Hey Mermaids! I’m Stephanie, here today to bring you the sweetest little mash. I know everyone is dreaming about fall (and pumpkin EVERYTHING, hello!), but where I live, it is hot well into November. We really get the most out of summer patterns round’ here! I am going to take the summer staple, Millie, and add a ruffle, I mean, who doesn’t love a ruffle? Thanks Daphne! I will also be making it in woven for a bit more structure, adding elastic to the legs, and we will borrow the longer straps and back loop from Molly. Ready? Here we go!

 

What you’ll need:

• Millie – all required materials except for hem tape
• Molly – back loop piece only
• 1/4″ elastic for leg casing
• Ruffle pieces – cut 2 rectangles 4″ x width of your bodice piece  * my bodice width is 16″ so my ruffle pieces are 4″ x 16″ (you may make the ruffle as long as you’d like, as long as the ruffle width is the same as your bodice width)
• trim (optional)

*Normally, you may need to size up when making a knit pattern in woven, however, Millie already has some wiggle room, so it may not be necessary. I recommend checking the finished garment measurements to make sure. I made one in her size and one sized up and both fit great!

Start by cutting out your back loop piece from Molly. While you’re there, take note of the strap width measurement for what size Molly you would fall into. We will be using this measurement in place of the strap width measurement for Millie. Cut your two ruffle pieces and all of your pieces for Millie, remembering to use Millie’s length and Molly’s width for your straps. You will follow the Millie pattern, for the most part, with a few modifications. Now that you have all of your pieces ready, it’s time to get started! If you use woven like I did, please remember to finish all seams, either with a zig zag stitch, or serger, to prevent fraying. Fraying is no fun, trust me!

1. Begin by making your back loop piece from Molly, set aside.
2. Follow Millie’s instructions until you get to Step 4. We will be skipping the hem tape. Instead, hem by finishing the edge then pressing 1/2″ toward wrong side, or press 1/4″ toward wrong side, and then press another 3/8″ toward the wrong side.Edge stitch in place, leaving a 1″-2″ opening to thread elastic through later.
3. Pick up at Step 4: Crotch seam, and continue to Step 7. Stop after you stitch and finish the side seams of your bodice, and iron in half to find the center of both the front and back of bodice.
4. Now, let’s get started on the ruffle. With right sides together, pin along short sides. Stitch and finish seams. Turn right side out.
5. Serge along the bottom edge of your ruffle without cutting any off, and press 1/2″ toward the wrong side. If you do not have a serger, press 1/4″ then another 1/4″ toward the wrong side. If you are adding trim or lace to the bottom of your ruffle, now is the perfect time to do so. Edge stitch hem (and trim, if using) in place. Now we have our ruffle piece complete!
6. With both bodice and ruffle right sides facing up, slide your ruffle piece over your bodice, matching side seams. The wrong side of the ruffle should be to the right side of the bodice, raw edges aligned. Pin in place. You may baste together along top edge, but it isn’t necessary. Continue from Step 7 where we left off, treating your ruffle and bodice as one piece.
7. Continue with the strap placement as in the tutorial. After you baste your straps in place, find your back center point. This is where we will add the back loop piece. With loop facing down, raw edge of loop aligned with raw edge of bodice, pin and baste your back loop in place.
8. Move on to Step 7: Top Casing. Serge along the top without cutting any off, you may alternately use a zig zag stitch along the edge. * This step is not optional, as the tutorial states. Make sure your straps and back loop remain down and out of the way. Finish with Step 7
9. Before moving on to Step 8, serge or finish the top edge of the shorts. Follow through Step 8, and we are almost done!
10. The only step we have left is adding our leg elastic. I like to stretch the elastic directly around my daughter’s thigh to get the perfect fit. Cut your two pieces of elastic and thread through the opening we left in the leg casing using a safety pin. Overlap elastic ends and stitch in place.

Edge stitch the casing closed. All done! Now, you can sit back and, “Ooh!” and “Ah!” at the pretty little romper that you just made! Add some stockings and a cardigan, and you’ve got yourself a great summer to fall transition piece!

I also decided to make one in knit to see how the elastic looked in the legs. Cute! If tied straps aren’t your thing, I used Megan’s fixed strap tutorial on this one and it worked out perfectly!

Stephanie loves to sew for herself and family, especially mommy & me sets. She is an avid runner who enjoys travelling, eating great food, and being outdoors.