Things are about to get crazy around here.
Ok maybe not girls-gone-wild crazy but tutorial-fun-and-projects-we’ve-been-dying-to-post kind of crazy.
So I decided that if I want to share Gracie’s swimsuit cover up (which has already been worn far more often than it should have been by June 3rd) then I better post it today before all the madness begins.
I originally posted it over on the Terra’s blog (one of the nicest people I’ve ever “met”) but today I am reposting here to start off the summer season.
WAAAHOOOOO!!!!!!
So here it is—A super simple swimming suit cover up:
Hello Mama Says Sew Readers!
I am so excited to be over here today and to be a part of Terra’s Just Sew Series!
(I, by the way, am liZ from over at Simple Simon and Company…a blog where my sister in law—who’s name also happens to be Elizabeth—and I post about sewing, the art of homemaking, and our love for all things vintage.)
Today I am going to share a quick tutorial for the swimming suit cover up that I made Grace for the upcoming water party season.
It is ridiculously easy. All I needed for supplies was a half yard of terry cloth (but you could use a thin towel), about half a pack of extra wide, double fold, bias tape, some one inch elastic, and a few measurements.
Here are the measurements that you’ll need—
*The circumference of you child just beneath their armpits. (Grace was 20.5 inches around)
*The length you want the cover up to be—measure from the armpit down. (I went with 15 inches)
*The distance, in the front, between your child’s armpits minus 1.5 inches. (Grace ended up at 8.5 inches after I subtracted.)
Now you have your supplies and your measurements. Let’s get sewing!
Here’s what we’re going to do:
#1. Cut your terry cloth.
(It should be as wide as you circumference measurement plus your armpit to armpit measurement plus an extra 5 inches for give (I cut Grace’s 34 inches wide.) and it should be as tall you your measurement from the armpit down plus an inch to make the elastic casing with.)
#2. Now measure in the distance in between your child’s armpits and mark on the fabric.
#3. Next you are going to round the corner off. Start at the mark you just made and round that corner up blending it into the side like in the picture below.
#4. Now enclose the curved side and bottom hem of your cover up in bias tape and stitch together. (Like in the photograph below.)
#5. Next fold your cover up right sides together until the raw edge lines up with the front armpit mark you made earlier. (Like in the picture below.) Then sew straight down that raw edge joining those pieces together.
#6. Fold the front flap over the seam you just created and pin. (As shown in the photograph below.)
#7. Turn your cover up inside out and the top raw edge down one inch. (This is going to create the casing for your elastic.) Sew around the entire cover up leaving only a small opening to insert your elastic.
#8. Insert your elastic and stitch closed the opening.
#9. Flip inside out and you should have something that looks like this:
I swear it’s easy.
(It actually took me less time to make the cover-up than it did for me to write the tutorial for it!)
And it’s something that I know is going to get a lot of use.
The only thing that makes Grace unhappy about wearing it is when it’s time to come in and dry off.
Thanks again Terra for inviting us today. We appreciate it.
And if you want to check out the tutorial for Grace’s cover up last year come visit us today over at Simple Simon and Company!
-liZ
Lovely girl and intresting post, thank you so much your sharing!
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Oh! So cute! I love this idea. This seems to me a perfect cover up for children. Maybe I should try making one too for my niece. She would surely love this. Thanks for the tutorial.
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