Sewing Project

Dear Sewing Friends:

I don’t know about you, but I am always frantic trying to come up with quick and easy Christmas gifts for friends and family.  It seems they have everything or I can’t afford what they want.

So, I tend to go with something they can use and wouldn’t think about buying for themselves. 

That’s why I like the spa or shampoo wraps or whatever you call them.  I think I will sew up a few for the college kids, boys and girls. 

I came up with this idea because soaking in the hot tub is one of the few things that really helps my back these days. That is where you will usually find me late each evening before I go to bed. It seems to relax those aches and pains.

When I get out of the tub, I like to wrap myself in a towel for a while before going inside. However, it frustrates me that the towel keeps falling off.

Then, a catalog came in the mail and guess what? They advertised a “Spa Wrap” for $42.00. It is a simple cotton terry wrap with an elastic top. One size fits all.

I remember those from years ago. Only we called them, “Shampoo Wraps.” We used them for beach cover-ups too.

So, I got out my beach towel and decided to make myself a “Spa Wrap.” It only took a few minutes and now my towel doesn’t fall off anymore.

I thought you might like to make some Spa Wraps, too.

Why not? It just makes sense!

Here is an article on how I did it!

To Your Sewing Success,

Marian

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Sewing Technique - How To Sew A Spa-Shampoo-Shower-Beach Wrap Or Cover-Up

- by Marian Lewis

©2006 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved

Sewing Project Tips

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Discover how to sew a spa, shampoo, shower wrap or beach cover-up with this simple sewing lesson.

Spa wraps are great gift ideas or bazaar items, too.

Sew spa wraps for all the men, women and children in your family. Everyone needs one. Use for after the shower, bath, or when you do your hair or at the spa or pool or the beach.

Spa wraps have elasticized tops that can be worn above the bust or at the waist.

Sewing a spa wrap is a quick and easy sewing project. All you need is a beach towel, approximately 1-1/4 yards of 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch wide sport sew through elastic and about 6 inches of hook and loop tape or large snaps.

First of all, make a decision about what you want to use to sew the spa wrap. Colorful beach towels are great to use as well as fabric. Your choice may be based on what size you need the spa wrap to be.

Smaller towels work well for small children.

Lighter weight towels work better than heavier ones. They aren’t as bulky to sew or wear and also dry faster.

Sewing Tip: Always preshrink all fabrics including towels before you sew.

The average beach towel is about 62 inches long x 34 inches wide. Find some good bargains at your local flea market.

The length of the beach towel will generally go around most bodies with some over lap. If you need more, sew 2 towels together or add half a towel.

Here are the sewing instructions: 

1.    Cut a piece of 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch wide sturdy sport sew through elastic to be about 2/3 of the length of the towel or fabric that you are using. This depends on the stretch of the elastic.

Example: For a 62 inch long towel, cut the elastic about42 inches long.

2.    Divide the towel and the elastic into eighths. First fold in half, then again in fourths, then again in eighths. These smaller sections are easier to handle at the sewing machine.

3.    Pin the elastic at the eighth marks to one long edge on the wrong side of the towel.

4.    Set your sewing machine for your largest and longest zigzag stitch.

5.    As you stitch, stretch the elastic to fit each pinned section of the towel.

6.    First stitch along the outer edge of the elastic and then go back and stitch along the inner edge of the elastic also stretching as you sew.

Note:  If you prefer, you can sew a lightweight fabric casing to the wrong side of the towel and insert the elastic drawing it up to fit the size you want.

7.    Cut two strips of hook and loop tape about 3″ long.

8.    Pin the rough (hook) side of one strip to the inside edge of the overlap on top of the elastic.

9.    Stitch around the hook tape to hold securely.

10.  Pin the soft (loop) side of one strip to the outside edge on the right side of the underlap.

11.  Stitch around that tape.

12.  Now place the corresponding pieces of hook and loop tape up against the stitched in place pieces of tape.

13.  Put the wrap on your body to help determine where to sew the corresponding pieces of tape.

14.  Pin those pieces where they should go and unhook them from the stitched tapes. Remove the wrap.

15.  Stitch around these tapes where you have them pinned.

WOW! You just made a spa wrap!

Now, for some designer touches, try these ideas:

Add a large pocket cut from contrasting or matching fabric or even mesh fabric on the front.

Monogram or use one of your embroidery designs on the pocket before applying it to the wrap.

You could bind the outer edges of towel with fabric to match the pocket.

If you decide to bind the outer edges of the towel, round the square corners first. It looks better and is easier to bind. See the following sewing tip to make a nice curve.

Sewing Tip: Lay a dinner plate down at the corners of the towel lining up the edges of the plate with the edges of the towel. Draw the outer curve of the plate to get a very nice even curve.

If you are using a plain towel, add a fun embroidery design using instructions to embroider on terry cloth to decorate your wrap.

Applique a unique design on the spa wrap.

If you prefer not to use hook and loop tape, use very large snaps or heavy duty gripper snaps to hold the wrap closed.

You are the designer! Have fun with it.

Spa wraps are a quick and easy Christmas gift idea.  In fact, they are a good gift anytime of year.

It just makes sense!

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Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks. In her ebook, “Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants”, find out step-by-step WHAT you really need and HOW to apply that to commercial sewing patterns for fitting pants and skirts . It just makes sense!

Finally, you can sew great fitting pants and end your fitting frustration.

Marian is also the author of other eBooks related to sewing including, “Sew A Tee Pee And Accessories For Your Tribe Of Kids” and “Classy Designer Straight Skirt” where she teaches basic and advanced sewing techniques.

Discover FREE sewing projects and Sewing Success News.

If you enjoy sewing, visit Marian’s sewing sites for more sewing tips and techniques.

It just makes sense!

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© Marian Lewis - Sewing Project Tips.com - All Rights Reserved

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Sewing Project - How To Sew A Spa-Shampoo-Shower-Beach Wrap Or Cover-Up

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 10th, 2006 at 8:42 pm and is filed under Sewing Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.