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Beach Cover Ups by Mary E. Jacobs
Fashion Framework Summer 2022
The days lengthen, temperatures start to rise, and thoughts turn toward lazing at the beach or poolside. The next thought, “What do I wear?” can inspire a range of reactions from an enthusiastic “YEEESS” to a stomach-turning “NO!!” Whatever the reaction, it is an opportunity to be creative and assemble a unique beach or pool-ready ensemble because that is what a great cover up does—it creates the finishing touch to an outfit designed to get you to the waterfront and on to whatever you plan to do next. There is a wide range of choices regarding cover ups that can be pulled together to flatter both different body types and personal preferences. You have a huge advantage too: you’re a knitter. You can knit something that is completely customized and unique. So let’s dive in!
Wading into History
There really isn’t a whole lot about the history of beach cover ups, largely because they are covering up the main attraction—the swimsuit. Sporting swimwear away from the beach or pool has never been en vogue, even in times when bathing suits looked like full outfits. People used to change onsite in beach houses immediately prior to entering the water and hastily change out immediately after. Interestingly the need for a beach cover up not only stems from the shrinking fabric size of the swimsuit itself but also the practice of wearing beachwear further from the water’s edge.
For a long while people used bathhouses only for all their water-related activities, and the prevailing clothing choice was… nothing. There are accounts of bathhouses dating to ancient Rome and Greece. Such bathhouses are still a cultural mainstay in places like Japan, with its hot spring onsens. (To learn a little more about the contemporary Japanese onsen, visit this site or do a simple internet search.) As time went on, bathing costumes began to be the norm for women at the bathhouses, with personal accounts dating back to the 1680s, describing loose-fitting, ankle-length canvas gowns that floated away from the body underwater, to disguise the body’s form. Men, however still swam sans clothing. In 1860, the United Kingdom formally codified a ban on swimming in the nude for all.
As a result of the Victorian-era rejection of showing any body parts, women often wore voluminous bathing gowns that had both a heavy knee-length dress paired with leggings. At this time, men also covered up and did not go bare chested at public swimming areas. Despite general Victorian-era modesty, the French-influenced swimsuits began to slowly bare more skin, with sleeveless tops, and hemlines shortening to knee length and migrating to mid-thigh. The overall silhouette also became more formfitting. By the 1880s, beauty pageants with women sporting bathing costumes began to spring up in the US, although they were not considered to be for respectable people.
As the 20th century began, swimwear became increasingly more formfitting and began to decrease in size. This was due largely to two shifts: one being an increase in competitive swimming and the other a shift in the public’s desire to sunbathe over swim. Suits became tighter to accommodate activity, and they became more decorative and smaller to accommodate sunbathing. As the 1930s approached, the introduction of movies and the rise of Hollywood glamorized bolder, body-revealing styles. Major fashion design houses made suntanned skin fashionable and pushed limits on the prevailing modesty in fashion, which was soaked up by Hollywood both on-screen and by actors and actresses off-screen. As the 20th century continued, increased leisure and wealth—coupled with Hollywood and fashion design house influences— further moved swimsuits toward the suit styles we are accustomed to seeing today.
Where Do I Begin?
Back in classical antiquity, your birthday suit would have been the go-to ensemble. In some places, it still is. But let’s assume you’d actually like to wear clothing.
Calculating on a dollar-per-inch scale, it’s quite possible that a single square inch of your swimsuit will cost well into the double digits. That means each inch on your swimsuit might be the most expensive item in your entire closet because if you multiplied that square inch out for an entire shirt, pair of slacks, dress, or coat, it could rival the expense of your most expensive actual piece of clothing.
So that’s where you start. You start with the swimsuit, and you’re on your own for finding a piece that you love, and you should. You don’t have to spend a lot (you may have unlocked the secrets of the universe if you can accomplish that), but it’s nice to feel comfortable in all places, including the beach or pool. Even if you don’t have any trips planned, always have around a suit that you like so that when the opportunity arises, you are ready. There are now so many choices for levels of coverage, sizes, and materials that a little internet investigating can help unravel some very functional and aesthetically-pleasing choices.
So the suit is your centerpiece, and from that you back into the cover up that will make that suit into an outfit, complement it, and complement you. By making the swimsuit your starting point and planning the cover up around the suit, you will make a pulled-together, polished pool or beach ensemble.
Types of Cover Ups
Once your centerpiece—the swimsuit—is in mind, it is good to explore the different types of cover up choices open to you. This will allow you to think about the style of cover up you’d like to create. Many of these styles have their roots in traditional men’s garments from other cultures that have been modified for women. Men, too, in contemporary times have chosen some of these same styles, modified for their specific tastes. A quick internet search for women’s beach cover ups and for men’s beach cover ups shows a wide range of choices for all, with some overlaps that, depending upon the individual, can be very flattering.
Dress Cover Up
The dress cover up is a very versatile form of beach cover up and offers quite a bit of choice for you as a knitter as well. Depending on the style and coverage of the dress, this type of cover up gives quite a bit of latitude regarding where it can be worn before and after the beach. Some dresses can be worn alone as well, extending the utility of those joyous yet long hours of knitting to create a dress. In a style that is relaxed and casual, the dress cover up is a good candidate for handknits and shines in a variety of knit fabrics. There are often existing patterns for dresses that can be knit with yarns conducive to warm weather or that can be modified to accommodate the role of a swimsuit cover up.
