Bathing Suit Coverups & Pool Bags

I made the kids bathing suit coverups out of a bath towel and pool bags out of a shower curtain. They love them. They look so cute in them. They can carry their own swim goggles and pool toys in their own little bags. I was carrying everyone's things in one big bag which would get pretty heavy. They also like being in charge of their own things. It makes them feel a little more independent. The terry cloth coverups are so perfect for several reasons. I don't have to worry about their towels falling off or dragging on the ground and getting dirty. And it keeps them nice and warm and covered. It's perfect for pool parties at a friend's house. When they are they taking a break from swimming or are done swimming, they just slip these on and don't have to change immediately. The coverups fits nicely in their bags. We just roll them up tightly.

These coverups and pool bags are so simple to make and so quick and easy that it is a perfect project for a beginner.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS FOR BATHING SUIT COVERUP:

First I picked out a pretty bath towel. If you would like for the coverup to be longer, choose a super long bath towel or a long beach or pool towel. Mine were not extra large bath towels.

It was a bit too wide; so I trimmed off two or three inches off of each side, depending on which child I was making it for.

If you are making this for someone who is larger, then you don't have to trim the sides. Also, if you buy a pool or beach towel, keep in mind that they are usually more narrow than a bath towel; and, therefore, may not need trimming.

I then folded the towel in half and cut a semi circle in the center to make a hole so the coverup could slip over the head. I caution you to be very careful here and only cut a small semicircle at first, open it up and see if it's enough. Then if need be, cut a little more. Only cut an eensy weensy bit at a time. It's amazing how huge a little half circle is when you open it up. I actually made the head holes too big, especially on my son's. Looking at the picture, it looks to me what I did wrong is I cut the semicircles too deep versus too wide.

Then with right sides together I serged up the sides. I stopped at a predetermined point in order to leave an opening for the arms. You could also zig zag the sides together with your sewing machine.

Then I pinned extra wide store bought bias tape over the raw edges of the arm holes and head hole. It's important to use the double wide because the terry cloth is so thick. Be sure to pin the shorter side of the bias tape to the right side of the fabric so when you are sewing on the edge on the right side, it catches on the wrong side. Hope that makes sense. If not, just trust me. I didn't do this on my son's; and you can see, the bias tape is curled up and not as neat.

You don't even have to do the bias tape trim on the arm holes and head hole. You could just zig zag or serge the edges to keep it from fraying. But it isn't hard to do the bias tape trim, and it looks so much nicer. It gives it that professional, store bought look versus the homemade look.

Then I sewed the bias tape in place on the right side of the fabric. That way you can sew right on the edge of the bias tape. On my son's I sewed on the wrong side of the fabric and therefore was not aware of how the right side was turning out. So his is not as neat. I guess you could say that his coverup was the trial one because I made all of the mistakes on his, but it still turned out all right.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS FOR POOL BAG:

Cut three 5 1/2 X 12-inch rectangles and two 12X12-inch squares out of a vinyl shower curtain or some other vinyl material. Attach them as you see in the pictures with right sides facing to the inside, then sew up each side. You must either sew these pieces together with a serger or by hand. The vinyl gets stuck on the bed of the sewing machine and jams up the thread. Turn right side out. Fold the top down a quarter of an inch toward the inside of the bag and stitch down by hand.

I picked up the material for the handles at Wal*Mart. They sell it by the yard. I sewed them on the machine. To get it to go smoothly under the machine, I placed a square of fabric to the inside of where I would be sewing the handles and then stitched it as well when I sewed the handle in place.

You can see, if you look closely, where the threads are all jumbled and knotted up where I folded down the top a quarter of an inch. I tried sewing it on the machine, and it wouldn't feed through smoothly. It kept getting stuck, and the threads kept getting tangled up.

Linking With: Sew Country Chick's Sew & Tell Saturday

Sundress No. 6

I'm sure it's no secret that I'm a proud mommy with as many pictures as I am putting up of one little dress and one little girl. Can you blame me? She is just as sweet as she is pretty. She's always very polite and always looking for ways to help around the house and with the baby. She's a real blessing. And she even sews! You can't beat that.

