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Dresses· Girls· Sew for Girls· Tutorials

Ruth’s Ruffled Bodice Tutorial

 Last Friday I posted these dresses that I made for my girls.
And then I had several emails about how I made the detail on the bodice of Ruth’s dress.  So today I’m going to share with you what I did.  It was really easy and you can add this little ruffle piece to ANY bodice that have or like to use.
To start with I cut 2 of the exact same bodice front pieces (the green polka dot fabric).
***Remember you can do this with any bodice of your choice from pretty much any pattern that you like.***
Then I cut the fabric that I wanted for the ruffled piece (the pink) and a solid color to sew down the middle (the white).
I just eyeballed about how wide I’d like the ruffles and the middle piece to be and then added one half inch to that width for a seam allowance.
When I got it the size that looked good a cut a second piece of each fabric.  So now I had two strips of pink and two strips of white that are exactly the same size.
There is no right or wrong width or length to make.  I wanted Ruth’s to go straight down the middle and take up roughly one third of the front of her bodice.  Then I knew I needed to make the pink piece quite a bit longer than the actual bodice itself so I’d have enough fabric to work with to make ruffles out of.
(Ruth’s pink piece of fabric was cut 3 inches by 12 inches and the white piece was 2 inches by 5 inches.)
 Next I put the right sides of the pink fabric together and sewed along each of the long sides leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Then I did the exact same thing to the white fabric.
 When I was finished I turned the both the pink and the white fabrics right sides out and pressed them.
Next I made the ruffles which are actually just pleats in the fabric.
For Ruth’s little bodice top I only made 3 folds.  Each of her folds are about 3/4 of an inch wide.
(But the size and number of your folds may vary depending on the size and length of the bodice you are making.)
When I had my folds the way I liked I pinned them down to hold them in place and then ran a stitch with my sewing machine right down the middle of the entire length to permanently keep them in place.
Next I placed my white stripe in the middle of my ruffle row and sewed down each side—solidly attaching the white strip to the ruffled piece.
 Then I took this piece and positioned it onto 1 of the 2 bodice pieces that I cut.  (It doesn’t matter which one.)  When I had it positioned how I wanted I pinned it and then, sewing near the edge of my white stripe, I ran another line of stitching with my machine that would hold my ruffle piece to my bodice.
 Next I wanted to add one more little detail so on top of all the machine stitching on the white strip I placed pieces of ribbon which I stitched on with my machine using a thread color that matched my ribbon.
 After that I put the other front bodice piece that I cut at the beginning on top of the one I had been working on.  (So both bodice pieces are right sides together.)
Then I pinned it and sewed around the neck line and the arm holes ONLY.
 Next I flipped it right sides out and top stitched around the neckline.
After this step you are done and are ready to finish up constructing your bodice in whatever way you choose.
Hooray!
It’s a fun and easy detail that you can add to the bodice of any dress that you are working on.
***
Have a great week everyone!
-liZ
PS:  The voting is still going on over at Pins and Needles so head over there and cast your vote for your favorite project made from the contents of their surprise packages!
POST EDIT:  The voting is now closed.  Thank you for your support!”Tip

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Comments

  11. linnellbelle says

    Thanks for this TUT!!! Just in time because I’m working on the bodice for my Lil’ Misses’ Rapunzel costume this week. THANK YOU!!!! Now it will be cuter then ever!

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