PR & P Season 9 Week 2

The theme for week 2 of Project Run and Play is the “Spring Break Challenge”. When I think of Spring Break I think of sunny beaches, palm trees, pina coladas, and my toes in the sand…..but in real life I usually just go home to southern Utah for Spring Break. And its usually cold, and windy, and rainy. But for my Spring Break Challenge outfit I wanted something that fit my Spring Break dream. So of course this meant a swim suit!

I made it to fit him this summer so its still really big!

Can’t wait till it fits better and we can go swimming!

Since babies skin is so sensitive to the sun and they don’t generate much of their own heat I knew board-shorts wouldn’t be enough when I take my little guy swimming. So I made a rash-guard top to keep the heat in and the UV-rays away.

Although my baby has a super cute chubby belly I didn’t want it hanging out the whole time we are at the pool. So for the rash-guard top I used a basic onesie pattern to keep that top from wiggling up to his neck.

I wanted the top to be cute enough to wear alone. So I added a color block across the middle. I love how the bright yellow gives it that fun sun-shiny look without overwhelming the piece. I also used the yellow for the trim on the arms, legs, and neck to tie it all together.

Now for the board-shorts. This is my favorite part. 🙂

I made these shorts out of waterproof PUL fabric that I found at Joanns. This is the fabric they use for cloth diaper covers. I saw this cute dinosaur print and knew that was the stuff I needed.

I drafted the dinosaur shorts part from a basic pants pattern I had. Now for the best part, the teal at the top is actually a built in diaper cover! This way I don’t have to remember swim diapers,swim shorts, AND a plastic diaper cover when we go to the pool. Its just one piece and it helps give it that fun color pop! I used the “Perfect Diaper Cover” pattern from Dana Made It. Then I sewed my shorts on top, added a pocket and wallah! The cutest baby board-shorts I have ever seen!

Check out my outfit from Week 1 HERE and be sure to go over to Project Run & Play to vote for the designers!

Want to make your own board shorts with a built in diaper cover? Keep reading for a basic tutorial!

First draft up a pair of shorts from a basic pants pattern, shorts pattern, or a pair of shorts that fit your child. For this I actually used a Leggings pattern. However since PUL doesn’t stretch the same as a knit and since you want board shorts to fit loosely you have to add A LOT of width. I also took off a few inches from the top so that the diaper cover would show and give it that extra color.

For the pocket I cut a 4×5 inch piece. Fold and press the 2 sides and bottom 1/4 inch and the top 3/4 inch. When ironing PUL make sure your iron is on LOW heat and test it on a scrap piece! If the iron is to hot it will melt the fabric! With this kind of fabric and a lower heat you won’t get a nice crisp press like you would with cotton, but it does give you enough of a guiding line.

Sew the top of the pocket down. Then sew the pocket onto the middle of one of the short/pant pieces.

Sew the two pant pieces together from the top to the notched part. This sews up the crotch.

Pull to two pieces apart, folding so inner legs match up creating the two leg holes. Stitch along the inner leg.

Hem the bottom of each leg. It looks more professional if you use a double needle. If you don’t have one you can always sew two lines next to each other.

Next make the diaper cover. Follow this tutorial from Dana Made It.

My Mother-in-law is the queen of daily deals and had given me this cute elastic.

So I put cute elastic around the leg holes instead of making a casing.

Once your diaper cover is made completely its time to add the shorts (but I would suggest adding the elastic at the waist very last).  Press down the top of the shorts 1/2 inch. Use a fabric marking pen to mark a line where the shorts will be attached to the diaper cover. For me this was right above the leg holes, so 4 inches from the top. Press the top of the shorts down 1/2 inch and sew it onto the diaper cover.

 

Add the elastic to the waist and you are done!

 

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