How to Fix Swimwear Sewing Struggles: Skipped Stitches, Wavy Edges & More

Need an issue fixing pronto?

🧵 Scroll down to find your issue 👇 and get fixing

ISSUE 1: The machine is skipping stitches

ISSUE 2: Elastic is flipping outwards and not sitting flat

ISSUE 3: Stitches are stretching out your fabrics

ISSUE 4: Uneven stitching or struggling over seams

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I clearly remember the ball of scrunched-up fabric after trying (and failing) to sew a bikini when I was 15. I was excited… then very quickly confused and put off ever sewing swimwear again.

So believe me when I say, sewing your own swimwear doesn’t always go to plan. 😅

But it can go to plan - and if you want a shortcut to getting it right,

👉 Start with these 7 tips to successfully sew swimwear in this blog: Read it here

Whether you’re a first-time swimwear stitcher or looking to level up your techniques, the fixes below will save you so much time and guesswork. You’ll know exactly what to do if something doesn’t go quite right.

I’ve done the experimenting over the last 5+ years of my swimwear sewing obsession for you. So you can skip the stress and dive straight into confidently creating your own!

And if you’re ready to cut straight to creating your dream swimwear without the guesswork or hours of Googling, here’s how:

👉 Join The Swimsuit Starter Series for £44 – perfect if you’d like to test the waters and see just how possible it is to create your own swimwear, and at the same time come away with a custom swimsuit!

👉 Take The Plunge – for those of you who want to learn it ALL, this is my full in-depth 4-week online swimwear course! I’m talking designing your dream swimsuits AND bikinis, drafting the patterns for them, fitting them to your body, and whizzing them up no matter your set-up.

Take The Plunge - Create swimsuits and bikinis that suit your style, lifestyle and body inside this in-depth online design, drafting, fitting and sewing course

The Swimsuit Starter Series - Turn 6 simple body measurements into your own custom-fit swimsuit with this online mini-series

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These fixes I'm sharing with you below will help you sew swimwear, with just a sewing machine or with an overlocker/serger, that:

• Lies flat on a table

• Doesn't have any puckering

• Has even stitches

• Has no skipper stitches

• Doesn't have twisting or flipping out edges

Just like these...

I sewed this asymmetric lined one-piece with an overlocker and a sewing machine

This set, I ONLY used a basic sewing machine - the bottoms are even reversible (not that they needed to be, but that's how clean the finish is!)

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Here’s how to fix common swimwear sewing problems👇

🧵 Scroll down to find each issue 👇 and know how to fix it

ISSUE 1: The machine is skipping stitches

ISSUE 2: Elastic is flipping outwards and not sitting flat

ISSUE 3: Stitches are stretching out your fabrics

ISSUE 4: Uneven stitching or struggling over seams

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ISSUE 1: If your machine is skipping stitches when sewing swimwear....

Scroll down to discover how to fix skipped stitches when sewing swimwear 👇

FIX 1- The obvious fix - check your needle or needles (on an overlocker) are threaded correctly (only yesterday this happened to me with my overlocker!).

If you're struggling to thread your overlocker, I find watching a quick YouTube video helps, but make sure it's for your specific overlocker.

Now, let’s dive into the more unusual reasons your sewing machine might be skipping stitches on when you're sewing swimsuits and bikinis.

FIX 2 - Clean your machine

It might seem simple, but cleaning your sewing machine can instantly stop skipped stitches, especially when working with fine or stretchy swimwear fabric. I’ve had this fix the problem before.

If that doesn’t solve it, move on to the next fix.

FIX 3 - Check the needle is the correct type and size

You want to be using a STRETCH needle for sewing swimwear. If you’re already using one and stitches are still skipping, try a different thickness:

• 90/14 for thicker swimwear fabrics

• 75/11 for thinner or more delicate swimwear materials

👉 Click here to shop stretch needles

Click here for stretch needles

📹 P.S. I share an in-depth video on how to master stretch stitches, machine settings, and set-up, for swimwear inside my full swimwear course, Take The Plunge – perfect if you want to see it all in action.

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ISSUE 2: If your elastic is flipping outwards on your swimsuit and bikini and not sitting flat...

This is one of the most common issues when sewing elastic on swimwear, but it’s also one of the easiest to fix when you know what to look for.

FIX 1 – Check where you’re stitching

Have a look at where your stitch line is sitting. If you’ve been sewing along the outer edge of the elastic but not securing the inner edge, that can cause the elastic to flip outwards.

Try changing your stitch position so it catches and holds down the inner edge of the elastic as shown in the image below 👇. That’ll help it sit flat and smooth against your skin.

Stitch so you cover the inner edge like this 👆

FIX 2 - Adjust your tension

If your thread tension is too tight or too loose, it can cause the edges of your swimwear to curl or flip out.

