The crochet bikini is one of the memorable icons of the 1960s, like the 45 single play record and the knitted tie. Unlike the last two, the bikini has survived in the ever-changing world of fashion. Even crochet has survived and indeed thrived under the nimble fingers of fashion stylists like Tracy Wootton . Tracy crochets bikinis from her home in Witta from where they are sold around the world, and appear on the front covers of magazines such as Ralph.
In this article, Tracy Wootton reveals the secrets of this ancient needlework craft and the success of her crochet bikinis.
“My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was little and I have always enjoyed it. But as for the bikinis, it all started with the wool shop in Maleny about 5 or 6 years ago. The ladies who owned the wool shop wanted some bikini tops for their shop window and someone I know let them know I did crochet and they asked me to make the tops. And I thought, I really like this.”
Tracy soon started selling her bikinis on ebay. As she says, they sold like hot cakes and once the magazines saw the internet interest, Tracy got herself a fashion label and called her range, ‘Syrene’, an adaptation of siren.
“I really love the fashions of the twenties”, says Tracy. “ It was an era of elegance with the use of beading and crochet. So, it’s crochet and the beading mixed with the colours of the Australian landscape that influence the bikini styles I make”.
Tracy explains that crocheting started in China thousands of years ago with a bamboo hook. Then as now, the hook is used to draw the thread or yarn into intertwined loops. Much later in France, crochet took off as a popular cottage industry, a reaction to the dark satanic mills of the looming industrial revolution.
“At that time crochet was poor man’s lace”, says Tracy. “Lace was made by tatting and other intricate crafts, whereas crochet was for the lower classes who were all doing it.”
Tracy says crocheting is easy. “At least I think it is”, she insists pulling out a hand full of crochet hooks of various sizes from an old wooden box. Tracy is married to hinterland tree surgeon Tony Wootton and the couple have two teenage daughters. “But I can’t teach my children” she says with a laugh. “They just can’t get their hands around it.”
Given that the bikini is one of the skimpiest fashion items in a woman’s wardrobe why do they cost so much? For Tracy the final cost will depend on the work that goes into it.
“Unlined and undied, the cheapest bikini starts from $120 and goes up to $350 for something that takes me a week to make” she says. “There’s a lot of work in some of them, like the underwiring which requires lots of unravelling. And crystal beading is expensive.”
Tracy uses a secret dyeing process which takes a couple of days because the colours have to be fixed so that they don’t run when the bikini gets wet.
“You can crochet with anything, natural or synthetic threads. I made a bikini out of stripped up fabric once. I tied it together. I regard my bikinis as works of art and the making of them is like getting my canvas ready, then I dye them and embellish them and that’s it really”.
So is it only the slim young things that buy Tracy’s bikinis? Not at all says Tracy. “I get men buying them for their wives. I get women who have a special occasion like an anniversary or honeymoon coming up. l get a lot of models who are getting their portfolios and wardrobes together for different looks. But I get all shapes and sizes in women, not just the stick insects”.
Tracy has come up with interesting research into our bodies and how and why we cover them up.
“We have been told that if we don’t have a body that doesn’t look like a stick insect then we should cover it up, put it away, keep it off the beach and out of the public eye. That’s changing thank goodness. Because everyone’s different and fashion commentators say that a small bikini like a Brazilian bikini can make your bottom look smaller because the area that your eye is drawn to is much smaller than something that’s covering the whole thing”.
Have our attitudes changed since the 1950s when inspectors on Gold Coast beaches told young women to cover up their shocking new bikinis? (see separate story ).
“I think Australians are still very uptight and prudish about the bikini”, says Tracy. “The sorts of bikinis I make are bikinis that you strut in. They’re for walking up and down the boulevard. But we Australians don’t tend to do that. We tend to lie on the beach in a bikini and go for a swim but then if we get up and go for a walk, we put on a sarong or shirt. But overseas, say in France, Brazil or the US , women just bare as much as they can and are happy to get the wolf whistles.”
Tracy Wootton is certainly happy to get the attention for her unique skill and fashion sense. She has just sent several bikini sets for a photographic shoot with international models on the Greek islands. She’s also a little amused by the international success of her Syrene bikini label. After all it’s a long way from Witta.
October 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
The article on crochet bikinis brought to mind an embarrassing event caused by one of these, and I thought that I would share it with you, and perhaps your readers.
When I was a slim curvy 30 something these bikinis were all the rage, so my mother made me one. I remember it well - white, yellow, orange and brown stipes! I thought I was the bees knees, and strolled, mannequin style, out into the water at it’s first wearing. Unfortunately my mother (bless her cotton socks) had made it with wool , which absorbs water. When wool absorbs water it s-t-re-t-ch-es! So, on rising to my feet after my first dip I was mortified to find the top sagging under my breasts and the bottom hanging under my bum! I didn’t know which to grab first and quickly submerged again, eventually being rescued by my husband with a towel. Needless to say the bikini was never worn again, but has won a place in our family history and provides much laughter each time it’s recalled.
Joie S.