Inside: learn how to sew a rash guard for summer swim with this free pattern and sewing tutorial. Use a free raglan pattern and a few sewing edits to make adorable swim shirts for summer water play.
Whose ready for summer? I am! As the days get longer and warmer here I’m starting to think about sewing swim for summer and for my kids. have you seen my swim sewing pattern round up? I’m adding another fun options for you today with this swim shirt sewing pattern and tutorial. PLUS the free sewing pattern can be used for boys or girls.
Swim Shirt Sewing Pattern
Before we get to the sewing tutorial I really want to show off a few more photos of these two cuties…. oh course I would rather these be by a beach or pool, but we did these photos while all of CO was on stay at home lockdown so back-drop it was.
If you make this project please share photos in our facebook group.
Have you done much swim sewing? I have these two great swim patterns –
Rose is wearing my Girls Basic Suit as her bottoms in these photos and this new rash guard sewing pattern as her top {with added ruffle and sleeve adaption} {I’ll show you how to make this same shirt below!}
She loves to make up these poses… some work better than other {haha}
The boys version starts with the same raglan shirt and has very few changes. I did size down one size from normal as I wanted this to be on the tighter size. No one likes a saggy shirt when it gets wet. Max is wearing my board shorts pattern as bottoms here.
Ready to get going?
Sew a Rash Guard
First up, go download the free raglan pattern that we are going to use as our rash guard sewing pattern. If you need more information on assembling the pattern you can see my original kids raglan pattern here.
Need help downloading/printing/assembling this pdf pattern? Check out my post on Everything You Need to Know about PDF Patterns here.
You will also need 1/2 – 1 yard of swim fabric. The smaller sizes can be made with about a 1/2 yard and the larger sizes will need 1 yard. This is for 60″ wide fabric. Here are a few of my favorite places to buy swim fabric. Make sure to buy knit swim fabric, not woven board short fabric.
Short Sleeve version: Max is wearing the short sleeve version in the photos above and like I mentioned above I didn’t change too much about the original pattern. Here are some pattern edit suggestions for turning the raglan into a rash guard.
- cut on the short sleeve line
- size down one size so it’s fitted {it wills stretch in water}
- shorted the shirt a bit. you can always try on before hemming to adjust.
Flutter Sleeve Ruffle Peplum Version: The photo below shows how I hacks the pattern for these features.
- cut the bottom 4 inches off for the ruffle {or where ever you want the ruffle to be}
- shorten the sleeve to right at the end of the shoulder seam. splice the sleeve and spread to make it “flutter”.
- I also cut this one a size smaller than normal to make it fitted.
Here is how I cut the sleeve. Keep the neckline as is and widen the end of the sleeve. I did not plan to hem my sleeves. If you do want to hem, make sure to add a hem allowance. Swim fabric does not fray so you do not need to hem it.
Here are all the pieces for the two piece swim suit. The bottom is the girls basic swimsuit from my shop. It is a one piece suit, but there are easy pattern adjustment to make it a two piece suit. We are only using the bottom part of the suit.
For the shirt I have a front and a back and two sleeves plus a ruffle. When I cut the bottom of the shirt off I cut the top as directed and then I cut the bottom ruffle the height of the cut off piece and double the width. You can make the ruffle as full as you want. I cut mine double the width of the shirt.
We will cut the neckband below.
Use a serger or stretch stitch on your sewing machine to sew all seams. 3/8″ seam allowance included in pattern.
Assemble all versions of the rash guard like this. Sew the sleeves to the front of the shirt and sew the back to ONE sleeve. Cut the neckband 90% of the length of the neckline. I cut mine 1.75″ wide. Need help with neckband cutting or sewing? See my Perfect Neckband post here.
Sew on the neckband and top-stitch if you want. Sew the other shoulder seam to complete the circle.
If you are hemming the sleeves hem them now.
Sew the side seams. If you are adding a ruffle only sew one side seam.
Gather the ruffle until it is the same width as the bottom of the shirt. Open the shirt and place the ruffle on the bottom edge of the shirt. Sew the ruffle to the shirt.
Sew the other side seam to finish.
And you did it!!! Now you have one or more super cute swim shirts for summer fun. So many options and style hacks you can create all with this one great free pattern.
Leave a Reply