Summer is the best time for rest. Sometimes, girls, when going to the beach, suffer before choosing a set of things with them. These can be various breeches, skirts or sundresses. But there is such a product that can be worn both at sea and in coastal restaurants. This article tells how to sew a tunic for the beach with your own hands and what tools are needed for this.
Why do you need such an outfit?
A beach dress is a must-have for every girl in her closet. It is small and light, and can fit into a travel bag. So it is perfect for a vacation.
This dress will not only help you look beautiful, it will also protect you from sunburn. The thin fabric is pleasant to the body, airy, but does not allow the sun to hit your skin directly.
The main advantage of a beach dress is that, unlike a pareo, it will not fall off the body.
A beach dress is a must if a girl wants to walk along the beach, go to a coastal restaurant or shop, go to the beach area of the hotel or go back to the room. It can be worn over a swimsuit.
Sometimes, if you plan to visit the beach in the evening, then such a product is simply necessary. To keep cool and to avoid insect bites.
A summer dress, if chosen correctly, will help to visually correct your figure and hide its flaws.
They also make beachwear with a hood, which is considered a sporty style. You can play volleyball or frisbee on the song.
This dress looks elegant, it can be combined with a small hat or sandals. It is important that the fabric is flowing and airy. Then the image will be more delicate.
The main thing is to choose natural materials that will allow air to pass through well and will not retain moisture.
The product can be of different lengths and styles, it all depends on the girl's figure. The huge advantage is that such a product is suitable for any age.
Recommendations for choosing fabric for beach dresses
Light, airy, breathable fabrics are used to sew a dress that can be worn on vacation. Such fabric makes a girl's style light and pleasant. The following fabrics can be used to make a beach dress:
- Organza is a fairly transparent and light fabric that will fly away in the wind;
- Lace is very delicate, especially white, it adds more luxury to the image. The main disadvantage is that high-quality lace is expensive;
- Openwork fabric - such dresses are made from very thin fabrics. They add innocence and elegance to the image. Such things are perfect not only for the beach, but also for a date or a walk;
- Knitwear - items made from this material must be very thin. The fabric is quite comfortable and inexpensive. But since it fits completely on the figure, it is better for overweight women to avoid knitwear;
- Cotton is the best option for this type of product. The material is breathable, it is not hot, and it does not cause allergic reactions.
Girls with knitting skills can not only sew, but also knit products with knitting needles. In this case, the model can be varied, it is advisable to choose according to the type of figure.
Attention! If you plan to knit a dress, the threads must be 100% natural.
What materials and tools will be needed?
You can easily and efficiently make a beach dress by following the instructions below. Once the sketch is ready, you need to prepare the entire set of tools for work.
To make a beach dress you will need:
- overlock or sewing machine;
- fabric roller;
- needles and threads to match the product;
- additional decorations as desired (ribbons, lace, fringe).
Before work, it is advisable to look through several sites for selecting fabrics. Beach clothes should always be natural and hypoallergenic.
Textured chintz, satin staple, and openwork lace are excellent. It is not recommended to take denser materials for sewing, as they will stick to the body in hot weather.
The selected fabric must be properly prepared for sewing. The material is decatized (washed and ironed) to eliminate the risk of shrinkage of the product. Such operations will help to avoid unpleasant circumstances when the finished product shrinks by a size after the first wash.
If the fabric frays a lot, then the edges need to be processed on an overlock. If the material does not fray, then the bottom can be left alone. A piece of fabric 110 cm long and 130 cm wide is enough for a beach dress.
Creating a pattern and cutting out the material
To create a drawing or cut out material without a pre-prepared template, you need to know the dimensions of the figure.
What measurements need to be taken to sew the product:
- length of shoulder, front and back to waist line;
- ½ waist, bodice, hips and neck.
It is also necessary to note the length of the robe. When modeling a sketch of a beach dress, small allowances are added to the measurements so that the product does not fit too tightly to the body. When cutting symmetrical parts, half sizes are used. The finished pattern should be folded in half, thus checking the symmetry of the segments.
You can avoid cutting flaws if you draw a sketch in advance on a sheet of thin paper. You can sew a beach dress with your own hands, there are three main models, they are listed below in the article.
Sewing the product
This type of dress is easy to sew with your own hands. Sometimes you don’t even need to make a pattern for the product. A piece of soft, flowing material (an old pareo works well) and in just half an hour you can try on the finished dress. When making a pattern, it is necessary to maintain the symmetry of the elements and remember to have 1 cm allowances.
On the drawstring
If you want to sew a beach item with a drawstring yourself, the first thing you need to do is select the material. Ideally, it should be airy, transparent fabrics, the edges of which do not crumble when cut (this can be chiffon or lycra). For sewing, you need a piece no longer than a meter. You will also need a textile roller, an overlock, threads with needles and pins.
