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Home » Guest Contributor Kimberly Payne » Women’s Beach Cover Up Tutorial (PDF pattern pieces included, S-XL)

Women’s Beach Cover Up Tutorial (PDF pattern pieces included, S-XL)

So excited to have Kimberly of Straight Stitch Designs back today!  She has created such a simple Beach Cover Up tutorial that provides the perfect amount of coverage while headed to the beach, lake, or pool.  She even included a free PDF download so that you can print off the size you need.  Thanks so much Kimberly!

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Hey Everyone!  I am Kimberly from Straight Stitch Designs and I am so excited to be back today to share with you this Women’s Beach Cover Up Tutorial.

 

It is no secret that I love sewing for myself.  Heck, my whole business is centered around sewing for myself and encouraging other women to do a little selfish sewing as well.  With that said so many sewists make clothes for their kids or grandkids never really take the time to sew for themselves.  I hope this tutorial encourages you to take a little time and make something for yourself.

 

This swim coverup is such a quick sew, you can whip one up before heading out to the beach for the day.

 

The back is definitely my favourite part.  I think I have a thing for the backs of clothes because half of my patterns have a fun detail in the back.

 

The pattern is drafted in four sizes, S-XL, and available for download by clicking on the picture below.

 

The pattern was drafted with quite a bit of ease so that it would be a relaxed fit, make sure to use the chart below to determine the best fit.  The pattern is also nested in a way that allows grading between sizes to achieve the perfect coverup.  For a bit of reference, the above coverup is a medium at the top and graded out to the large for the hips.

If you aren’t completely comfortable grading a pattern between sizes make sure to check out my post on nested patterns and grading.  This is great information for sewing for yourself in the future as well, because who really has a straight body that fits exactly into one size.  I know I sure don’t.

Now that you have your file downloaded, you can start printing.  All of my PDF patterns are layered so I went ahead and added that feature to this pattern as well.  If you aren’t familiar with layered PDF patterns, I will quickly explain how that works.  Just to note, this feature is only available when using Acrobat Reader.  

Once you have the files open, click on the layers icon on the left hand side.  Next to each size you will see an icon that looks like an eye.  By clicking the eye icon, you can turn the layers on and off.  Make sure to leave the notes layer visible to see all the pattern notes.

 

Once you have decided on the sizes to include, you can print.  When printing, make sure to select “Actual Size” and “Auto Portrait/Landscape” in your print dialog.  This will insure everything prints correctly.

 

The labour intensive part of this pattern is now behind you.  Now we just have to gather our supplies, cut our fabric, and sew.

 

Supplies needed:

  • 2 yards drapey semi sheer woven fabric such as rayon challis, cotton lace, voile or peach skin
  • Coordinating thread
  • basic sewing supplies (here’s a list of common common sewing supplies, in case you need a few ideas) 

***Also, take a look at this Sewing Terms 101 post, for additional help.

 

All seam allowances are 3/8″ unless noted otherwise.

Lets get started on the fun part.

Fold your fabric in half and lay your pattern piece along the fold.  Repeat for your second piece.

 

With right sides together, sew the front and back pieces together along the shoulder and top sleeve seam.  Repeat with the other shoulder and top sleeve seam.

With right sides together, sew the front and back pieces together along the sleeve and side seams.  Make sure to stop at the bottom of the straight seam without continuing to the shirt tail hem.  Repeat with other side seam.

All that is left to do is hem the coverup at the neckband, sleeves and bottom hems.  You have a couple of options when hemming the coverup.  The first option works great for most materials but can get tricky with sheer fabric.  Just fold under 1/4″ and press and then fold another 1/2″ and sew with a straight stitch.

 

Alternatively, you can do a rolled hem on all raw edges.  If you aren’t familiar with a rolled hem using a rolled hem foot for your sewing machine, I highly recommend reading your machine manual.  Then practice a few times on some scrap fabric.

Once you have the hang of it, you will be doing a rolled hem on everything.  It definitely makes hemming this type of fabric so much easier.

 

Now that your coverup is hemmed, you can head out to the beach looking fabulous!!

 

I hope you enjoyed making your own Beach Cover Up!

-Kimberly

 

You can find Kimberly over on her blog (Straight Stitch Designs) on Instagram (@straightstitchdesigns), and over on Twitter (@straightstitchd).

 

Kimberly P

Kimberly P has contributed 6 articles on https://makeit-loveit.com since June 29, 2015.

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