Today, I am going to show you how to put a ruffle on a skirt. This technique also works on other garments, including gloves. It is a great look if you are want to give your costume a Latin vibe. If you want a little bit of flair, a little bit of sassiness, adding a ruffle may be the perfect thing for you.
Supplies:
- Skirt, Dress or Other Garment
- Material for Ruffle, preferably
a stretchy material - Matching Thread
- Measuring Tape
- Pins
- Scissors
- Sewing Machine
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
Choose the skirt, dress or other garment that you want to add a ruffle to.
Next, pick the material that you want to use for the ruffle. . I have chosen to use a stretch mesh. Because the mesh is stretchy, I do not have to worry about the bias. But if you want to use a different type of fabric that does not stretch, you will want to cut the ruffles on the bias.
- Cutting the ruffle
There are a couple of little tricks before you start that are important to know. First of all, I like to use a ruffle that is between 2 ½ to 3 times the width of the skirt to get a nice gathered or pleated effect. Just like you would use 2 ½ to 3 times the width of a window to get nice, full curtains. So, what I am doing is measuring the width of the skirt at the hemline and then multiply that width by 2 ½ or three times to determine the length of the ruffle. Depending on how wide your fabric is and how long the ruffle is, you may need two or more strips sewn together.
The other tip has to do with the width of the ruffle. If I want to end up with a one inch wide ruffle, then I go with a three inch wide strip of material. The reason for that is that the ruffle will be folded in half lengthwise which will make the folded ruffle 1 ½ inches wide. That will leave me some room with which to play when I sew it down. That way I am not sewing right on the edge but sewing a little further in. It gives me about ½ inch allowance along the edge. Then, I can just trim it away and make it even. If you use your thread as a guide as you are gathering or pleating and keep it at the one inch mark from the folded edge, then it works great. If you have sewing guides on the surface of the needle plate on your sewing machine, you can use the sewing guides to guide the fabric as you are sewing which helps you to keep the stitch line equal distance from the edge of the fabric. If you keep the folded edge of the ruffle at that one inch mark, you will know exactly where to sew it onto the skirt. And you will still have a little wiggle room one way or the other.
If you do not have sewing guides on the surface of your machine, it is very easy to create your own guide. You can just place a piece of tape one inch from (or whatever the seam allowance you want to use) where the needle and thread would come down.
For this demonstration, I am using a circle skirt I had previously made and three strips of red mesh which I have already cut for the ruffle. You could use a purchased circle skirt if you so desire. I chose red stretch mesh because I like the look of the light mesh. However, you could use Lycra for your ruffle which would also stretch or you could use any other kind of fabric that you wish.
For this skirt, I ended up with three strips of mesh because of the length of the ruffle that I will need. The first step is to sew the ends of the three strips together to create one long strip. It makes it a lot easier to sew them together to make one ruffle before you sew them on to the skirt. You will use a lot more material than you think you would due to the width of the hem of the circle skirt and all of the little gathers that you will need. It makes it a lot easier to sew the strips into one strip. Because the ruffle is made of stretchy material, I do not have to cut the ruffle on a bias. If you use a non-stretchy material, you would need to cut it on the bias.
Once you have one long strip, fold the strip in half. If you are using lace, you do not have to fold it over because lace has a nice edge. As a result, you would not need a 3 inch wide strip, you would only need a strip about 1 ½ inches wide. Folding the fabric in half lengthwise creates a nice, soft edge. It is easier if the sew the raw edges of the ruffle before you attach it to the skirt. Otherwise, you will have to manipulate several different pieces of material. Consequently, I am going to sew the raw edges of the ruffle together. Since this is just to hold the fabric in this folded position, I am using a really long, straight stitch and I will sew it about ¼ inch from the raw edge. This will ensure that the stitches will be hidden in the seam and will not show.
- Pleating the Ruffle
There are two different looks that can be created with this ruffle. It can be a gathered ruffle or a can pleated ruffle. Once you have sewn the ruffle in half all the way down the length of it, you will either gather the ruffle or use pleats. I am going to show you the pleated version. Since the raw edges of the ruffle are sewn together, it is easy to grip and you do not have to worry about the ruffle being “off” or bubbling funny. Rather than pin each pleat in place, I just fold the ruffle into pleats as I go. I just pinch the ruffle and fold it under into a little pleat as I am sewing it to the hem of the skirt. That way I do not have to sit and pin them all, I can just “eyeball” it and evenly fold the pleats. I am going to just keep going along like that until I get to the end of the strip. Once I have completed this step, I can sew it to the hem of the skirt.
- Sewing the Ruffle to the Skirt
If you prefer, you can actually create the pleats as you are sewing the ruffle to the skirt. Either way, I prefer to start sewing the ruffle to the skirt at the center back so that when the ruffle is sewn all the way around the hem, the ends will overlap in the back. I am actually going to leave the first few inches of the ruffle loose leaving enough to create more pleats when I get back to where I started. Then, when I come around to the back, I do not sew the last few inches of the ruffle to the skirt. Leaving enough ruffle material to make more pleats, I can the bring the two ends together and create a seam joining the two ends together. Make sure that you have left the appropriate amount of ruffle to continue the pleating process as you sew. Then sew the rest of the ruffle to the skirt with the appropriate ruffles.
To actually sew the ruffle to the skirt, place the edge of the ruffle on the outside of the skirt long the hem of the skirt with the raw edges of the ruffle and the hem of the skirt together and the folded edge of the ruffle pointed towards the waist. As mentioned above, leave the first few inches loose and do not sewn to the skirt. Keeping the bottom edge of the skirt even with the raw edge of the ruffle, sew the ruffle all the way around the bottom of the skirt making the pleats as described above. When you get to within a couple of inches of the spot where you started sewing the ruffle to the skirt, stop sewing it to the skirt so that you can sew the ends together. Then pin the two ends of the ruffle together so that it creates the look of a continuous ruffle. Sew the two ends together and then sew this portion of the ruffle to the skirt pleating as you go.
Cut away the excess material along the edge of the skirt. That is important because otherwise the ruffle will not want to flip over. But, you do not want to cut so much off that the stitches unravel.
- Finish the Process
Last, just steam the skirt and the ruffle and you have a cute little ruffle. If you desire, you could top stitch along the hem of the skirt, but it is not be necessary.
And, there it is – a cute little ruffle at the hem as the skirt.
If you enjoyed this demonstration, make sure to look at our other demonstration or the Bdancewear videos on YouTube. You can subscribe to our channel so that you do not miss any of the amazing videos that we will have coming out. If you want to get our free complete dance costume DIY guide, go to bdancewear.com/DIY guide. Lastly if you have any questions or ideas for future videos or demonstrations, please contact us through our YouTube channel or on our website – bdancewear.com
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