POM POM KAFTAN TUTORIAL

For my recent girls weekend trip to the Beverly Hilton, I wanted to make a cute simple swim coverup for the pool. It was so easy to wear AND easy to make! I’ve included the full tutorial for how to make this same coverup at the bottom of this post!

For this project I was inspired by OtterBox’s cute phone cover that was designed by Project Runway: All Stars winner, Dom Streater. I loved the fun bright coral pink in this case and found this exact shade in a recent trip to Mood Fabrics in downtown LA. This case is fun and eye catching, and since a clothing designer developed the case, I thought it would be fitting to design and style my own piece of clothing to go with it! OtterBox Symmetry Series cases are always the best at protecting my phone.

STRIPED TOP

Dom Streater Otterbox Symmetry Seris Graphics Case | Pom Pom Kaftan (made by me, tutorial below. Similar kaftans here, here and here) | Black Sunglasses | Gold Gladiator Sandals 

in partnership with Otterbox

Follow the jump below for the full tutorial on how to make this cute Pom Pom Kaftan Swim Cover!

Materials:

• 2 yards of semi sheer light weight fabric (chiffon/rayon blend would work great)
• 4 yards of pom pom trim
• matching thread

Step 1:

Fold one of your rectangles in half width-wise, and cut a small diagonal across at the top fold to create a v neck. Don’t cut this too wide or too deep, because you will be folding this under to hem it, which will result in a wider/deeper V than you cut. (see the measurements I used for reference in the illustration)

Step 2:

With both rectangles facing right sides together, and with the cut out “V” at the top, stitch/serge along the very top edge (skipping over the ‘V”) with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Step 3:

Open up both rectangle pieces and serge around the edges to keep them from fraying. Then attach your pom pom trim all around each edge. I used white thread to match the trim rather than pink thread because the pink thread would have been visible over the white trim. I also cut the trim the exact length of each side and stitch each side on separately instead of trying to attach the entire piece at the same time. This will ensure that the bottom and sides will hang flat and help to get nice right angle edges.

Step 4:

With the right sides facing out, stitch a 10″ long straight stitch down either side of the rectangle to create arm holes. Remember to backstitch when you start and end your stitch. Serge around the neck hole and fold under and stitch at 1/4″ all around the hole for a nice clean finish (or you can just fold the neckline under 1/4″ twice to achieve the same effect).