Today we are adding our sleeve ruffles and sewing up a side seam in preparation for tomorrows hemming. If you want to add MORE ruffles here is a quick tutorial. First decide how many ruffles you want. I decided I wanted 3….and then added one more layer of lace to the very top! I did not want to hem my ruffles, so I took 1/2″ from the length. Each ruffle I cut 1 inch shorter than the one below. My bottom ruffle was 4″ long, my next is lace so I would have made it 3″ if it were fabric and my top 2″.

Now you need to use your favortie technique to gather your ruffles. Tip: if you use lace, EVEN if it’s pregathered you need to gather it. If you don’t it will restrict arm movement; ask how I know… oops 😉  After you gather your ruffle you need to mark where you will sew them. The bottom ruffle will be 1/2″ from the edge. Then I mark 1″ above that and again 1″ above that line. You can lay your ruffles out to see what you like best! I also like to sew the a smaller ruffle right on top the first ruffle seam (like purple shirt below) OR gather two layers of fabric or lace for and sew them together as one (like tester photo below). That requires no marking so is a little quicker. Sew your ruffles on and continue to next step.

Now we will sew one side seam together if you want to hem your shirt flat. I like to hem flat on the smaller sizes, I just think it is easier to work with. If prefer to hem in the round, go ahead and sew both side seams up! Now your shirt is really coming together, yay! Tomorrow we will talk about stabilizing your hem and different ways we can hem. Don’t forget to add your photo to the daily facebook album!