Spa Wrap/Cover Up

My daughter, Tessa (who just turned 8) and I are leaving for Girl Scout Camp today!
It should be an adventure!!!

I wanted to make her something special for camp. A little accessory or souvenir that she'd always associate with her first time at camp. I settled on a spa wrap/cover up.
Our camp has a lake, and the girls will be swimming.
I believe the showers are communal, as well. So her little wrap will be functional as well as fun!

To start, I scoured the internet for a design I liked. I found this one, from Centsational Girl, and LOVED it. The ruffles were just too perfect for my little girly-girl.  Eventually I may do what she did and make one for myself, but for now I only had time to make the one.

This is a project that's been in my head for some time. Last year I bought a set of towels on clearance at Target with this project in mind. They were part of the '09 College Collection and I got 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 washcloths for $3.24. Score!
I started with my cheap towels and a scrap of fabric I had in my stash.

I cut the fabric into strips (about 4 inches wide) then folded it in half, lengthwise, and ironed it flat. Then I folded it up about every inch or so and ironed those folds flat, making faux pleats.
Then I sewed my pleats down.

Next I measured my daughter and cut the towel accordingly. My 8 year old is kind of tiny, so the regular size bath towel was quite large on her. I ended up cutting about 18 inches off one end, plus the finished end from the other side.

I folded the top down about 2 inches and sewed it shut, creating a casing for my elastic.  I measured my daughters chest, subtracted 2 inches and cut the elastic to that length. Then I put a safety pin on one end of the elastic and sent it through the casing, but not all the way. I sewed the other end into the towel.
Then I sewed the ruffle onto one end of my wrap.
Next, I measured the length on my daughter and hemmed the bottom of the towel (after cutting about 2 inches off.)  Originally I wanted to give it a ruffle on the bottom, but I was running short on time and decided against it. I can always add one, later :)

I used one of the washclothes to make a pocket, next. I decided how big I wanted it and cut it down to that size. I left the hem from the cloth on the bottom, and left the top raw, but I ironed the two sides in.
Then I added a ruffle to the top edge and finished it off with a piece of double fold bias-tape.

 

I top stitched it onto the wrap.

This is when I finally finished the elastic. I waited until the end so I'd be working with a flat piece for as long as possible.
First, I threaded the safety pin the rest of the way through the casing, then I pulled the elastic tight as I sewed from the finished edge to the unfinished edge. I did it twice, the second line just a few centimeters away from the first.
Then I hemmed the unfinished end of the wrap.

I added two sets of velcro to the wrap, so that it would stay closed on her.

Then I added straps (using the hemmed pieces I had cut off earlier) so that it would stay UP on her.

And that was it.

I love how it turned out. She looks adorable in it and LOVES it. We leave for camp in two hours - hopefully I'll get a cute picture or two of her in it in a real setting! For now, here she is, photoshopped into post-card form :)

Linking up at...
The Girl Creative and
Raising Memories