Here’s how to make a simple kaftan-like cover up for your little girl to wear to the beach. As it is fashioned out of a towel, it will also help to dry your child after she has gone into the water, as well as keep her warm temporarily.
- Pick a towel that your child will like to encourage her to wear it. It should have fun and colourful patterns instead of dull monotones.
- Fold it into half lengthwise and mark the middle at the fold. This is where the neck hole should be.
- Hold the folded towel to her shoulder and to mark the size of the neck hole. Too big, and it will drop off her shoulders, too small and she will feel suffocated. Also, check to see if the length is correct. If it is too long, you can snip off the seams. If it is too short, you can turn it into a tunic or top.
- Fold the towel once more so that you will get a quadrant. Draw a quarter of a circle for the neckline and cut it out with scissors. Open the towel once to get a half and snip a slit down the middle of one side of the neck hole to make it easier for her head to go through.
- Stitch the sides of the neck hole, as well as the slit to stop it from unravelling. If you’ve trimmed the hem off, make sure you sew it up as well.
- Get your child to model it for you to approximate where her waist should be. Mark on both sides.
- Snip a slit on both the front and back, on both sides of the waist, where you marked her waist. Take a piece of ribbon and thread it through. You now have a very simple, kaftan-like beach cover up for your child.
- If you used a plain towel for this project, you will now have a blank project on which you and your daughter can work on together to decorate. Get her to help you out so that she may personalize it according to her taste. It will also be a great use of her creative juices. You can sew on buttons, iron on her favourite cartoon characters, embroider them, or even pin on button badges to personalize the kaftan.
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldberg/1812981960/
