!!
Thanks so much for the free pattern! Also, the fabric I got from you to make this is AMAZING and so nice to work with!
I really struggled with this pattern- I would recommend adding the contrast fabric strap piece to the actual pattern- I had cut mine out of the power mesh per what was written on the pattern, and by the time I realized at this step “If you’re using a contrast strap like I did, attach it to the top of your cup lining like you see below.” I did not have enough of my contrast fabric to free-style cut out another one. The instructions also never tell you to seam your crotch. and the top bottom band had about 4″ of extra fabric on the size 12. The top is pretty cute, but the bottoms have no shaping and sit a little weird. I am going to see if I can add some seams like other posters. Thank you again!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS LOVELY SWIMSUIT
Is seam allowance included?
Yes, a 1/2″ seam allowance is already included! 🙂
I think the ‘lower band’ for the suit top includes the space where the center front band or bodice extension goes. I plan to cut mine with that in mind.
I plan to make my suit as a tankini… lowering the waistline of the bottoms and taking advantage of elastic in my source fabric, a tan through wrap. And, adding length to the lower band and center front band to loosely cover my torso. Maybe I can use the finished edge of my wrap for that, too. I also plan to cross the straps in back and sew them to the back of the top and will probably need to piece them anyway.
If you, like me, have been sewing for decades but have never made swimwear or used tricot, please proceed with caution because the reviews are not exaggerating the issues. –Hand baste everything and keep trying it on with every change– Instructions that assumed I knew how to construct a swimsuit and alter it caused me to spend hours researching techniques on both the Mood site and online, to carefully study construction of my old swimsuit, and finally figure out where I needed to add and subtract for a flattering fit. It was a learning experience for the better.
I measure 46-40-46, am short-waisted, have a tummy pooch, and my torso has thickened with menopause, which places me at a size 20-22, with a feathering up a half size from hip bone to waistband. The back of the bottoms fit perfectly but the front puddled horribly with excess fabric near the crotch. I measured my favorite full coverage boyshort undies against the pattern and found that I needed to remove 1″ from the front crotch and downsize the sides by a half size. This pulled in some of the excess, but I also lined the front bikini bottom with a layer of my power mesh lining. This provided a slight smoothing effect.
I am still not pleased with the bottom band on the halter top. I cut it down to fit, but the finishing stitch at the bottom of the band stretched it out. I will omit this finish stitch next time.
— Now that I know what I am doing, I will definitely make this suit again next summer. The full, 1940s-style bottoms are flattering for pin-up fashion, for new moms, and for older ladies like me, while the halter is full coverage and can be adjusted for any bust size or shape. Love that wide band around the back, too.
Hi I’m struggling to get the Cordia Swimsuit from the email link. When clicked, I’m sent to a link to the MDF153 – The Cordia Swimsuit instead of the pdf. Can you please help?
Hello! Then link seems to be working on our end. When you click on the link in your email, you’ll be directed to a landing page. Click on the orange button that says “Click here to download your free pattern” to get the PDF!
I am also finding the lower band quite long – is the statement “I think the ‘lower band’ for the suit top includes the space where the center front band or bodice extension goes” true? I have made a test top and the lower band doesn’t stretch enough to make the centre front lie flat.
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Also, would you email me the complete pattern? I’m pretty sure that the download I received did not contain all of the pieces. I only have six pieces. For example, I do not have any pieces for the band. I do not have a pattern piece for the strap. Thank you, Stephanie
Hello, you can contact patterns@moodfabrics.com for any issues on pattern downloads.
This suit turned out cute with some modifications to the pattern – I only made the bottoms as I needed bottoms to match a top I had already made from a different pattern. This pattern is lovely because it’s free, and the instructions were adequate, but doesn’t seem well-graded for larger sizes, and the curved seams on the side pieces result in the fabric not sitting well on the body, since it doesn’t want to sit flat with a curve on one side of the seam but a straight line on the other. I made size 12/14 (my measurements indicated size 12), and had to remove a couple inches of length from the sides and inner crotch. The pattern is an odd length – too short for shorts (unless you have very slim legs, perhaps), and too long for a high-coverage bikini, so the extra fabric rides up and puddled at the sides and crotch – I recommend trying on the suit to make any adjustments to the legs before adding the elastic and finishing the legs. The waistband isn’t contoured and really needs elastic added to stay up – I added 3/8″ cotton swim elastic to the inside waistband before attaching to the bottoms. I lined the suit with powermesh in the front and swimsuit lining in the back, and I am pleased with the finished suit, which I’ve worn a few times already.