How to Design Swimming Caps

The materials used to make a swim cap are usually either Lycra, latex or silicone. These components allow a swim cap to have the optimum amount of elasticity in order to fit completely over heads of varying sizes. Once a rubbery material such as one of the above mentioned is obtained, the steps to designing a swim cap become relatively easy.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Rubber fabric
• Paint brushes
• Permanent marker
• Waterproof paint
• Scissors
• Glue/glue gun
• Needle and thread (if making swim cap from cloth fabric)

1. Fashion over functionality

   Purchase a rubbery, expandable piece of fabric. Fabric of this nature usually needs to be purchased at a specialty cloth store. Chain fabric stores like JoAnn Crafts or Michael's are less likely to have this material in their inventory.

2. A variety of brand name swim caps

   Cut out the rubber using a preset pattern that you have either purchased or drawn on yourself based on the measurements of your head. Once you have carefully cut along the lines, you can glue one piece of fabric to the other to form a dome shape using a glue gun or other industrial strength glue. After letting the glue dry for about two hours, you can now decide if you want your swim cap to be worn for utility or for visual appearance. Depending on this choice, you can add on extra accessories, such as clip-on flowers, glitter, a chin strap, predesigned stamps, etc.

3. The functional swim cap

   Mold the contours of the swim cap to fit your head by wearing it for approximately 15 minutes. Do not put any designs or other accoutrements on the swim cap until this has been done. Otherwise, the design will look misshapen when you put it on.

4. Wearing a swim cap improves speed for those who race competitively

   Test your swim cap in the shower or bathtub. If your designs come off because of the water, you'll need to start over again using materials that are water resistant.

5. Swimwear accessories can be just as fashionable as others

   Maintain the efforts put into your swim cap by placing it on a rack to dry after swimming. This way, the add-ons of the swim cap will be more likely to last.

Resources

• History of Women's Swimwear