Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Sewing Swim Lesson: Sewing with board shorts fabric

 Today Whitney from Sew Whit Designs is here with everything you need to know about sewing with boardshort fabric!  

Remember, all swim patterns in the shop are 20% off!!!  

Use the code swim20 at checkout.  Code expires July 1st, 2022.

I personally consider sewing boardshorts/board skirts an intermediate sewing skill. Simply because if the fact boardshort fabric is woven and needs to be treated differently than stretchy swim fabric. And if you are new sewing woven it is different from sewing knits.

I used the Bodhi Board Skirt pattern from the Project Run & Play Shop. This was from the Project Watercolor Beach collection.

Microfiber Boardshort is a woven fabric with no spandex in it, so it does not stretch at all. It also frays, so the seam edges will need to be finished somehow. You can construct board shorts on your serger or you can construct on your sewing machine. If you do construct on your sewing machine you will want to zig zag or serge the seam edges to prevent them from fraying.

You will want to sew boardshort with a regular universal or a microtex needle, not a stretch needle.

There is a right and a wrong side of boardshort fabric. The right side has a slight suede feel to it, like peach fuzz. The wrong side is a bit slicker and has a bit of a sheen to it. Because it's a woven fabric when you cut out your pattern you want to make sure it is cut on grain. Woven fabrics are constructed differently than knits and drape and fit differently. Cutting on grain will help your garment to fit properly.

Another tip when using boardshort is adding a gromet or eyelet on pockets so they don't fill up with water when you get out of the pool.

To add a grommet, make sure you back your pocket with a square of interfacing in the spot you're adding it too. Get your pocket prepped then install your grommet according to the instructions that come with your grommets. Then you are ready to sew your pocket on. You may need to use your zipper foot when topstitching so you can easily get around your installed grommet.

This was my first time making a board skirt. Although, I have made lots of board shorts and the same tips apply. I chose to do all my topstitching with a contrasting thread color this time to make it stand out against the white fabric.

While we are talking boardshort fabric I am going to put in a plug for my all time favorite lining for boardshort. Let me introduce you to sports mesh!

This is what you want to line your boardshorts with. And let me tell you it is AMAZING!! It is so much better than most of the lining you find in store bought board shorts. The holes in this are so tiny that nothing will get caught or pinched, it is very breathable. It is incredibly soft. This stuff changed my life, and my boys love having some extra coverage and built-in undies in their boardshorts.

The white board short fabric came from Raspberry Creek Fabric where I get most of my swim and board short fabrics. This white is the base fabric that they print on, but it's also so great on its own. With these few quick tips, you'll be sewing up your own board skirts and boardshorts in no time.

My daughter has oodles of handmade swimsuits and was super excited to get this skirt to wear as a cover up!

Join me over on my Instagram for another swim pattern giveaway form the Project Run & Play Shop.

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