Caftan Cover Up
A specific type of dress often associated with the beach cover up is the caftan or kaftan, which sports flowing sleeves and typically has a long ankle-length hemline. The caftan originated in Asia as a robe or long tunic worn by men. Often presented as a long dress, sometimes with an empire waist, the long flowing style of the caftan lends itself to stylish comfort poolside and elsewhere. Typically, a caftan would have light, flowy fabric, often with print, making this a particularly good candidate for lighter weight variegated yarns, color block knit motifs, or large, bold intarsia motifs. There are caftans with shorter hemlines, and these as well showcase flowing, generous sleeves and voluminous fabric from the waist down.
Sarong Cover Up
The sarong is another very popular beach cover up, also with Asian roots and worn by men and women. The sarong is a large length of fabric or tube that is usually worn wrapped around the waist. Traditionally, the sarong was meant to conceal, not reveal, but as early as the 1940s, women began to wear fabric tied around the waist with slits to reveal legs and accentuate the figure. The use of the sarong is ever evolving, and a simple internet search can produce results for 9, 10, 11, 12, and even 33 different ways to tie a sarong. Given the simple shape, the sarong affords knitters the ability to make bolder yarn choices, although care should be taken to ensure that the fabric is attractive on both the right and wrong side. Depending on which of the 33 ways it is tied, either side may show.
Pants Cover Up
While perhaps not an obvious first thought for a beach cover up, pants are a very becoming choice for most figures, especially when casual, loose, and flowing. Poolside pants can sport unique fashion details such as sheer fabric, allover lace, and deep slits on the legs. Like the sarong, the pant allows the top of the suit to shine through, or it can be paired with a separate top to complement the pant. Beach pants give quite a bit of longitude as to where they may be worn. Knit in linen, knitters can choose to make a diaphanous lace motif or a more solid fabric for more coverage. Pants can be modified to have slits or other embellishments.
Shirt/Cardigan Cover Up
The shirt or cardigan-styled cover up provides knitters with a very familiar silhouette. Elongating a cardigan or tunic can provide enough coverage and versatility to make a very usable cover up that can find its way into many other outfits as well. This particular style of cover up will be in the construction comfort range of many hand knitters.
How Does this Apply to Knitting?
Now that we have explored some big-picture planning, it is time to translate this into knitting. You know your suit, and you have decided what style of cover up you want, so now you find your pattern, yarn, needles, and go.
Pattern
First, you can always design your own cover up, and maybe this is the time. If that’s not your thing, no worries—you have a ton of options. Searching for patterns is helpful, but be prepared to be diligent as not many designers specifically create a beach cover up design. Here is where all that knowledge about different types of beach cover ups will come into play. Knowing the basic format of a cover up design will allow you to search for a comparable style. Your sarong might come from a scarf or shawl you like, made with more repeats and multiples. A tunic can be elongated into a caftan. A knit dress pattern can be modified to brave the beach. A knit skirt could substitute for a sarong, or the skirt bottom could even be divided and made into two pant legs. A cardigan can be lengthened and modified to act as a button-down or zippered cover up. Of course, you may find an outright pattern that you like, but if you don’t, some simple modifications can repurpose a different pattern to fit your needs.
Yarn
Yarn choice will be greatly determined by the function of the beach cover up. This is a warm-weather application that is often—well—dirty. Sand, salt water, chlorine, sunblock, and just being outside invites a certain level of “earthiness” that the yarn needs to endure. Washability is not the only consideration. Yarn weight, the fiber’s memory or elasticity, and color will always majorly affect the ultimate finished object, and the beach cover up is no exception. Natural fibers such as cotton and linen are often good choices, but there are also blends and synthetics that would make great choices. Read labels for care instructions and look at ready-made cover ups in the style you like as they can give you ideas on fiber choice.
Needles (aka Gauge)
Although there is a temptation to believe that gauge can be ignored for a flowy garment, beach cover ups are not exempt from gauge considerations. Of course, we want to get sizing correct, but there’s also a need to make sure that the gauge produces the type of fabric that will perform in the desired fashion. A beach cover up has a lot of demands placed upon it—from structural demands to fabric drape—none of which can be properly anticipated without a solid grasp of the fabric gauge.
Off to the Races
With planning, thought, and forward thinking, a hand-knit beach cover up might be an unexpected item that makes summer vacations even more special and exciting. Knitted beach cover ups are not necessarily standard fare in a knitter’s project bag, but what an opportunity to express creativity, customize, and dress up one of the most coveted summertime treats: a day by the water.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_swimwear
https://www.vogue.com/article/swimsuit-cover-up
http://www.victoriana.com/library/Beach/FashionableBathingSuits.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaftan
https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/sarong
Photo Credits
Figure 1: “nicci-beach” by shotbynicci is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 2:”Beach Dressing Cabins” by just.Luc is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Figure 3: American: Harper’s magazine. Bathing dress from 1858. Public Domain
Figure 4: Two girls wearing bathing clothing, posed in front of beach backdrop.
H21477 U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright by the Ullman Mfg. Co., New York. Public domain.
Figure 5: “Woman and grumpy child in swimming suits” by simpleinsomnia is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 6: “Family posing in their swim suits” by simpleinsomnia is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 7: “Sponge Bob No Pants” by Sister72 is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 8: “Varadero Beach” by Artur Staszewski is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
Figure 9: Kurdish man wearing a kaftan. Illustration by Max Karl Tilke published in IT Oriental Costumes: Their Designs and Colors IT (1922), Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi. Public Domain.
Figure 10: “Maldivian style” by nattu is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 11: “Kauai Beach Footprints on the Beach, Hawaiian Paradise” by moonjazz is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 12: “Striped Beach Coverup Mary Blair for Cabana 1956” by BlueVelvetVintage.com is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Pattern Associated with Article — Ululani
Copyright 2022, The Knitting Guild Association, Cast On Summer 2022, All Rights Reserved
