Spa wrap with pleated trim
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I love spa wraps for wearing after a shower while I get ready. They are comfortable and you can avoid getting makeup on your clothes. I’ve had different kinds, and I prefer to have straps. A little elastic at the top and some Velcro help keep it in place. For some fun, I added fabric trim at the top, straps and a cute pleated border at the bottom. (Detail photos at the bottom) |
Supplies
(Click fabrics for direct links for purchase at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.)
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| You could use a large towel for this and add trim. I couldn’t find a towel around the house that I thought was suitable, so instead of buying a new one, I just bought 1-5/8 yards of terry cloth. I liked that it was thinner than most towels I have, and therefore easier to sew and less bulky.I had 1/2 yard of the trim fabric and used about 12 inches of Velcro. Unfortunately, I forgot to measure how long a piece of elastic I used, but it was probably about 2/3 of the width of my wrap. | |||
The pattern
| This pattern is for what I would say is a small/small-medium. I had just enough terry cloth, so you might want more yardage if you wear a large-medium or a large. Also, you’d need to cut a bigger piece than the dimensions below indicate, of course.Cut two straps measuring 4″ wide by 13″ long. This is what fit me. Could be you need longer straps, so perhaps do a little measuring.
If you are using a piece of terry cloth, make the body 54″ wide and 29″ in length. For the top band, cut a strip of fabric 2-1/4″ by the width of the wrap after the wrap has been hemmed on the sides. Leave a little bit extra for turning under on the sides. If you want to cut out all of your pieces beforehand, you could cut this the 54″ wide and then trim a little if needed later. Cut two pieces for your pleated bottom 4″ wide by about twice the width of your terry cloth, or 108″. This does not have to be exact. It’s very adjustable. You can sew together several pieces to make it long enough. |
The process
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Make your two straps using the method described in our non-turn strap tutorial. The ends can remain raw (you don’t need to turn them under). |
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| Hem the sides of your wrap. I chose to serge mine in pink to jazz it up. Then I folded it over and sewed it.NOTE #1: For high-pile or fluffy fabrics, like fleece or terry cloth, I prefer to use a walking foot and a long stitch.
NOTE #2: I folded my serged side out to give it a pop of color on the outside. If you don’t use a fun thread, you might just want to turn it inside. If you don’t have a serger, feel free to just turn it under twice like a normal hem. I wanted to avoid bulk, so I did it this way. |
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| Let’s make our pleated trim for the bottom. Fold the short ends under and press. Then fold the whole thing in half (right-sides out) and press. | |
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| I just eyeballed my pleats. I found it easiest to find the center back of the wrap and the center of the pleat strip and pin. Then I found the center points between that and the edges. Also pin the ends. I then worked it in those smaller sections to even out the pleats.You are lining up the raw edge of the pleat strip with the raw, bottom edge of the wrap. I pinned the pleats and then basted with a long stitch (left). I then serged the seam to make it neater (right). You can zigzag or use pinking shears if you don’t have a serger.
Press the pleat away from wrap. |
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Try the wrap on and figure out how much you want the sides to overlap. Remember, it will be ill-fitting around the top because there is not yet elastic. I kind of figured it out from the bottom up and marked it at the bottom and top.Here, I have folded the wrap to the size I marked and am determining where I want the straps. Please note that I basted my straps on the outside initially (as seen in photo), but then realized I should have basted them to the inside.
I placed the straps about 13″ from the outer edges of the wrap (for the fronts of straps). In the back, I found center back and evenly placed the back sides of straps about 9.5″ apart. |
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Now it’s time to sew in one side of your Velcro — the piece that goes on the part of the wrap that is closest to your body. I put the scratchy part of the Velcro here and made sure the top of the Velcro was at least 3/4″ from the top, raw edge of the wrap so it would be out of the way of any future seam allowances. Sew all the way around your Velcro. Save the corresponding piece of Velcro for a few steps down. |
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Take your top band and press the short edges under a bit and one long side under 1/2″. Your total band (with the short ends folded under) should be exactly the width of your wrap (with sides hemmed). You might want to adjust a little to make that happen. |
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On the WRONG side of the wrap, pin the raw edge of the top band to the raw edge of the top of the wrap and sew a 1/2″ seam allowance.You are sewing on the wrong side because you are going to flip the band to the front side and sew it down. |
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| Now, one side of your top band is still loose (the pressed under side). You want to attach that other piece of Velcro, but you only want to stitch it to the printed fabric, not to the terry cloth.So open it up and sew just that part. | |
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The way I did the casing and elastic is I sewed the elastic to either end to secure it and then folded my casing/top band over and sewed the very edge of it to the wrap, making sure not to catch the elastic in the stitching. This got difficult toward the end when the elastic had to be pulled tight (since obviously the elastic is shorter than the width of the wrap).You could alternatively sew the top band to the terry cloth to form the casing and then string the elastic through and secure it at either end. |
Other views
(Click for bigger views)
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