Thanks for all the warm welcomes. Really great to be here.
It's funny how we see our own challenges. When I decided to make my own rash guard (first time sewing swim, and 4 years living abroad without a sewing machine), it never occurred that it would be any harder than anything else. Haha...I tend to go into things blindly...but I think for that reason I'm rarely intimidated by much.
I was living in Singapore and didn't know anything about the pdf pattern world, so didn't bother looking into patterns...I just took a rash guard I had, traced out the basic shapes onto craft paper, cut out the fabric, and sewed it. It's the one I'm wearing in my profile pic. Not perfect, but totally wearable. After that I never looked back.