Check all of the tension dials you have on your sewing machine or overlocker, depending on what you're sewing or your setup. Your machine manual will normally have a guide.

I normally find a tension of 5 on my sewing machine works best (I only have one dial on my sewing machines), and on my overlocker 4-4-3-3

Do a quick test to check. The test should look like this:

• Top stitch should stay on top

• Bottom stitch should stay underneath

• Fabric should lay flat with no puckering or looseness

Adjust your tension so that your stitches aren't causing your edges to flip out or curl

📹 P.S. Want to see how I stitch elastic so it sits flat every time? I show you exactly how in my full course Take The Plunge - including tension tips, elastic placement and close-up demos.

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ISSUE 3: If your stitches are stretching out your swimwear fabric…

FYI - A denser swimwear fabric is more likely to cause this than a thinner swimwear fabric.

FIX - Widen the stitch and increase the spacing

A very dense stitch will cause the stitching to push out to make room for it.

Try widening your stitch length and giving each stitch more breathing room. This reduces tension across the seam and helps prevent distortion.

Swimwear stitching examples - The wider the zig-zag, the more the fabric can stretch without snagging the stitches

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ISSUE 4: Uneven stitching on your swimwear

Scroll down to discover how to fix uneven stitches when sewing swimwear 👇

If your stitches are uneven and the distance between them is inconsistent, it usually means one of two things:

1. You’re unintentionally stretching the fabric different amounts as you sew and/or

2. Your machine is struggling to feed the fabric over thicker areas like seams

FIX 1 – Let the machine feed the fabric

Don’t pull or stretch the fabric, just gently guide it. The only time you should stretch anything when sewing swimwear is when you’re adding elastic to the edges, as you can see below 👇.

Other than that, let the machine (overlocker or sewing machine) do the work to keep your stitches even.

See how I'm holding the elastic in one hand and fabrics in my other so that I only stretch the elastic a small amount and the fabrics not at all.

FIX 2 – Use a wedge under the presser foot when sewing over seams

When sewing over thick seams, the presser foot can tilt, making it hard for the machine to feed the fabric evenly.

To fix this, add a wedge under the back of your presser foot to level it out.

Some machines come with a built-in leveller, or wedge tool, but if yours doesn’t, a wedge of card or even a 15cm ruler works perfectly (like I'm using below 👇).

Just make sure your needle is down when you lift the foot to slide the wedge in, and position it a few mm behind the needle so it doesn’t shift accidentally and you break the needle like this.

A quick hack to help your sewing machine foot go over thicker seams and prevent uneven stitch lenghts

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Want to CONFIDENTLY and SUCCESSFULLY sew swimwear that actually suits your style, body and lifestyle?

There are two options waiting for you to speed up and simplify the process.

One to take you all the way, and one to get you started today 👇.

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OPTION 1 - Take The Plunge: 4-Week Complete Swimwear Course

Create swimsuits and bikinis that suit your style, lifestyle and body

This is the full swimwear creation experience, so you can confidently design, draft, fit and sew swimsuits and bikinis that make you feel confident poolside and beyond.

Inside, you’ll discover how to:

✔️ Design swimwear that actually suits your vibe and body

✔️ Draft custom-fit swimsuit blocks from scratch (and speed up your drafting process x10)

✔️ Sew with swimwear fabrics, with or without an overlocker

✔️ Draft bikini and swimsuit patterns for your favourite styles - strappy, cut-outs, coverage, high-waisted, classic or asymmetric

✔️ Add luxe finishing touches that make your pieces look designer

Take The Plunge - learn to create swimwear that looks professional and fits like a dream with this 4-week in-depth online course

👉 Join Take The Plunge here

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Not quite ready to dive fully in and want to test the waters first?

OPTION 2 - The Swimsuit Starter Mini-Series

From body measurements to finished custom swimsuit in a matter of hours!

Think of this as your launchpad into swimwear making.

It’s a self-paced mini-series that walks you through:

✅ Taking your own measurements

✅ Drafting your custom-fit swimsuit blocks

✅ Turning them into a working pattern

✅ Sewing up your very first swimsuit (with or without an overlocker)

Perfect if you want to dip your toe in and see just how simple, quick and fun making your own swimwear can be whilst creating your first custom swimsuit!

The Swimsuit Starter Series - turn your body measurements into a swimsuit in hours with this online mini-series

👉 Join The Swimsuit Starter Series here

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Sewing swimwear doesn’t have to be frustrating. With these fixes in your toolkit, you’ll know exactly how to troubleshoot those common hiccups and turn what looked like a fail into a confidently sewn swimsuit or bikini.

Because the real secret to successful clothes creation? It’s not perfection, it’s knowing how to fix things when they don’t go to plan.

You’ve got this. 🧵✨

Happy sewing! 🌊🧵