you will need either one long sleeveless T-shirt or 2 short ones. I only used one but it depends on how many rows of ruffles you want and how condensed the ruffle will be.
I love how comfortable this is, I actually wear it for a friend’s wedding, we danced all night and I could have not being more comfortable =] well until Ken made me spin around and I felt like I was showing my shorts, but that was a whole different problem hehe.
The whole project took me about 2 hours and I would say 1 and a half were ruffle making. I experimented a few different ways, hand-stitching and on the machine. So to me in the machine was faster and easier, but you can always make them by hand if you don’t feel comfortable. Remember to always secure the beginning and end of all your stitch lines and sew everything with 1/4″ seam allowance.
MATERIALS
- 1 or 2 sleeveless t-shirts
- 2 yards or less of fabric depending on the length and how gather you want the skirt portion of the dress. I also made a sash with the extra fabric I cut form the bottom.
- 1″ wide elastic (I used less than a yard)
- Scissors and ruler pins
- sewing machine, even tho if you want you can make it by hand with no problem.
MAKE IT
[Click on images to enlarge]
 | 1- First you need to try the T-shirt and mark a line under your bust, you will be adding about 2 inches with the elastic, so have that in mind. After that cut all the bottom in stripes of 3″ |
 | 2- After cutting, set 2 of the stripes a side to be used for the elastic belt (inside and out) I cut the stripes to make one long stripe and add 3 together to make a super long one, after that I sewed both edges with zig-zag because I don’t have a serger, that will prevent the fraying on the ruffles when you wash your dress, if you like the fray look you can skip this step. |
 | 3-Make the ruffles either by hand or using a sewing machine, you can see detailed instructions here |
 | 4- Measure around the neck of your shirt to know how long your ruffle or ruffles (if you decide to go with 2 or more rows) In this case I added 2 rows of ruffles and used 3 full straps of 3″ to make each set of ruffles. |
 | 5- To attach the ruffles first make sure the T-shirt is extended either my someone wearing it or set on a dress from. Why? because that way the t-shirt will not be shrink, otherwise it will not fit correctly when you wear it. First pin the ruffles and play with the ruffles to make them the length you need them to be. |
 | 6- For the Skirt I used 2 pieces of 24 inches of a leftover fabric, I straighten the edges. I placed the elastic blow my bust and pin it in the end, comfortable enough for it to fit tight and loose enough to take the elastic above my head, sew it several times. I used the maximum extend of the elastic as my measure for the width of the top skirt, I made pleads around the skirt until I reached my desire measure. |
 | 7- After that with the 3″ wide stripes you set a side we have to make a sandwich, keeping the skirt in the center, like it shows the image. Place the stripes wrong sides facing out. |
 | 8- Sew on the top all the way around, after that turn both stripes up. |
 | 9- Now it’s time to attach both pieces together. Since the bottom is a little bit bigger, because it got stretched when sewing the skirt (remember that the skirt is wider than the T-shirt, that’s why we will use elastic) we have to put pins to guide us. |
 | 10- Place pins on the sides, front and back like it shows in the image, that will make the sewing a lot easier. Place both right sides facing each other and pin it all the way around, remember to only pin the stripe that faces out, because we will sew the other after we put the elastic. After you finish the dress should look done on the outside, but now we just need to add the elastic in the inside. |
 | 11- Now you just need to place the elastic in the inside, fold the edge up to the inside line and pin carefully, so that when you sew the seam line of the front goes below the back line, that way it will look clean on the outside and it will be secure on the inside. The pictures shown here are of the inside of the dress, and how I folded 1/4 inch on the top and then placed the stripe on top of the elastic, pin it and sew it. |
To finish the look I made a 3 1/2 inch sash with the left overs I had from the skirt, a very simple tube that I topstitch on both edges.
Now if you wish you can just make the ruffles with a second T-shirt and keep the length of the sleeveless t-shirt. That way you can either wear a skirt or make the skirt separately so you can mix and match. Wear a belt or sash to cover the top of the skirt and you are ready to have the exact same look, being able to mix and match with other skirts or tops =] here more images of this dress.
And remember that you can mix and play with different color Wife beaters and Fabric or old skirts to make different dresses and looks =] Below the first dress I made, you can see more pictures in the link.
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