Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Guest Blogger ~Ruffles and Stuff~

I am more than thrilled to tell you who I have invited today! Are you all ready?

Disney from Ruffles and Stuff!! I love her feminine, approachable style and she always has great step by step tutorials on her blog. Oh, and she has really cute pictures of her and her assistant model. If you haven't met her yet, you are in luck. She has a new tutorial to share with us today.

Enjoy! :)

Hello, everyone! I'm Disney, from Ruffles and Stuff, it's so nice to meet you :O)

I don't know if the weather is getting summery where you live, but we're finally starting to feel the warmth here, and I am getting so excited about the next season!

In my mind, summertime is synonymous with the beach! I was blessed to be brought up near Ocean Shores, WA, so I'm partial to the rocky beaches, myself. :o)

I wanted to come up with a project that really said "summer" to me, and so here it is!
The "Beachcomber" Dress
Made entirely from white cotton jersey...
With "rope" straps and belt.
It will knock your socks off to know how easy it is to make!
To own the truth, I actually made mine from one of my husband's new white undershirts (Shhh!)

If you're making up to a 3T you can do the same! For larger sizes, I'd recommend getting jersey by the yard to fit you.

1. To start, cut a rectangle that fits around your largest area comfortably, at your desired length + about 4", and sew into a tube. (Or, for smaller sizes, simply cut the bottom of a t-shirt off!)

2. With right side of shirt facing outward, fold the top over about 4". Lay 1/2" wide elastic along the top, and make a small mark just outside it for the casing.
3. Line your needle up with the mark, and take note of where the edge of your fabric matches up on your throat plate (the thing under your presser foot), to make sure your line stays straight. If your plate doesn't have lines you can place a little piece of tape there to mark.
4. Snip a small slit in casing, and use a safety pin to thread your elastic through.
5. Once it's threaded, stitch the ends together, and sew a small piece of fabric over the opening to cover (optional). 6. To make straps, cut six-2" strips, about twice the length of strap you'd like. (The straps will have a nice stretch to them, so it's not necessary to get an exact measurement!)

7. To make a rope braid, pin three strips together, then grab the strip to the far right and twist to the right a few times. Then move it to the far left position, and repeat until it's all done! Super easy!
8. Try the dress on and pin the straps in place. I criss-crossed mine, but regular or halter style would be cute, too!
And don't forget the belt! I used half-inch strips, and tied them together to make it nice and long.
All done!
Wear it with the belt, wear it without....
Wear it over cute cut-offs!
But however you wear it...
Have fun in it!
I hope you enjoy it!
And Sachiko, thank you so much for having me as a guest today! You are so kind, and I'm so honored that you'd welcome me for the day!
Have a great day, everyone!

44 comments :

  1. This is super adorable! Wonderful post & instructions.

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  2. This dress is so CUTE! I may have to make a bigger version for myself. I am all about dresses this summer. =) It looks very simple!

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  3. I love this! Maxi Dresses are all the rage for summer over here in the UK, I think I'll have a go at a floor length one for myself!

    x

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  4. You left out the step about making the ruffle?!?

    however I'm sure I can figure that and this is definently one of the cutest dresses/tunics I'v seen in some time :)

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  5. That is SO pretty!! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-beachcomber-dress-for-little-girls/2010/05/25/
    --Anne

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  6. I love both your blogs! Thanks for the cool new tutorial, I've secretly been dying to cut up my hubby's shirts :)

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  7. This is a very beautiful dress. I can't believe how easy it is.

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  8. Adorable. I'm saving this for next year when my GD#4 will be a year old.

    Say is that sweet, adorable, cute little girl up for graps ... oh my she's too too cute.

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  9. This is awesome!! Thanks so much for the great tutorial! :)

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  10. i want one for me!!!

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  11. Emma: When you fold the top over and put elastic in between, and it automatically makes it ruffly. So you don't have to make the ruffle, isn't that fabulous? I love it when I can skip steps! :O)

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  12. This is GREAT! With the way you've written the directions, I can easily make one in MY size :)

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  13. Thank you for sharing this darling dress! I love the braided straps and belt, and the fact that it's all made from a basic t. I would love to give it a try.

