Ruffled Obsession...

I really like ruffles.  I haven't always had this obsession.  It started last winter when I had a new baby and didn't get out much.  I spent some time surfing the net while we nursed discovered the wonderful world of ruffles.  I ruffled most anything by running a basting stitch down the middle of a strip of fabric and pulling one thread to gather.  I pulled shirts from Breadwinner's closet that he didn't favor and refashioned them for myself.  I cut up old t'shirts and made skirts for the girls.  My penchant for storing outgrown clothing boxed up in the basement was once again rewarded.  I fabric "shopped" without leaving the house.  

This didn't go unnoticed by Breadwinner and for Christmas this year I was gifted with a ruffling foot for my sewing machine.   I had seen them only in pictures and they look very intimidating to use.  Since I don't know anyone personally that uses this foot I checked on youtube and sure enough there was a video teaching me how to use my new toy.

For my first attempts I wanted the optimal opportunity to practice ruffling so I made 3 tier skirts for the girls.  I made 4...in one morning!   I was hooked.  Lately I have been making dresses using premade shirts and just adding skirts.  I scored some cute shirts at Target for $1 last fall before I had my ruffler foot and new they would be useful to refashion.

My 3 year old sees me sewing, looks down at her newest dress, and tells me she doesn't like it anymore and needs a new one.  She will probably end up spoiled as I oblige her, but she reminds me of my mom in her enjoyment of new fashions so I suppose she won't end up all bad.  

Here is one way I use my ruffler foot.

 


I chose 2 fabrics to complement this shirt. In all honesty, the three year old picked out the fabric on our last trip to JoAnn Fabric store.  She is in a dark pink stage.  She categorizes all colors into darks and lights lately.  I cut the width of the fabric twice the width of the shirt bottom.  The length of the top tier is 5'' and the second is 7'', which makes them 5"x44'', and 7''x44''.

I serged the narrow ends of the strips together-

-and then created the hem before I sewed the tiers together.  Usually hems are added after the garment is completed.  This is because the fabric may stretch during construction and then your hem would be uneven.  I don't worry about this for kids everyday wear.  I am not a perfectionist and figure kids move around so much no one will ever know anyway.

I made this picture big so you can hopefully see the ruffler foot and how it works.  You can use it with 1 or 2 fabrics at a time.  So you can either ruffle a fabric or ruffle it while you sew it to another fabric that remains straight.  The top fabric (the bottom tier) is basically pleated while it is sewn right sides together to the top tier which remains unpleated.

There are 3 settings on the foot.  You can gather every 0, 6th, or 12th stitch.  Length of stitch also effects the size of the gather.  I set it at 6 as my fabric was twice as wide as the shirt I was attaching it to.  I put pins each quarter of the way around the fabrics so I could make sure they were matching up as I sewed.  When they weren't coming together just right I lengthened or shortened my stitch length accordingly to change the size of the gathers.  This is why I sew instead of do woodworking.  You can't just "fudge it" with wood.  Wood is not as forgiving...

Here is the skirt before it is attached to the shirt.



  If you want a empire waist dress cut off the shirt just under the armpits.  This dress has a drop waist so I only trimmed off the bottom hem of the shirt.  Next add a 2 or 3'' strip of iron on interfacing to the shirt bottom.  This is so the knit fabric holds its shape when being sewn to the quilter's cotton tiers.

 

Sew the skirt to the shirt using the ruffler foot.  Again, mark each quarter all the way around on both pieces so they match up evenly. 

To clean everything up on the inside of the dress and make the seam stronger I serge the seams. 

 

I don't know why I don't have a picture of my little princess in her new gown.  Just know that it goes perfectly with the "dark pink" ruffled sweater Mama gave her for her birthday...