How to make a DIY swimming cap from an old swimsuit: Dress 163. Be in the swim.
I arrived back in Singapore from the UK ready to go swimming in the outdoor pool and I found my swimsuit but no swimming cap? Where was it? Luckily nobody was checking and I was able to go swimming in a baseball cap with a brim to keep the sun out of my eyes. I was swimming breast stroke which keeps your head above water, unlike the crawl.
The Story of the Search for Swimhats
When I reached home, I went online and researched swim hat. I went on google and amazon.com and Ebay - after switching country of delivery to get the true postal address and postal rate.
Swim hat brought up what I would call sun hats, items with large brims, not waterproof. So I tried swim caps.
By now, quite tired of this online search, I clicked on a reasonably priced item, from China, not the UK or the USA. If you are in the USA you want a local supplier for free postage and quick delivery. The same goes for the UK.
In Singapore, the little tailoring factories have been superseded. Government policy was to increase income, ensuring a happy workforce, and high taxes to fund defence, health, education, safety, the environment and and wellbeing. Therefore, for a wide choice of clothes, and cheap prices, your best bet is is a manufacturer or seller in China.
So I ordered. My first mistake was to not check it was a women's swimhat. Surely a hat is a hat? Unisex, one size fits all? No. I had ordered a cap for child or youth. It would probably fit, not worth the hassle of trying to cancel, but no certainty that I would ever receive a wearable hat.
Xmas Postal Delivery Delays
The second inconvenience was the arrival date. Two months later! That was because of Xmas and the backlog after staff holidays.
In our experience most mail order items arrive earlier in both Singapore and London, England, than the estimated date. However, when you want to wear a swimming hat tomorrow, two months time is not a good option.
I resumed my hunt for the elusive hats. At one time I had had three. A latex swimming cap had disintegrated, The two sides were sticking together. I had to throw it away, which is not an activity which I enjoy. A waste of money, fewer choices of goods at home, bad for the environment.
A second swimming hat must have gone to London. But surely I would have made sure to leave one behind in Singapore?
I looked by the front door in the plastic bags which I used to carry my towel to the pool. I looked at the towels. I looked in the bathroom. I looked everywhere.
Old Swimsuits In Storage
Finally, I looked for the old swimsuits which I did not wear. Why didn't I wear them? Because they were too small or too revealing. I had been overweight, one reason for daily swimming, so swimsuit from years ago did not fit.
Also styles change each year. Some of my old costumes looked very dated. Boring. Or outlandish.
They also revealed too much flesh. Not just a question of 'modesty'. I am more concerned about skin cancer from tropical sun, the damaged ozone layer, and the alarming increase in cancer which is shown on posters in hospitals in Singapore. And online if you are prompted to search.
I am tired of spending money on sun creams, and finding that research says some are no good, fry you instead. Or I forget. Besides I get bitten by mosquitos. I stand more chance of beating both the mosquitos and the cancer and saving time and money by simply covering up.
Why did I keep the old swimsuits? For just such an occasion as now. They had once fitted. I liked the colours. They co-ordinated with towels and shoes and other items and my eyes and hair and complexion. Swimsuit to fit Western figures are hard to find in Singapore. I love sewing and spare fabric is always handy. You can use it for a new garment, for patches, for fancy dress, for a prop when giving a speech.
Swimsuit Fabric
Cotton is not suitable for swimming caps. So a cotton bikini won't give the right material for a swimming cap which is likely to get wet. (But an old cotton bikini can be re-used as a bra - cotton bras are hard to find and expensive nowadays.)
I looked at the old swimsuits. They were the right fabric I needed for a swimming cap. The fabric was waterproof, non-absorbent, stretchy, looked a good match for shiny swimsuits.
Cutting Fabric From A Swimming Costume
I had three options. One was to cut a large circle from the front of a swimming costume I could not wear or did not like.
The second option was to cut off part of the swimsuit. Two of my swimsuits had surplus fabric. One swimsuit had the two front sides twisted into a knot. The other had an overlapping panel at the front.
I hated to spoil an item of clothing. But I was not wearing the swimsuits. I did need a swimming cap. I grabbed my pinking shears, then opted for the plain scissors with thinner tips to the blades.
I cut three triangular pieces from one suit. I hoped to join them together. I cut a larger triangular piece from another suit.
Pattern For A Cap
The next challenge was where to find a pattern. Instead of looking online for a pattern, I decided to take something which fitted the dimensions of my head, a baseball cap. I added to my pile of potential patterns, a shower cap, and a santa hat. Three different styles.
The baseball cap was closest to the shape of a close fitting swim hat. Modern swim caps can be tight on my head because I have long hair. The modern style is two semi-circles with a ribbon like an arched ruler down the centre, joining the two semicircles.
The alternative was the pattern of the baseball cap, like segments of an orange, six triangles. That involved more cutting and more sewing, more difficulty fitting all the pieces which had to be the same size, to meet in the middle.
So I opted to start at the base and make the hat conical like the two large triangles of a Santa hat. I could let the top hang down, stick up, or make a rosette or pom-pom on the top from the fabric, caught up by and elastic band, then made permanent with a ribbon cut from the same fabric or by sewing.
The problem was that the hat kept riding up. Was that because the hem was too large? Yes. Also a cap is like a ball and comes in at the base because your head is like a ball.
You have four options. One is to cut the cap in a curbed ball shape. The second is to make a dart in the hem of the cap. The third is to run elastic around inside the hem
The Chin Strap
The fourth solution to a hat which rides up is a chin strap. This can be made from the same fabric as the hat, soft and stretchy, attached both sides or attached one side with a clip the other side, or a loop of the same fabric.
The shower cap was a possible liner or cover, or pattern. It was bulky and old-fashioned. On the other hand, the elastic was the right length. I could cut it out and attach it to my fabric. Alternatively, I could wear the shower cap underneath to hold in stray hair.
I used the baseball cap and the shower cap to check I had enough fabric for the rim of the proposed swimming hat. First I sewed the three pieces together where the hems met. Then I cut the top to curve around the top of my head.
Your Swim Cap Shape Choices
At breakfast I took a photo of myself in my new swimming cap. I was so pleased with it. I looked across to the front door. A plastic bag was on the floor. After breakfast, I looked inside. There were a latex hat and a fabric hat, plain pale orange.
I tried on the orange cap. It was loose. It came down over my ears.
I took it off and inspected its shape and cut. The central part had a horizontal join at the top of the head. No protruding seam. The seams were sealed with an overlocking stitch.
All that trouble for nothing? Not at all. I now know how swimming caps are constructed. I have matching hats to go with my old swimsuits, which fit better and feel more comfortable now the constricting surplus material has been cut off.
I am very pleased with myself. I must be one of the few people in the world to make a swimming cap, and one that matches a swimsuit. Now you know how to do the same. If you want to look chic with a matching swim cap, you can take an old black costume for fabric to match the new one.
Alternatively, if you see a swimming costume selling really cheaply, buy two. Cut up the second one to make a hairband and swimming cap to match the first swimsuit. If you have leftover material, you could make:
a matching cape,
cap sleeves,
boy legs,
a pocket for a locker key,
a rosette to go on a tote bag,
a choker,
ear-rings, or
a mask.
I hope I have enlightened and entertained you. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Useful Websites
travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com
dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com
About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, speaker and author. Books on Amazon and lulu. Also see Angela on Youtube. Or live at Toastmasters International meetings. Come to Braddell Heights on Dec 19 the Saturday afternoon 2 to 5 pm on Learncool.sg
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