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  14. That dress is so adorable Disney! What a great idea. I might have to "borrow" one of my husband's shirts as well.

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  15. Disney,

    Now that looks like something I could do :)

    beautiful photography!!

    Thank you

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  16. Love it... so wonderful... now how about that necklace... I love that very much too.

    http://polwig.com

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  17. I'm with Fallan, I want one! I'll have to find a really big tshirt and make my own (I'm tall and thin....might need to get creative). Thanks for this, my favorite part is the rope straps!

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  18. Oh my goodness I can't beleive how simple I can not wait tomake this thankyou for sharing so many cute ideas

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  19. How adorable is that?!? Just so happens we scored some gorgeous red jersey fabric at the thrift store today. Gram will be happy when we debut this little number during our visit in July! Thanks!

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  20. That's the cutest thing I've seen! Want one in my size :)

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  21. Oh my goodness my dear friend...here you are recovering...and saving all of us with much need wonderful ideas! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress!!! Hope to see you tomorrow night!!!

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  22. What a fantastic tutorial. I've added it to the patterns at the new sewing online sewing community at mysewingcircle.com. (It links back to this site.) I'm sure people will love it!

    http://www.mysewingcircle.com/pattern/show/498

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  23. Oh My! This is just awesome! I love it!!!

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  24. That's adorable! What a great idea.

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  25. Adorable!!! Thanks for the great idea.
    Blessings from Costa Rica,
    Ana

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  26. I have a question, I was in the middle of making one with some hott pink jersey knit, but the print isnt on both sides, so what do i do when i fold it over?

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  27. Polkadots: Oh! I didn't think about using a print! Cute! I would try cutting off the top 4 1/2 inches, then turn it inside and sew it back on, so the right side when you turn it over. Does that make sense? :o) Good luck!

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  28. This is so adorable! It would be perfect for my little niece in Florida!

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  29. TOO CUTE!!! And so easy, I will definitely be making one. Thanks for sharing!

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  30. diney, this is cute as ever again!!!!

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  31. Wicked cute! I just finished mines! I had to read it like 12 times cuz I was overthinking it and second guessing myself! But its soooo cute! I cant wait to try it on my daughter! Mines doesn't look as good as yours but its useable. thanks for the tut!
    ~karin marie :P

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  32. I live in Ocean Shores, WA! What a small world! I'm totally making this for my 5 yr old ~ how adorable! Love it with the cut-offs too! :)

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  33. I just made a turquoise version yesterday. It isn't quite a cute, but I think with some tweaking it will be cute enough. I want to try it with the t-shirt next.

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  34. This is absolutely ADORABLE!!! I have two boys but will make some for my nieces!! Too cute, what a great idea and you are wonderful for sharing it with us!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

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  35. Oh my goodness, I'm really going to try to make this! I just cut up the tee, but have a silly question... how do I measure for the elastic? Do I just measure around my daughter's chest and use that, or do I make it a bit smaller? Thanks for this tute, it's wonderful.

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  36. I just decided I needed to revamp my summer wardrobe and remembered seeing this tutorial, so I'm whipping up an aqua version for myself. One question: When I fold over the top, the side seams now show on the outside of the ruffle. Is that right?

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  37. loved it! thank you.
    I love recycled clothes

    Tamar

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  38. I finally made this! Thanks for the tutorial!!! I love how it turned out!!! Check it out here...

    http://thecraftycopycat.blogspot.com/2010/10/beach-babe.html

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  39. I just stumbled across a photo of the beachcomber dress via Pinterest (so am a bit late to the party), but I wondered if you have any information about the anchor necklace the little girl is wearing. I love both the dress and necklace!

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  40. Omgoodness... I could not love this any more! My boyfriend is a large guy with a t-shirt collection that has over taken our closet(s). With just one of his shirts I was able to make 2 of these dresses for my 1 year old, so cute!!!! Thank you!

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