Step-by-step execution of sewing by hand:
- Cut a 2 cm strip along the edge of the fabric. Carefully fold the cut edge inward, and stitch the cord on a sewing machine. The work can be made easier if you buy a ready-made decorative cord in a textile store;
- Bend the right and left lower corners of the fabric to create a drawstring. This also needs to be sewn on the machine;
- Insert a cord into each drawstring to form a loop;
- Try on the finished cape. To do this, put a loop of decorative cord on the right shoulder, wrap the figure with a piece of cloth and secure the fabric on the left shoulder with a loop of cord.
There is another way to sew a beach item with a drawstring. In this case, you need to cut two rectangular pieces of fabric. The width of the dress is the volume of the bodice with an indent for ease of fit. Sweep the rectangles along the side mark. Fold the hem of the dress and stitch it. Fold the top edge of the product and stitch it, but in the future, you need to thread a satin ribbon through the finished drawstring. Thanks to it, the product is fixed on the shoulders.
Wide sarafan
The main problem in making a wide beach sundress is to choose the right material. The fabric should be light, not wrinkled, but create small and beautiful folds. Soft knitwear, jersey, 100% silk, tulle can be used as fabric.
Step-by-step execution of a wide sarafan:
- Choose a T-shirt of the required size and trace it on cardboard or thin paper. The length is adjusted depending on personal preferences. You can get symmetrical lines of the sketch if you bend the part along the middle line of the drawing;
- For women with large forms or pregnant women, the front bottom line should be made a little longer. Otherwise, when walking, the product will turn up and will look very sloppy;
- Place the sketch on the selected piece of material, trace it, and cut it out taking into account the seam allowances;
- Baste the seams along the shoulder mark and side seams. After the first fitting, if the dress fits the girl perfectly, the basting can be sewn on an overlock;
- Finish the neckline and cuff line. The easiest method is to fold the edges of the fabric inward and stitch. The finishing can be improved. To do this, you need to buy bias tape in a textile store or make it yourself (but this is very difficult) and finish the neckline, sleeves and hem of the dress.
Square-romper
This dress option is the simplest. You need to be as patient as possible and carefully review the main sewing steps.
The pattern for a beach sundress of the raspashonka model is similar to a square. For sewing, you need a piece of fabric, the length of which is several times greater than the width.
Fold the piece in two and mark the shoulder line along the middle fold line. To do this, visually divide the fold into three equal parts. Make a neckline of the required shape in the middle. Find the depth of the armhole, sew two pieces of fabric along the side seams.
If you need to diversify the product on the front and back, it is advisable to assemble it. To do this, sew a drawstring from the inside, which will need to be pulled together in the future. You can make a wrap dress from a pareo. In this case, you do not need to process the fabric on an overlock. The product is ready.
Sewing without patterns
There are several ways to make a beach tunic, you can read about them below. One of the ways is a bandeau dress. This style will be strapless, with elastic bands sewn in the chest area.
Step-by-step work process:
- two pieces of fabric (the width is equal to the chest volume with allowance for freedom of fit) are swept along the sides;
- along the chest line indicate marks for inserting elastic bands. To correctly find the chest area, the rectangular piece of fabric is visually divided into six identical pieces. The upper side is the place for sewing in elastic bands.
It is also possible to sew one ribbon only on the top side of the product and two pieces on the waist.
How to sew a beach tunic with your own hands quickly and without a pattern using drapery. To create it, you need to make a rectangular piece of material at least one and a half meters long (the length is calculated based on the size of the chest and the frequency of the assembly on the product). The fabric should be light and amenable to draping.
The sarafan will have only one seam - along the back. Then in the middle (the fabric is folded in half) the fabric is cut, marking the neckline.
Fold the top edge of the sarafan into a drawstring and stitch it using a sewing machine. Now you need to pull the satin ribbon through the drawstring.
Pull the ends of the drawstring onto the bodice and tie them into a light bow. If desired, the bow can be tightened around the neck. Such a product will perfectly hide the body from the scorching sun, and also hide all imperfections in the figure.
The main disadvantage of lightweight fabrics is that they are quite capricious in care. It is advisable to wash by hand or in a delicate mode. It is better to use liquid powders that do not contain chlorine or bleach. It is advisable to iron fabrics with steam and through a gauze lining. For example, tulle wrinkles very quickly, so it should be stored only hanging on hangers. It is recommended to dry in a well-ventilated place, but not in direct sunlight.
Attention! Do not place tulle or other similar materials on heating devices. It is also necessary to handle the product carefully, because it is prone to mechanical damage (runs).
It is not recommended to purchase synthetics, as they can cause the skin on the body to turn red and cause minor irritations, especially in the summer.
Thus, sewing a beach dress with your own hands is very simple. Even a novice craftswoman can handle the job. Sometimes, such products do not require a pattern, which greatly simplifies the sewing process. On various handicraft sites, you can find many interesting models of this type of product with master classes on how to make it.
