The Beauty of the Ruffle

(Note:  Yes, I've migrated :) .  Thanks for visiting.  My old blog is still active with links.)

 

How much time do you spend on Pinterest?  A little?  A lot?  I don't spend a lot of time pinning, maybe once or twice/week, but the point is saving all the gems of information on our boards so eventually we can go back and do "something" from them.  There is definitely a lot more pinning than doing going on at my house, unfortunately!  However, I actually got around to testing out a simple tute on a super-cute, no pattern necessary, flowy ruffle dress. 

 

The tute I used is found HERE.  Such a cute look, and I love how the blogger paired the dress with gladiator sandals.  Not being a ruffly kind of girl, such styles aren't normally found in my closet, but heck!  I went for it anyway.  The result?  Here you go!

 

My summary conclusion:  A 1-hour serger dress, 2-3 hour sewing machine dress, easy to fit (a few pointers on this below), flowy in a drapey, woven fabric (I used a rayon floral), and a custom length of choice.

 

A few caveats! 

 

First, the measurements.  A few considerations you might want to make depending on your figure type.  If you are one of my curvy sewing sisters with a fuller figure, these points may be irrelevant to you.  My average to small-framed sewing sisters, however, might want to take note.

 

The measurement B:  Pay attention to shaving off extra inches dress front & back AND the ruffle!  It says this in the instructions, but I thought my drapey fabric would not add too much volume.  Wow!  It did lol.  My frame couldn't handle it and the initial try-on swallowed me up whole!  Easy, fast fix:  Just take it in at the side seams on an angle.  I ended up taking 2" out at the armholes (yes, I recut them deeper) angling in and pegging the hem (see pic below).  Such an easy fix which greatly improved the overall look. 

 

What I did for the fitting after the fact:

 

What I removed in fabric is noted with the broken lines.

I'll probably make this dress again, but will simply cut my rectangles and ruffle narrower.  The front and back dress pieces, maybe shave off about 6" from each piece and make the corresponding change for the ruffle.

 

Second, show some leg!  This style demands it.  There is a lot of fabric and little shaping going on so a higher hemline will take some of the visual volume out of the dress and produce a cute, youthful look.

 

Third, consider using 3/8" or 1/2" elastic.  1/4" elastic is so fiddly imo.  My preference is a wider elastic.  And think before using your serger.  I had to remove a lot more elastic than the recommended amount in the tute.  This is a highly individualized preference kind of thing, and I was so glad I made a traditional casing instead of stretching/serging the elastic.  If the snugness isn't quite right, it's a bear to remove so much serged stitching!

 

Lastly, age!  It's just a number :) .  If Christie Brinkley can rock a bikini in her 60's, then yes!  I can rock an off-the-shoulder ruffle dress in my 50's.  Wear what makes you happy, wear what you like with pride!

 

Fabric consideration:

 

My two cents...use a drapey rayon woven or a drapey ITY (Interlock Twist Yarn).  A lightweight denim would look cute as shown in the tute link, too, just make sure to check the weight of your denim fabric.  I use 9 oz and up for jeans, and that would be too heavy for this dress imo.  Use a lighter weight. 

 

Overall?  This tute is a winner!  I hemmed long enough for a dress but can easily pair it with leggings and wear it to work.  A super easy project that will build confidence for sewing beginners and a slam dunk, 1-hour project for those with experience.  The beauty of the dress...it's in the ruffle!  Don't ruffle my feathers, ruffle the dress :) .

 

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

 

--Kat