Ruffled T-Shirt Tutorial

I have a confession: I'm a bit of an online boutique junkie. I can shop for me, my kids, my mom, sisters, friends, neighbors--all from my home! And the styles are always so hip and trendy--so I (hopefully) don't look like I haven't been in a mall in over a year!

I have another confession: I'm a bit of a cheapskate.  If I see something at an online boutique that I could make fairly easily for a fraction of the price, I'm not buying it. This was the fuel behind my desire to make this trendy, fun, and flattering shirt. 

I saw similar shirts last week at an online boutique for $24. Not a bad deal, but I had a pretty good idea that I could make my own from a shirt and fabric I already had--so it would cost me $0!

Here's what you need: 

• A solid-color, fitted t-shirt. (TIP: This is a great way to make use of any shirts that have little mouse-holes in the front around the bottom of the shirt.) 
• 1/3 yard flowy/silky fabric--chiffon, modal, thin jersey knit, or poly-blend (You won't use all of this yardage, but if you are buying fabric from the store, I'd get this much. If you have scraps already, look ahead to the measurements to see if you have enough).
• Chalk
• Corresponding thread, scissors/rotary cutter, measuring tools, pins, sewing machine

Instructions: 

1. Put on the shirt and mark your waistline (at your navel) with chalk on the front of the shirt.

2. Mark the back of the shirt just above your bum. This will achieve the slightly high-low look (so the shirt falls lower in the back). 

3. Cut the back of the shirt from side seam to side seam.Then cut the front of the shirt starting at the side seam and curving up to the chalk mark and back down to the other side. 

4. Prepare your ruffle fabric. Measure the front of your shirt width. Multiply that by 4. This is how long your ruffle piece should be. Cut an 8 inch wide piece of fabric. If you need to piece two strips together, just make sure they are the same length. The seams can be lined up with the seams on the shirt when you attach it. 

5. Sew right sides together at the ends to make one big loop. Finish the edges of your fabric (if you are using a fabric that frays), with a rolled hem. 

6. Sew a gathering stitch along one edge of the fabric. Pull the bobbin thread to gather the ruffle to the same width as your shirt. 

7. Pin the ruffle to the shirt, wrong side of ruffle onto the right side of shirt.  Be generous with the pins. Be sure to match the seams of the ruffle to the shirt side seams. Sew a zig-zag top stitch across the pinned gathers to attach the ruffle to the shirt. I made two passes to make sure it was sewn securely. 

8. Measure and cut a 4 inch by 5 inch piece of fabric for the pocket. 

9. Press and pin a 1/4 inch double fold around the entire pocket back. I used one factory-finished edge, so I only did one fold on that side.  

10. Top stitch what will be the top of your pocket. 

11. Pin the pocket to your shirt. Again, be generous with your pin usage. You want your stitches to be small and close to the edge.

Done!  You have a fun and frilly shirt! Cute with jeans or shorts, pencil or maxi skirts! Great way to accentuate your true waistline and hide any "extra" you don't want to show off underneath! 

Participating in these link-ups. 

Lace-Trimmed High-Waisted Skirt Tutorial

I saw a pin for this skirt from Mod Cloth on Pinterest a while back, and have been on the lookout for fabric to make my own version.  I found this silk-blend fabric on the discount table at JoAnn's a few weeks ago. It is completely opaque, but not too heavy. It has beautiful sheen and subtle embroidered detail. I think it was probably a decorator fabric, but I decided it would be perfect for my lace-trim skirt! I bought 2 yards as well as some wide lace and a zipper to match. 

After cutting out mine, I saw that I had enough left to also do a matching skirt for my daughter! Yay! 

I only have one daughter, so you had better believe I am "that mom" who matches her as long as she'll allow me!

Now on to the tutorial!

1. Cut your fabric and lace.  Two yards of fabric made my skirt and my daughter's with about 1/4 yard to spare. I wear a Women's size 6, and my daughter wears size 5T. 

To determine your measurements for cutting:

• Waistband-- Women's: Waist size + 1 inch (length) by 8 inches (width) (Waistband is folded lengthwise in picture.)  Girls': Waist size + 1 inch (length) by 5 inches (width).
• Skirt body--Women's and Girls':  Waist size (or more for a fuller skirt) wide by measurement of bellybutton to kneecap length (Cut 2). 
• Wide flat lace in same measurement as skirt body width

2. You'll also need corresponding thread, 9" zipper for Woman's skirt/ 4-6" for girl's, satin ribbon for belt (optional, not pictured here). 

3. Iron 1/2 inch fold around wrong side of entire waistband. Fold in half (wrong sides together) and press. 

4. Make sure each end of the band is the same width. These two ends will be almost touching in the finished product, so they need to be identical.  Set waistband aside.

5. Sew body of skirt together on one side (right sides together). If using a regular sewing machine, iron the seam allowance open. If using a serger, iron along inside of seam.

6. Lay out waistband. Line up the unsewn edge of the skirt body with one edge of the waistband. Overlap 1/2 inch of the top of the skirt body on the inside of the waist band as shown. Lay out the zipper next to it, lining up the zipper pull with the top of the waistband.

7. Mark the bottom of the zipper on the skirt body with a pin. 

8. With right sides together, sew the other side of the skirt body together (RST), stopping at the pin. Iron 1/4 inch down along the un-sewn remaining edge of the skirt body as shown.

9. Iron the hem.  I was able to use the factory-finished edge for the hem of my skirt, so one fold is sufficient. If your edge is not factory-finished, iron a 1/2 inch hem, then iron one more 1 inch fold. I realized that my lace could be sewn in conjunction with sewing my hem (as you can see). If this will work for your lace, skip to the next step. If not, pin your hem in place and sew a top stitch around the entire hem of the skirt body.

10. Begin pinning lace on to the hem at one of the seams. Continue pinning in place around the body of the skirt. Finish with a 1/2" overlap.  

Part of what gives this skirt its striking appearance is the lace that falls below the hemline. Choose your lace and your placement of it on the skirt's edge with this in mind.

11. Begin sewing the lace with a zig-zag stitch across the overlapping portion of the lace.  Sew a straight stitch across the entire circumference of the lace in two places--one near the top of the lace and one near the base of the skirt. 

12. Sew two gathering stitches around the top of the skirt body. Pull the bobbin (underside) thread to gather the skirt to the same width as the waistband. 

13. Line up the center of the skirt body (the closed seam side) with the center of the waistband. Adjust the gathers to be equal on each side. Lay the gathered top edge of the skirt body inside the folded waistband (about 1/2") and pin in place. Many pins in this step mean a nicer finished product, so don't  hesitate to use a bunch!

Sew a top stitch just inside the bottom edge of the waistband to secure the skirt in place. Leave 1 inch open at each end of the waistband and skirt for the zipper.

14. Place zipper between the folds of the waistband, but under the skirt body as shown.

15. Pin in place, then sew a top-stitch using a zipper foot. (This is my daughter's tiny skirt--hence the tiny zipper and giant-looking pins!)

16. Add the satin ribbon (if desired), and you are done! These are our Easter skirts, but I plan to use them year round! 

Participating in these link-ups.