Made for Mermaids Reagan Rash Guard

Pattern Stats: Reagan & Women's Reagan

Pattern designer: Made for Mermaids

Pattern level: 2/10

Time start to finish: 1.0 hour

Suggested fabrics: swim knit and optional swim lining

Options: Short or long sleeve, cropped or top length, shoulder flounce (for kids)

Living in the Pacific Northwest, summer usually comes in July. This year though, we have already had a week of weather in the 80's! Unfortunately our swimwear from last year was all too small. Luckily, this beautiful weather came the same week the new Made for Mermaids Reagan was in testing. Everyone got a Reagan!

The kids Reagan is a unisex pattern. I used the long sleeve and top length for both of my boys. I find I prefer the long sleeves for sun protection for them. 

What's really nice about this pattern is that you really don't need swim sewing experience. It's so similar to sewing a standard knit raglan! 

For a fun detail and to flatten seams, I used my coverstitch machine to add a reverse coverstitch stitch. For my youngest, I also added reverse coverstitching to topstitch each sleeve seam and the neckline too. This created a look like some of his ready-to-wear rash guards he's liked in the past. 

All of the fabric I used is swim knit fabric which means it often contains SPF ratings and is more apt to repel water. The neon yellow is from Mily Mae Fabrics and the pirate print is from Knitpop on clearance last year. I paired both of the boys Reagan rash guards with Palm Euro Suits from Sew Like My Mom. The youngest one is in the trunk length and older one in jammers. Both are fully lined and I followed the instructions for hidden seams so they didn't rub on them. I was impressed with how easy these bottoms were to cut and put together. I'll definitely be making more. They love both pieces and wore them every day last week!

My niece was over last weekend and needed new swimwear too. I told you, we ALL needed new swimwear this year! I made her 3 suits last year but hadn't made a rash guard for her yet. It was perfect for the pool. For hers I chose to line the front piece for a bit more coverage for her. I paired it with a pair of fully lined bonny leggings cut at the boy short length. If you aren't aware of this pattern, it's a free leggings pattern offered from Made for Mermaids. She's never had swim shorts and didn't prefer them. I think if I made them again, I'd size up as they become a bit tighter with the lining layer. 

I used the same neon yellow swim knit for her shorts and neckband. I think what steals the show though is this gorgeous Marabella swim from Mily Mae Fabrics. It has a coral base with bouquets of stunning colors. 

I loved this fabric so much, I made myself a Women's Reagan in Marabella too! I prefer not to have my arms fully covered so opted for the short sleeve version. I also chose to not line mine. I will wear a bra or swim top under it so didn't see the need.

I've always struggled with fit on raglans and found that to be true with the Women's Reagan as well. What we determined is that I have wider shoulders which means that I need a wide shoulder adjustment. Before I made this adjustment, the shoulders were tight and pulled uncomfortably into my armpits. After I followed this tutorial, I feel comfortable with full range of motion and standard pulling. I measured a size Blue for all of my bust but with the wide shoulder adjustment, went with an Indigo size for the neckband, sleeve and bust.I also should note that I measured at the bottom end of size Green for my waist but chose to size down to an Indigo waist so it was more fitted. 

My Reagan is paired with my hacked Patterns for Pirates Take the Plunge bottoms. I followed the separates and ruching hacks on their blog to make these last year. They are high waisted so go up higher than the hem of the rash guard. The swim fabric is actually a mint and white thin stripe. It's just a bit difficult to photograph. I love how versatile both of these fabrics are to coordinate with the rest of the swimwear collection.

Made for Mermaids has created a bundle for both patterns at $13 or they are available for $7.50 each individually in Women's or Unisex. Just trust me though, you need both. They've also put all the other patterns in the Mermaid Shores swim collection on sale for $7.50 each through Tuesday May 21, 2019. 

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