diy Gottex Swim Skirt tutorial

Swim skirts seem to be all the rage this summer. I especially love the Gottex swim skirts, but not so much the price tag on them. Whenever I see them, I think, “I could make that.” Here’s how I did it…

Swim Skirt with front slit

I want a front slit on my skirt, so I am using the back pattern piece from this tutorial and drafting 2 more pieces for the front of my skirt.

Take the waist measurement, subtract 1-4″ for negative ease. Divide that number in half. This is the front of my skirt measurement. Divide it by 3.

One side of the slit will be 2/3 of the measurement (Side A), and the other side of the slit will be 1/3 (Side B).

Side A(if more help is needed on these next few steps, see this post)

Step 1:
Add 3/4″ for finishing allowance to 2/3 of your waist measurement. Draw the top line this length.

Step 2
Draw a line perpendicular to the top line, the desired length. (same measurement as step 2 in the simple swim skirt drafting tutorial) and draw your bottom line perpendicular to the 2nd line you drew.

Step 3
Add 2″ along the bottom edge to make an a-line. Follow the instructions (step 3) from the simple swim skirt tutorial.
Repeat for Side B, using 1/3 of the front waist measurement and making it a mirror image of side A–so slit edges fit together, like this:

Use the patterns to cut out your fabric pieces.

Sewing a front slit swim skirt:

Step 1:
Finish the slit edges of Side A and Side B (fold the edge toward the wrong side and stitch in place).

Step 2:

Optional: Sew a zigzag stitch along the top edge of the slits, tacking them together at the top edge.

Step 3: sew side seams, waist, and hem (see swim skirt sew along here)

The Gottex Profile Ruffle skirt Knock-off:

Draft the pattern as direct for side-slit skirt above.
Step 1: round slits

Step 2: cut out contrast fabric for double ruffle hem (optional)

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Step 3 sew side seams of skirt and sides seams of ruffle trim.

Step 4 use serger to finish hems of both skirt and ruffle trim. Use wooly nylon thread in loopers and rolled hem setting. Stretch fabric slightly as you serge the rolled hem to create a lettuce edge effect.

Step 5 sew ruffle to skirt, so that both ruffle and skirt have right side of the fabric facing up. Use a twin needle to sew them together.

Step 6 sew side front seam using a stretch stitch or narrow zigzag stitch. Use a 3/4 inch seam allowance. Use a twin needle to sew the seam allowances open and create a casing for drawstrings. Don’t sew to the very top edge, stop and leave about 3/4″ unsewn. Clip the seam allowances right above the casings.

Insert stretch cording into bottom of one casing and feed it through to the top, down into the 2nd casing and all the way out the bottom edge of 2nd casing.

Step 7 Pull both ends toward the right side and pull them up and out of the way. sew across the opening with a zigzag tack to keep the cording to the front.

Now either add elastic to finish the swim skirt or baste the skirt to bottoms for a skirted bottoms.

Using bottoms and sewing attached bottoms:
If you are sewing a swim skirt with attached bottoms, you’ll need the waist of the skirt to match the waist of the bottoms. To do this, use your swim bottoms pattern. You should draw the top lines the same length as the top lines on your swim bottoms pattern. Then follow steps 2-4 for the rest of the drafting. OR you can add to the waist measurement and stretch the bottoms to fit the skirt when zigzag stitching the skirt to bottoms in preparation to add elastic to the waist.

To sew your swim skirt with attached bottoms:
sew both the skirt and the bottoms up until sewing the waist/adding elastic to the waist. Once you’ve sewn all other steps, place the bottoms inside the skirt, so the right side of the bottoms are facing the wrong side of the skirt. Match the side seams together and pin together, keeping raw edges even.

Baste them together with a zigzag stitch.

Add the elastic just as you would for a swim skirt or swim bottoms by themselves, but you will be sewing the elastic to both the skirt and the bottoms at the same time.

Other tips:
Use stretch needles 🙂

For the elastic, cut it about 1-2 inches less than the waist of the skirt. I use 3/8″ wide elastic.

If using a serger, use wooly nylon in loopers and regular serger thread in needle.

3 thread overlock stitch is best and offers the most stretch (if using a serger).

I try to make a trial run first with some less expensive fabric. This way I can see if I need to adjust things, without feeling like I’ve wasted my good fabric. Clearance fabric is great for first attempts.

A very long post with several sewing tutorials (Sorry it’s so long)–I hope it was helpful 🙂
~Erin

How to Draft a Swim Skirt Cover Up

Sew a swim skirt in a half hour? When people say, “Oh, that project takes a half hour,” I never believe them. Well, because it usually takes me longer. Maybe if I made several, the time would be shortened. For that reason, I always hesitate to tell people how long the projects should take. It’s so relative to the sewist. Having said that, this project will take so little time it’s ridiculous. –about a half hour, I think. Even drafting the pattern is super quick.

This style is also easy fitting. Here’s how you could draft your own pattern if you don’t have one.

Start by drawing a fold line on one end of the paper or tracing paper.

Measure the person’s hip or waist (the place where the top of the wrap skirt will sit). Divide in half and Subtract 1 to 2 inches for negative ease. This is what this skirt has, but I will make this again when my fabric arrives next week and draft it a bit wider to see if it covers more.

Draw the waist cutting line: so my daughter’s waist is 26 and I drew a very slight curved line for 10+ inches. (which is essentially 26/2=13; 13-2=11).

The line then begins to slope up fairly sharply- draw the line upward for another 10 inches or so, using a french curve to draw and measure– though it’s not very curved.

The next line a draw is the tie ends, rounding the end and sloping away gradually from the top slope line of the waist edge.

