The Great Cover-Up
May 25, 2011
It’s warm outside! I’m so ready for the hot, hot heat and the days of blistering sunshine. I LOVE summer and if there’s one thing I want to pass along to my girls, it’s the love of all things summer. Many afternoons in my life have been spent in a bathing suit, lounging in the sand or splashing in the pool.
So when I got a request for a swimsuit cover-up, I was thrilled. What a great idea, right? She didn’t have any parameters for what it looked like and I had a very specific idea in mind. Thanks to my friends having terrific imaginations (and faith in me) she waited patiently while I turned this rough idea (I’m NO artist!):
into this gorgeous swimsuit cover-up!
Isn’t it just precious?!
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It was incredibly easy to make!
Materials (this is for a 3T/4T size, but can be worn a little longer):
1 yard terry fabric
1 spool 1.5″ ribbon
20″ of 1″ elastic
3.5″ velcro
fabric scraps
coordinating thread
First, take the terry cloth and cut it in half width-wise, making it 23″ by 36″.
Square up the sides, but don’t cut the bottom where the fabric is finished. This will be the bottom of your cover-up.
Serge around the 3 unfinished sides. If you don’t have a serger and don’t want to zigzag to finished the edges, skip this step.
Starting on the sides, fold over 1/2″ and pin. Sew using matching thread. (if you skipped the serging step, fold over twice to enclose your raw edge)
Then fold the top edge down 3″ and sew along the edge. (if you skipped the serging step, fold under 1/4″ and sew, then fold down 3″).
Then come up 1 1/8″ from the seam you just made and sew another one, creating a casing for your elastic.
Pin and sew the ribbon down, making sure to sew on either side of the casing you just made.
Make sure to leave at least 1 inch extra on both sides.
Then take your 20″ of elastic and thread it through the casing, leaving a little sticking out on each side.
Sew 1/4″ from the edge of the cover-up to secure the elastic in place.
I used matching thread in my bobbin so the seam didn’t stick out so much.
Then cut the elastic off even with the edge,
fold the ribbon over twice,
and sew in place.
This is what your cover-up will look like so far.
Then make your straps. I cut 2 pieces of fabric 3.5″ wide by 10″ long.
Fold each end up .5″ and iron.
Fold right sides together and sew down the length of the strap.
Use a safety pin to turn the straps right side out and iron flat, with the seam at the side.
To determine where to place your straps, it’s easiest to use the person you’re making the cover-up for. I used Sofie to get them approximate, then evened them out. If you don’t have someone to try it on, you’ll have to make a judgement call. Start by deciding how far you want the front piece to overlap and mark it with a pin. Then come in equal amounts from each side and place the straps. It was about 2″ for me, leaving approximately 4.5″ between the straps.
Open the cover-up up and pin the straps in place about 1/2″ down. Sew them down, using thread the color of your cover up, 1/4″ from the top edge.
Then sew an applique or other decoration to the bottom. For information on how I do applique, please visit my tutorial.
To finish the cover-up, cut a piece of velcro 3.5″ long.
Sew the rough half of the velcro on top of the ribbon on the part of the cover-up that’s inside. I sew around it several times to make sure it’s on good.
Then sew the soft side inside the outer flap of the cover-up. That way when they’re taking it off, if the velcro hits precious skin, it won’t scratch it.
Again I used matching thread in my bobbin to help the seam blend in.
But since we want it to be pretty, a big bow would hide that velcro part perfectly! So tie a bow from the ribbon,
place it on top of the cover-up and cut the ends to the desired length,
and hand sew it in place!
Ta Da! Perfection.
Posted in 
May 25th, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Oh, I think I want to make one for little K. Heck for that matter I want one too.
Thanks for sharing!!
May 25th, 2011 at 3:21 PM
Melissa, I’m so thrilled with this! Avery is going to love it, and it’ll be perfect for her birthday pool party. I’m going to surprise her with it as part of her birthday setup that day. Yay!
May 25th, 2011 at 8:32 PM
I love this!! I made something sort of similar for my bridesmaids at my wedding two years ago-and now I wish I could go back in time and remake the wraps I did then just like this!!! Beautiful work; I will definitely have to update my summer wardrobe with one. Now to decide which fabric for the accents…
~Meara
May 29th, 2011 at 6:50 PM
Great idea!! Tried to open the link to the applique tutorial, but I was unable to open it… :/.
June 4th, 2011 at 6:27 AM
[...] elinizde havlu çocuğunuzun peşinde koşmayacaksınız nasıl yapıldığı ise adım adım burada.. Cevabı iptal etmek için [...]
June 9th, 2011 at 5:07 PM
I saw your tut a couple days ago, and then went to the pool today and thought I really do need one of these for my girls! It’s so cute!! So, off to the craft store for the terry cloth.
June 10th, 2011 at 8:37 AM
Beautiful and fun!
I shared a link to this on my Inspiration Friday post…
http://www.laniejandco.com/2011/06/inspiration-friday-61011.html
June 24th, 2011 at 5:37 PM
Great tutorial! Made one to day for a gift added a beach barbie, pool toys and put it in a pail so perfect!!!
June 27th, 2011 at 4:23 PM
[...] Swimsuit Cover Up – Sew Like My Mom [...]
June 28th, 2011 at 3:08 PM
Super CUTE. Thanks for the tutorial I linked to it on my FB page..
July 3rd, 2011 at 9:34 AM
[...] trip to the pool, I decided that the girls needed some cover-ups. So, I made them these matching terry cloth cover-ups. They have been perfect for keeping them warm and dry while eating our picnic [...]
July 10th, 2011 at 8:27 AM
[...] Source [...]
July 19th, 2011 at 2:02 PM
Made one for my little Lucy same day I saw this, she loves it! I had a hard time trying to sew velcro on the thick layers, so I did a button with loop elastic for the closure. I wish I could post pictures!
July 26th, 2011 at 12:11 AM
Made one today using an old towel and some ribbon. Little Sarah loved it. This one turned out great but I am going to make another one with some terry cloth. Thanks for the excellent tutorial! I love your site:)
July 30th, 2011 at 9:27 PM
Love the coverup. I would like one for when I get out of the shower. Maybe my nieces would like one.
November 4th, 2011 at 11:54 AM
I make these in class with my students. (Family and Consumer Science aka home ec class) I LOVE the idea of the ribbon making the casing. This is so much easier than what we had been doing. One question….where on earth did you find cute ribbon that matched your fabric like that?
November 4th, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Also…are you on Pinterest? I’d love to ‘follow’ you there!
November 4th, 2011 at 3:48 PM
Donna, I am on Pinterest! I’m under SewLike MyMom (I think!)
The ribbon and fabric came from Hobby Lobby. They’ve got lots of matching choices!
November 8th, 2011 at 7:57 PM
I made some like this a while back and my niece and daughter are starting to outgrow them. Do you have any tips on making them a little more “one size fits all” instead of being so custom. Or how to make them to where one might fit 2T to 5T and one would fit girls 6 to 8 so that I can make them a few for bath times and they will last them longer
November 27th, 2011 at 12:19 AM
Is there an advantage to using terry cloth over a towel?
January 14th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Do you make these to sell? I’m looking for 2 for my twin girls for our summer vacation. They will be 12 months. My email is jjhelm7@gmail.com
January 18th, 2012 at 1:24 PM
Wondering what the font is that you used for the “A”? I love it!
February 15th, 2012 at 8:10 PM
[...] I saw the tutorial for the pool wrap on the Sew Like My Mom blog, I knew it was something I wanted to try. The [...]