Thursday, September 05, 2013

Grace Ruffle Dress (Funktional Threads)

Front and back views

I just recently completed a sew-along on the Funktional Threads facebook group. I've been wanting to try a mixed fabric print style dress for awhile, but honestly wasn't confident that I'd pick fabrics that looked good together! I spent quite awhile at JoAnn Fabric trying to match the colors and get a good mix of fabric styles - striped, polka-dots, damask. And, as many veteran "mixed print" sewers warned me, I am now hooked on mixing prints - I've got a halloween dress in the works with 5 different fabrics as well!

My fabrics

It took a good two hours to cut out all the pieces - this dress was more complicated than I realized at first! I spent a week total from start to finish working on the dress. I even learned a new technique for ruffling that is AMAZING - I will never go back to the baste stitch technique. Here's the tutorial I used to learn the clear-elastic ruffle technique.

Apron Ruffle using Clear-Elastic Technique
The seam ripper did get a bit of use on this project, but honestly, it was as complicated as it was time consuming due to all the ruffles and top stitching. I love the final result though! I made the size 4 for my little sweetie and I did have to adjust the elastic in the back bodice so that it wasn't so loose on her. Otherwise it fits perfectly and the best part of making something yourself is being able to make adjustments to fit your model.


 


The pattern comes in sizes 18 months thru girls 14, and includes many different options. Purchase this pattern from Funktional Threads by clicking the image below!

Click the image to purchase the pattern

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