{"id":49074,"date":"2015-08-10T10:39:58","date_gmt":"2015-08-10T14:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=49074"},"modified":"2015-08-10T10:41:28","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T14:41:28","slug":"ruffle-skirt-dress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/08\/ruffle-skirt-dress.html","title":{"rendered":"ruffle skirt dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shelley<\/a> is quite the \u2018Tinkerbell\u2019, tinkering with our patterns and coming up with fantastic creations. She\u2019s here again to get you thinking outside of the pattern envelope. Thanks Shelley for this wonderful tutorial!<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi, I\u2019m back today with one of my favourite kinds of sewing. Knit t-shirts with a twist!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffle<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have you sewn a knit top yet for your kid? They can be quick and simple or you can turn a basic T-shirt pattern into something quite fancy. When the Parachute Polo<\/a> pattern was released, Liesl showed us some gorgeous girl\u2019s versions with added ruffles<\/a>. My daughter had a dress that was similar that she was growing out of. Time for a re-make!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ParachutePoloDress\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used the School Bus T-shirt<\/a>, but this could easily be done with the Parachute Polo, Butterfly Blouse<\/a> or Hopscotch Knit Top<\/a> as well. Perhaps the best thing to do is to use last summer\u2019s t-shirt (handmade or ready to wear) that is now a bit too short!<\/p>\n

After I\u2019d made mine I was browsing through my Flickr favourites and rediscovered this gorgeous version sewn by Nicole<\/a> last year. She used a slightly different technique to me, and her dress is fabulous. Perfect proof that there\u2019s no hard and fast rules when it comes to ruffles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Nicole's<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the reasons I like sewing with knits is that there is less need for precision. The fabric will stretch or gather to make up for any inaccuracies in your pattern altering or sewing. You could even repurpose some adult size T-shirts for the ruffles and preserve the hems.<\/p>\n

Since there are no strict rules for adding ruffles to a T-shirt I\u2019ll show you what I did and give some guidelines, but I promise to avoid too many calculations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Firstly you might want to shorten your T-shirt pattern (or old T-shirt). You can have the ruffles start wherever you like, natural waist or dropped, it\u2019s up to you. Now, measure from this point down to decide how long you want your skirt to be.<\/p>\n

Divide the skirt length by the number of ruffles you want to have. The top ruffle will be this length plus just \u00bc\u201d seam allowance at the top. The subsequent ruffles will have \u00be\u201d added. This will allow you to sew each ruffle on such that there is at least half an inch overlap to cover your stitching. Yet they will still look to be the same length. If you want to hem your ruffles, and you certainly don\u2019t have to, then add any hem allowance to the heights you\u2019ve worked out just now.<\/p>\n

The next pattern piece you need to draft is a trapezoid. The top of the trapezoid will be the same width as the flat pattern piece for the front of your top. The bottom should be about 1.5 times as wide, this gives the skirt an A line shape and allows for easy movement. The height of the trapezoid is the length of your skirt minus one ruffle (the bottom one).<\/p>\n

The ruffles can be as wide as you want, depending on how much fabric you have or how full you want the gathers. I\u2019ve chosen to go with three ruffles and I\u2019ve made mine 1.5 times the width of the top, middle and bottom measurements of my trapezoid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffled<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After cutting two of everything, join the short ends of each pair of ruffle pieces and the angled sides of the trapezoid together.<\/p>\n

Since I\u2019m a bit weird about finishing the edges of fabric, I\u2019ve also serged the top edge of my middle ruffle. You don\u2019t have to if you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

Now sew two rows of gathering stitches at the top of each ruffle, starting and stopping at the side seams and leaving the thread tails long to allow you to pull them and gather the ruffle. I find it easiest to tie the needle thread and bobbin threads together on one side of the skirt and then gather from the other side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffled<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, you could pin the ruffles to the trapezoid and gather them to fit, but I find it much easier to gather them to a set length. I\u2019ve gathered the top ruffle to match the top of my trapezoid, the middle to the middle and the bottom to the bottom (of course!). Because I\u2019m sewing fairly fast and loose with my serger this also saves me having too many pins in the way. I have the horrors of one day hitting a pin with that serger blade!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffled<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To attach the middle ruffle(s) to the trapezoid, divide the height by the number of ruffles and mark horizontal lines around the trapezoid on the fabrics right side. Attach each ruffle with the top edge about \u00be\u201d above this line. These ruffles are sewn on with the ruffles wrong side facing the trapezoid\u2019s right side. I\u2019ve used a double needle, but you can use a stretch stitch or zigzag stitch on the sewing machine. Try not to sew over your gathering stitches as it makes them a beast to remove.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffled<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The T-shirt and top ruffle are attached to the top of the trapezoid at the same time. With the t-shirt right side out, pin the top edge of the ruffle to the bottom edge of the T-shirt with right sides facing. Now pin the top edge of the trapezoid on top of them both with the right side down. You\u2019ll have the ruffle sandwiched between the t-shirt and trapezoid. Stretch sew or serge all three layers together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ruffled<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, attach the bottom ruffle to the bottom of the trapezoid. Now you can leave the hems raw and just tidy up your side seam threads, or you could hem the ruffles or do a rolled hem with your serger. I went with some contrast thread for this one and it gives it a bit of a Flamenco vibe!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her favourite dress is, of course, the purple one where I added jewels to the neckline. That pink centre jewel is where she keeps her power and it shoots out pink lightning! See, you can turn a T-shirt into anything!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Shelley, we have a nice a tutorial on how to make an Oliver + S School Bus T-shirt into a ruffle skirt dress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7455,"featured_media":49095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[66,157,140],"class_list":["post-49074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-customized","tag-school-bus-t-shirt","tag-tutorial"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ruffleskirtdressTITLE.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-cLw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":75745,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2020\/10\/shelleys-hacked-double-gauze-jersey-belgravia-knit-dress.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":0},"title":"shelley’s belgravia knit dress with round neckline","author":"Masha Richart","date":"October 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Shelley modified the Belgravia Knit Dress to add a round neckline and a flared skirt. In this post she walks you through how she did it.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/shelley-hero-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61546,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2017\/06\/building-block-dress-round-up.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":1},"title":"building block dress round-up","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"June 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"People have been doing some clever things with the Oliver + S Building Block Dress book. Come and see all of the wonderful inspiration!","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBroundupF.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":75112,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2020\/05\/sew-tell-shelleys-kensington-mini-skirt.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":2},"title":"sew + tell: shelley’s kensington mini skirt","author":"Masha Richart","date":"May 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Shelley shortened the Kensington Knit Skirt to make a winter mini skirt using vintage fabric from a special source.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Shelley-hero.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65894,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2018\/06\/tried-and-true-pattern-liesl-co-womens-metro-t-shirt.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":3},"title":"tried and true pattern: liesl + co. women’s metro t-shirt","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"June 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you have a Liesl + Co. sewing pattern that you turn to again and again? Shelley does and she\u2019s here to share her tried and true pattern.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/metrotF.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":58906,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/12\/sewing-the-building-block-dress-with-knit-fabrics.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":4},"title":"sewing the building block dress with knit fabrics","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"December 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Today Shelley is talking about sewing the Oliver + S Building Block Dress in knit fabric and sharing the version she made.","rel":"","context":"In "tutorials"","block_context":{"text":"tutorials","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/tutorials"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/KnitHero.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":72806,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2019\/10\/four-t-shirt-dress-tutorials.html","url_meta":{"origin":49074,"position":5},"title":"four t-shirt dress tutorials","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"October 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Today the focus is on t-shirt dresses. 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