I have one more sundress to show you. It's made with a really fun fabric. But I'll be showing you some other things before I show you the last one. I've been real busy with some other fun projects. I sewed all day on Saturday, and I get up in the mornings and sew before the children wake up and sew as much as I can. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I hope to do another post on Thursday. Things are a little up in the air right now because my grandmother is in the hospital. I spent all day with her Monday. I'll probably be spending a lot more time this week up there as well. It doesn't look good; so I would appreciate your prayers.

Sundress No. 5

For Sundress No. 5, I decided to also make one for Miss 8's best friend's birthday. I thought they would enjoy having a matching outfit. They are even wearing matching shoes. They have been friends since they were born, literally. Miss 8's friend is three months older. Their oldest sisters, who are both in college now, have been friends since they were crawling babies, too. And Mr. 6 has been friends with her brother since he was a baby. My youngest is 17 months, and they don't have anyone for him. These friendships have been very special as you can well imagine.

The girls have been having a fun summer together. Each week on Wednesdays they switch off going to each other's home to spend all day, sleep over, and then most of the next day; and sometimes they manage to get to sleep over another night. So they have been seeing a lot of each other lately. I know when school starts they will be so busy studying. We'll have to see if we can arrange some play dates during the school year, probably on the weekends. They both homeschool, but there is still lots to do and learn.

We have been sharing the love of sewing with Miss 8's friend. Last year for her birthday, we gave her a little sewing box with notions and some pretty fabric and taught her how to sew a pillow. This year for her birthday we gave her this dress as well as an interesting jar from India full of pretty buttons. She has come over and done some sewing with my children. You can see pictures of them sewing together and the projects that they have made if you go to Miss 8's sewing blog.

Sundress No. 4

I love all of the sundresses that I made, but I think this one is my favorite. I just love this fabric. It is so beautiful. You don't need a complicated design or pattern to make something nice as long as you have quality fabric. Sometimes just doing a simple, basic design can be nicer; the less is more concept. These dresses are so easy to make, no muss, no fuss; yet so pretty and sweet; My daughter loves to play in them and wear them to church. As you can see, she chose not to wear the waist tie with this one. It's pretty either way.

For those of you who are finding me for the first time, I gave written instructions on how to make these dresses with a pattern that I tell you how to make in my first posting of these sundresses. I've made around seven or eight of these little dresses, which I will be showing you all of them.


PARTING SHOT: It appears that we witnessed a mother walking stick bug giving birth. Does anyone know for sure if that is what is happening here?

CORRECTION:

Oops. I was wrong I just did some research on the internet and found out that walking sticks do not give live birth. They lay eggs. I am going to copy and paste some text from another website. Sorry for giving you the wrong information at first.

"Most Stick Insects do mate. Species where there are equal males and females are able to mate and lay fertilised eggs (eggs that will produce male and female offspring).

Stick Insects mate like many other animal; with the male on the female's back (females are much larger than males) and the male "latches on" to the female. Some species the male dies shortly after mating, whereas some males will live a full life, mating many many times with the females (this goes for my Peruphasma Schultei).

Of course, females don't need a male to lay eggs. This is called Parthenogenesis. Females will lay unfertalized eggs which will all be female offspring. The best known species for that is the Indian Stick Insect, which very nearly all members are female."

Sundress No. 3

 

 

 

 

I made several of the same sundress for Little Miss 8 in different fabrics, around seven or eight. She really loves them. They are very comfortable and easy to play in. I attached the lining to the fabric by sewing around the edges. If you scroll down, you'll see the post where I actually give a tutorial on how to make these. They're quick and easy. They can be worn with or without the belt. I've had the fabric in my stash for quite awhile. I bought most of it on the $1 a yard, and some of the fabric was given to me. I will be sharing all of the dresses with you over the next couple of weeks..

Refashioned 1970's Thrift Store Find

I found this 1970's formal in a thrift store. It had this shiny silver top and polyester plaid knit skirt and jacket. The top was too tight, and I can't imagine wearing it anywhere anyway. It was floor length. The jacket wouldn't close and was long sleeve. So I decided to modernize it a bit. I separated the top from the skirt, sewed a zipper in the back, shortened the length to just above the knee. I shortened the sleeves on the jacket, and took out the bust gathers so it would close. And voila, there you have it, a new outfit for me. Hope you like it!

The jacket was too small. It would not close all of the way. There was a four-inch gap. So I unpicked the band at the bottom and released the bust gathers. Then I sewed the band back on. And now I am able to close it all of the way and tie it.

I cut off part of the sleeves and hemmed them to make them shorter.