Waterproof Swimsuit Bag!
...a Waterproof Swimsuit Bag!
Hello everyone!
Having woken myself up from my last 3 nightshifts, I'm back, and raring to bring you this week's Chloé Makes! Since the weather is looking a little better, and we're able to go out a lot more than previous weeks, we're all going to start heading to the beaches, lidos, and some may even go abroad (lucky you!). In that case, you'll need somewhere to put your wet swimsuit that stops the rest of the things in your bag from getting wet, nothing worse than your book getting soggy!
For this project, you will need a waterproof lining material, and an outer fabric - ideally thicker than cotton, but cotton will work just as well. We have many options for both of these in the shop, but I'm using this Waterproof Sheeting and this Textured Polyester - currently on sale! You will also need a zip of your desired size, mine is a similar mustard colour to the outer fabric, in 10.5".
When cutting out your pieces of fabric to the right size, you want to measure from end to end of the zip tapes, not the hardware of the zip itself. This allows enough space to seal in the ends during the final step. This will be the length of your pouch. The height of the pouch is up to you, but I went with around 7 or 8". You will need 2 pieces of outer fabric, and 2 pieces of lining, as shown in the image above.
To begin, take your lining fabric, and place it right side up, mine is the same either side, so didn't matter which way it went. Then line up one long edge of the zip tape to the top raw edge of your liner, then layer on top of that the outer fabric, right side down to sandwich it all together. Pin and sew using a zipper foot if you have one to ensure it gets as close as possible. Start just after the zip pull, then once you've gone all the way along, pull the zip away from the un-sewn section and sew along to meet up with where you started previously, this gives you a straight line without having to go wide to avoid the zip pull!
Next step is to repeat this process with the other side of the zip tape. Again, layering the lining material, then the raw zip tape edge (you should see the zip facing the other way now), then the outer fabric, rightsize down, and sew using the same method to create a straight line, whilst also avoiding the zip pull.
When you've done that and open it out with the outer fabric rightsizes up, it should look like this...
The reverse side should then look like this...
Give the seams a press, using a pulling motion away from the zip to ensure the seams lay flat and keep the lining from getting stuck up in the zip teeth when opening and closing. To secure this, run a top stitch along the edges, close to the zip. I found this easier to do from the lining side, as it was very slippery fabric and meant I could get better control by keeping it taut.
Next step is to close the edges, put right sides of the outer fabric together, so it looks like the pouch is inside out, with the lining fabric faces also together. Pin so the seams of where you've attached the zip point into the lining as this is the most natural position for the seams to lay flat once you've completely assembled your pouch.
Pin and sew all the way around, leaving a gap in the liner big enough for you to reach through and pull the whole piece right way round.
Once that's sewn, pull everything the right way around and poke out all corners before sewing the gap closed. Make the lining as straight as possible before sewing to ensure it's nice and straight, even though it's going to be put back in the other way once it's sewn.
Push the liner back into the pouch, and you're done! A waterproof pouch perfect for your wet swimsuit after a long day at the beach!
Hope you all enjoyed reading this week's Chloe Makes, as always, send us your versions and creations via facebook or instagram and you may see yours published in the weekly round up!
Have a lovely week and I'll see you next time!
