Pink Paradise: My Crocheting Journey and Off Shoulder Swimwear

I've been crocheting almost everyday for the past few months; it's what I always do whenever my baby is sleeping or on good behavior. So I find the fact that I haven't written about it yet very weird! ｢(ﾟ<ﾟ)ﾞ

Fashion, makeup, cosplay and finally, crocheting; I bet you're wondering how it all began. Before I was introduced to it, I would always associate the art with blankets, rugs, doilies, cover ups and grannies buried underneath heaps of yarn by the fireplace - definitely not my cup of tea! Then one day, while searching for ideas for my baby's getup, I fell in love with the cutest mermaid crochet costume ever and the rest is history. I discovered that there were a lot of amazing stuff you can create with it... and how cute my baby looked in one! Definitely a win. Admittedly, it's difficult to learn something like crocheting without a mentor who could demonstrate things right in front of you, and it was a shame that I couldn't find anybody to teach me, but the determination to create wonderfully cute costumes for my baby took over! Youtube had a treasure trove of tutorials.

As expected, it was a tough road to take: a hook in one hand, and a baby in another! It was labor intensive and time consuming. Even though there were times that frustration got the better of me and I wanted to give up, I just reminded myself of how my baby would look like in my long list of dream creations and I would instantly snap right back on track. Today, I have a massive collection of cute crochet stuff for my baby - from hats to boots to dresses and swimsuits. Nothing beats the joy of seeing my daughter wearing a dress I specifically made for her. I'm proud to say that everything was made with lots of love, and that's what matters the most to me. It all paid off! <3

I've got a long way to go, but I'm happy that I took the opportunity to learn the art of crocheting. 6 months in and it's not just a hobby anymore, it's more of a, say, passion. Yes, just like how I feel about everything you see here in my blog. Crocheting is love (♥ω♥ ) ~♪ And I wish to spread the love for crochet too.

With that said, I'll be sharing my latest crochet project. It's the off shoulder swimwear that I wore during the 2nd day of our El Nido trip. I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out considering that its my 2nd attempt at swimwear. The first one was the watermelon bra that I wore during baby Anastasia's 5th month shoot here. Without further ado, let me show you my version of the off shoulder swimwear (灬♥ω♥灬)

Details:

Here's a pattern reference for this top: DIY Crochet Top // Braedyn Bralette part 1

I attached bra pads because it tends to slip down without it. I don't have big boobs that will support it stay up. Flat problems (｡•́︿•̀｡)

I used a granny square pattern for this. Here's a tutorial for those who might be interested: How To Crochet Granny Square And How To Join As You Go Tutorial Pattern #9

Here's the pattern reference for the bikini bottom: DIY CROCHET BIKINI BOTTOM TUTORIAL

If some of you are curious as to how effective it was as swimwear, then I would say... absolutely not! Hahaha! I should have considered the kind of yarn to use. I chose to use Gantsilyo Guru's Milk Cotton Light in Old Rose because it was too pretty, all the while ignoring the fact that it was made of cotton. So basically (which didn't seem so basic at the time), the yarn would naturally expand and get heavier when wet. ໒( •́ ∧ •̀ )७ As consequence, they had a tendency to slip down when beach time came. If you're planning on making one of your own, I suggest using a lightweight synthetic yarn instead. A nylon yarn, maybe? Don't make the same mistakes as I did!

Okay moving on.. I'll just look at the bright side, and I hope you will too! Learning crochet can be heartbreaking at times (unraveling every stitch you made after "finishing" because you just found out that you've been doing it wrong (⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄⌯) - and believe me, I've been there a million times) but it can also be very rewarding. It's just how it goes, especially if you're planning on learning the art by yourself. Mistakes are there to make you learn and improve! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Anyhow,

This is how it looks when worn with only the bikini.

and with the beach cover up skirt

OFF TOPIC: I think I did a pretty good job in getting my body after giving birth. Although, it's not the same as it was before because of all the mommy tattoos I got from it. Hehe~ And yes, I'm back to being tan. It's been years since I was last this dark.