Before you slope all the way down, mark how long you want the skirt to be and angle the line to meet that length. It should reach that length right below where the top line began its slope upward.

Draw the rest of the bottom edge cutting line, slightly rounded. Again a french curve ruler is your friend here.

Use this pattern to cut out your fabric. Remember to place the fold line on the pattern along the fold of the fabric, and so the greatest amount of stretch will be the width of the skirt.

There are many ways to finish the skirt: rolled hem using the serger and wooly thread in the loopers, a lettuce edge using the serger, twin needle, or a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine.

Here’s how I did it. I serged the raw edges.

I folded the edges over toward the wrong side of the fabric and used a zigzag stitch–mainly because it matched the way I finished the matching swimsuit.

The end 😉

She’s liking it very much. I’m thinking I should have made it a bit longer (she chose the length) and perhaps just a tad wider. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and make some fun and easy cover ups to wear out in the sun 🙂
~Erin

Swim Skirt Sew Along

Summer for us means a lot of swimming! I love sewing swimsuits!! Though I have been sewing most of my life, I always thought sewing swimsuits would be difficult and not worth the hassle. Well, I was wrong. Not only are they pretty easy to do, but they’re so fun!  It’s a very rewarding experience, especially considering how ill fitting store bought suits  lose what little shape they had so fast. Handmade suits last a lot longer. The keys to making a great suit? Buy quality fabric (preferable made in USA, not China–support our economy, not theirs)  and use a good fitting pattern.  More about suits later. Right now, it’s about the accessories 🙂 Swim skirts are so fun, and make running around in your suit a bit more modest.

Update: To draft your own swim skirt pattern, start here

For my younger daughter who swims a lot, I used Kwik Sew 3605. For my older daughter (a teenager), I used the skirt in Jalie 2215 and omitted the built in panties. You could easily do this without a pattern.

• Grab a pair of bikini bottoms that fit the person you are sewing for.
• Use that finished waist measurement, without stretching, adding 1/4 inch on each side for seam allowances.
• Use a ruler to draw a slight A-line for the sides. Measure about how long you want the skirt to be and stop you side cutting lines there.
• Draw the hem line. Curve it slightly. I use a french curve ruler to draft my hem lines like this. If drafting for a teen or adult, then you’ll want to add 1/4 to 1/2 inch to the length in the back. This accommodates a tush and ensures the hem won’t be higher along the back side.

✿After cutting out your fabric, with right sides facing each other, pin the sides together. If using serger, pin parallel to stitching line and out of the way of the knife and needles (as shown).

✿Use a slight zigzag stitch, 3 step straight stitch, or lightning stitch to sew side seams with a traditional sewing machine. Or Serge side seams. (Be sure to use stretch needles in your traditional machine and serger for this project)

✿Cut elastic according to pattern. Sew into loop. If you’ve drafted a pattern, then cut the elastic slightly shorter than the waist (about 1/2 inch will do).

✿Divide skirt waist edge and elastic into fourths. Mark with pins or fabric marker. Pin the elastic to the wrong side of skirt–match marks and only place pins at these marks.

✿Sew elastic to waist. Stretching elastic in between the marks to fit the fabric and keep elastic even with the raw edge of fabric. Remove pins before sewing over them. Use a zigzag stitch or serge. If using a serger, you may want to disengage the knife.

✿Turn fabric over elastic, toward wrong side of fabric. Either use a twin stretch needle or zigzag stitch to sew fabric on top of elastic. Sew with right side of garment facing up. make sure your fabric is neatly folded along top edge of waist, and keep it even for best results. If using a twin stretch needle, then remember not to back stitch. Instead, overlap your stitching about 1 to 2 inches (meaning: sew past the point where you started sewing, to prevent seams from coming undone). For proper threading of your machine when using a twin needle, see this post.

✿Now hem your swim skirt. Using a Dritz EZ Hem, fold  fabric toward wrong side 3/8 of an inch and press.

✿With right side of fabric facing up, sew hem using a twin stretch needle or zigzag stitch.

✿Trim any threads, and go to the beach and enjoy!!

If your fabric is thin, you’ll want to use the narrower twin needle(2,5/75). Here’s what happens when using the wider twin needle (4,0/75) on too light weight of a fabric:

See how it puckers and bunches (right side)? This suit has a front lining, so the wider twin needle worked just fine (left side), until I was sewing the back, which was single layer (right side of pic). It really depends on the weight or thickness of your fabric. The striped and pink fabrics are not necessarily the thinnest available, but clearly did better with the more narrow needle.  Test on scrap fabric if you’re unsure. This goes for t-shirt fabrics as well.

Additional tips for sewing swim skirts and swimsuits:

✿You don’t need a serger. In fact, my daughter’s favorite suit was sewn using only my traditional machine. Be sure to use a slight zigzag or lightning stitch for seams. Edges do not need to be finished, because they do not unravel.

✿Use stretch needles!

✿Use regular thread in the needles, but use wooly nylon thread in both your machine’s loopers (upper and lower loopers) if you’re using a serger machine.  This makes it much more comfortable to wear. A 3 thread overcast is also best when sewing knits–allows more stretch.

Here’s the striped suit with its skirt. When working with stripes, matching up the stripes in the print will give it that attention to detail found in higher end designers. It just looks better.To do this, fold the fabric and cut all pieces along the same place (fold when cutting out your fabric). Front pieces along same fold line (making sure you have folded it straight), and back pieces along the same fold line.

Hope this sew along helps! Let me know if anyone is interested in a pic tutorial of how to draft a simple swim skirt pattern using a pair of swimsuit bottoms, and I’ll get right on it 🙂

UPDATE: I’ve posted how to draft a swim skirt tutorial here 🙂

~Erin