Kitschy-kini!

[all tomorrows parties]

When I was a kid, I remember playing with Hot Loops, which are, in fact, just jersey craft loops.  I always wanted to make some kind of clothing out of them, since it looked like knitting; however I decided to go with the less-ambitious bikini.  As companions for the craft loops, I chose pipe cleaners and pom-poms.  A full inventory is below:



Next, I "braided" the craft loops together to form long strands, then connected them with more craft loops that were simply knotted together.  You sort of get the gist from this picture:



Also, my thumb is pointing to the pipe cleaners, which I used as underwires to give the cups more shape and support.  I then sewed in cup liners so I wouldn't get poked by pipe cleaner ends.  The bottoms were made (using the same technique) to be a kind of skort with the sides open and lacy.  The final result is this:



A closeup on the bikini top and bottom, where you can see the pom-poms as accents on each:




An action shot for reference (please excuse the flab  >_<), from the front...


...and the side.  Here you get a better idea of what the sides look like.


I think I used about seven bags of craft loops on this - whew!  Thanks for looking!  ^_^

[eirle]

That's awesome!!! What exactly did you do to "braid" the loops? I love the way the top looks!

[bibblelo]

yes, how did you braid the loops so you could knit with them? were they really thick?

[PinkyK]

I like it! We could open a whole Kitschy Couture Boutique with the entries from this challenge!

[all tomorrows parties]

I braided/knit them together using a method similar to those mushroom-shaped knitting things with the four pegs on top, except I used my fingers.  Basically, you put the loop on your index finger, twist, place the loop you just created over your middle finger, twist, and so on until each of your fingers has part of the twisted loop on it.  Repeat with another craft loop, then lift the bottom loop over the top loop on each finger.  You end up with a long cord hanging off the back of your hand.  After I had made enough cords, I strung them together on more craft loops that I had just knotted together, giving the appearance of a unified fabric.

[eirle]

Oh! I see! Thanks for the explanation!

[Joler79]

Holy cow - I love it!

[AmyKT5]

That's so cool!  I want to make one now!   

[SidekickFancy]

That's WONDERFUL! Great job!