Summer is the time for vacations and beach holidays. And, of course, with the onset of summer holidays, many women have a question: is it possible to sew a beach dress with your own hands and what is required for this? In fact, everything is possible if you approach the solution of the problem with creativity, patience and basic knowledge of sewing skills.
Creating a pattern and cutting out the material
To create a pattern or cut fabric without a pre-drawn template, it is important to know the parameters of the figure.
Necessary measurements:
- length of shoulder, front and back to waist;
- half waist, chest, hips and neck.
The length of the product is also indicated in advance. When developing a pattern for a beach dress, a small allowance is included in the measurement for a looser fit. When cutting out symmetrical items, half values are used. The finished pattern is folded in half, thus checking the mirror image of the lines.
You can avoid cutting errors if you first draw the pattern on a sheet of tracing paper or graph paper.
Necessary tools and preparatory work
Strict adherence to the sequence of work stages will help you sew a beach dress quickly and efficiently. After the pattern is selected, it is important to prepare all the necessary equipment for work.
To sew a beach sundress you will need:
- sewing machine (it would be good if it was electric with an overlock function);
- tailor's scissors;
- pins, measuring tape, and, if possible, tailor's patterns;
- various decorative elements (cords, lace, braid, buttons, zippers, elastic bands).
It is worth studying the issue of material selection separately. Beach clothes are sewn from natural, hygroscopic fabrics. Textured flax, light staple, and openwork lace are ideal.Never use synthetic, thick fabrics for beach dresses. It is simply impossible to wear such outfits in the heat.
The selected material must be properly prepared before work. The fabric is decatized (moistened and ironed) so that the fabric gives maximum shrinkage. Such manipulations will help to avoid annoying situations when an already sewn dress shrinks by a size after the first wash. Then the loose cuts of the material are processed with a closed seam. If the fabric does not crumble, then the bottom of the beach sundress can be left unprocessed. For a beach dress, a piece of fabric 100 cm long and 120 cm wide is enough.
Sewing the product
A beach dress is easy to create with your own hands. Often, you don’t even need a complicated pattern. A piece of beautiful, flowing fabric (a ready-made pareo is perfect) and in ten minutes a sundress for a beach holiday is ready. When creating a pattern, it is important to maintain the symmetry of the details and not forget to leave allowances for a loose fit and seams.
On the drawstring
If you want to sew a beach dress with a drawstring with your own hands, the first thing you need to do is choose the fabric. It’s good if it’s light, translucent fabric that doesn’t crumble when cut (for example, spandex or lycra). For work, you’ll need a piece no longer than a meter. You’ll also need sharp tailor’s scissors, a sewing machine, threads, and needles.
Sequence of actions:
- A 2 cm strip is cut off along the edge of the fabric. The cut edge is carefully folded inward, and the improvised cord is sewn on a sewing machine. The steps can be simplified by purchasing a ready-made decorative cord in a store.
- The right and left upper corners of the fabric are folded in such a way that a drawstring is formed. It is also stitched on the machine.
- A cord is threaded through each drawstring so that a ring is formed.
- We measure the finished dress. To do this, put a ring of decorative cord on one shoulder, wrap the body with a piece of fabric and fix the fabric on the other shoulder with a ring of decorative cord.
Another option for a beach dress with a drawstring is possible. To make it, two rectangular pieces of fabric are cut out. The width of the product is the chest volume with an allowance for a loose fit. The rectangles are sewn along the side line. The bottom of the product is folded and stitched. The upper edge of the fabric is folded and stitched, but later a decorative ribbon will be threaded through the resulting drawstring. With its help, the dress is fixed on the shoulder.
Wide sarafan
The main point in sewing a wide sundress for the beach is to choose the right fabric in terms of texture. It should be light, flowing material that forms soft folds. Underwear knitwear, jersey, natural silk, and satin are considered as options.
Further actions are simple and clear:
- We select a T-shirt of the required size and trace it in a circle on a sheet of Whatman paper or graph paper. We determine the length as desired. You can achieve symmetry of the pattern lines if you bend the piece along the central fold line.
For girls with a large bust or expecting a baby, the front hem line should be made a little longer. Otherwise, when the dress is seated, it will ride up and look very unattractive.
- Place the pattern on the selected piece of fabric, trace it, and cut it out taking into account seam allowances.
- We baste the seams along the shoulder line and side cuts. After a preliminary fitting, if the product fits the figure well, the basting can be stitched on a sewing machine.
- We process the neckline and sleeve line. The simplest option is to fold the edges of the fabric inward and stitch. The finishing can be more complicated. For this, bias tape is purchased in hardware stores, which is used to process the armhole or neckline.
Square-romper
It is easy to sew a light beach dress with your own hands. You just need to be a little patient and carefully study the main stages of the work.
The pattern for a romper-type beach dress looks like a square. For work, you will need a piece of fabric, the length of which is twice the width. The piece is folded in half and the shoulder lines are marked along the central fold line. To do this, the fold is conditionally divided into three equal parts. A neckline of the desired shape is cut out in the center. Having determined the depth of the armhole, we sew two pieces of the cut along the side seams.
If you want to add variety to the silhouette, you can make a gather at the front and back. To do this, sew a drawstring on the inside, which is then pulled together. You can sew a wrap dress from a pareo. In this case, there is no need to process the bottom edge.
Model options without patterns
A comfortable, beautiful summer dress for a beach holiday can be sewn with your own hands without a pattern.One of the options is a bandeau dress. This is a strapless dress with a bodice stitched with elastic threads.
Main stages of work:
- Two rectangular pieces (the width is equal to the chest volume with an allowance for free fit) are sewn together on the sides.
- Along the bodice line, marks are made for sewing in elastic bands. In order to correctly determine the bodice area, the rectangular section is conditionally divided into six equal parts. The upper part is the area for sewing in elastic threads.
Alternatively, one elastic band can be sewn only along the top edge of the dress and several at the waist. Let's consider another version of a very effective summer dress for the beach with draperies. To sew it, you need to prepare a rectangular piece of fabric at least two meters long (the length is determined by the parameters of the chest volume and the frequency of the gathering on the sundress). The fabric is selected light, flowing, which is easily gathered into beautiful folds.
The dress will have only one seam - along the back. Then, in the center (the fabric is folded in half), the fabric is cut, defining the neckline area.
The upper edge of the fabric is folded with a drawstring and stitched on a sewing machine. Then a decorative ribbon is pulled through it. The ends of the drawstring are pulled together on the chest and tied into a beautiful bow. If desired, the ends can be tied at the back of the neck. A beautiful summer dress will not only diversify your wardrobe, but will also help protect the delicate skin of a beauty from the scorching sun and effectively emphasize the advantages of the figure.
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