Sewing Summer and Beach Wear
Sew Bikinis and Summer Tops from a Range of Free Sewing Patterns
Being typically small items – bikinis, beach cover-ups and light weight shawls and wraps are great items for sewers of all experience levels to have a go making. For the novice sewer, these can be interesting projects, which offer the opportunity to try many useful techniques whilst being on a small scale. For the lapsed sewer, looking to rekindle an interest in the craft, then sewing a couple of beach items can be a great way to dust off some forgotten skills before starting on bigger projects – and of course for the experienced sewer, a whole new beach wardrobe can quickly be created.
Whilst there are numerous patterns and designs available for purchase, there are also some free patterns available on the internet which can offer a low cost way to start creating new garments.
Bikini
An essential part of a beachwear wardrobe is a bikini and a swimsuit can be easy to sew yourself. This can be a tiny, flirty, lacy garment more designed for looking nice rather than swimming, or a more substantial functional swimsuit designed for beach and water activities. An interesting free pattern for a bikini can be found at the Martha Stewart website. This 'Tie It On' bikini has an interesting twisted strapless top, and the full pattern along with detailed step by step instructions and a useful slide show are available on the website making this a great project for someone looking for a little hand-holding. The pattern also includes instructions for a light beach cover-up.
Summer Top
Sewing your own light weight beach and summer clothes can also be a great way to use up some of those odds and ends of fabrics which are inclined to lurk around the bottom of the work-box. An interesting idea for a summer top is this Twist-It-Up Bandeau Top from the Threads magazine website. The free pattern and instructions to make this site can be found at the Threads website. This top is simply made from a couple of triangles of a light weight fabric. To make a top to fit a 36 inch chest then a total of around 1 1/4 yards of fabric is required - this can be made from different fabrics, perhaps in complimentary colors. Another interesting feature of this design is that it can be worn in a couple of different ways, altering completely the look and feel of the top.
Beach Bag
No trip to the beach would be complete without a bag to carry all those odds and ends essential to a good days sunbathing. A pattern and instructions to sew a lined bag with pockets can be found at the Hancocks Fabrics website. This useful bag uses different types of fabrics to give an eclectic feel and would have many other applications.
Tips for sewing beachwear:
- Choose your fabric carefully, materials with stretch and which will not waterlog are important – a fabric such as Spandex is suitable for this kind of project. You don’t want a waterlogged swimsuit to leave you displaying a little more than you originally planned!
- Ensure that colored fabrics are color fast. Some brightly dyed silks and other fabrics may bleed color the first time of wearing.
- Make accessories such as corsages, flowers and other decorations from odds and ends of left over fabric. These can be great for accessorizing your beach attire!
- Simple head scarves can be made from remnants of fabric, these can be handy for covering unruly beach-hair or giving some additional protection from the sun.
Have fun getting sewing your summer wardrobe and getting ready for the beach!
For more interesting reading take a look at the Sewing and Needlework section at Suite101.
