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!

-Disney