Upcycling: Jersey Ruffles

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Jersey is a fabric that, for a long time, I avoided like the plague when it came to sewing. I was terrified of sewing on knits, I just knew it would end up a mess. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Jersey is fun and forgiving and can be used in oh, so many ways. My latest use of jersey is to make simple ruffles to embellish t-shirts, scarves and skirts. Simple, fast and very cute, making jersey ruffles is a technique that every crafter should know!

Things you’ll need:
Jersey fabric
Sewing machine and notions
Fabric scissors
Pins

Thing’s to do:
1. Start by cutting the jersey into strips so that the fabric stretches along the strip. How wide the strip is depends on the end application. For this project the strips were about 3 inches wide.
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2. Stitch 1/3 inch down from one of the long edges all the way down the strip. Keep your machine on it’s longest stitch length and do not back stitch!
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3. Trim the thread long and pull gently on the bobbin thread to gather the fabric.
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4. Repeat with your other strips. You can create a tiered ruffle by running your stitch about 1/3 of the way down the strip instead of close to the edge.
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5. Stitch the ruffles into place, here they were added to the bottom of a shirt to create a dress, using a zig zag stitch. The tiered strip was added to the top to cover all stitch marks (the top part folds over the stitch line)
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6. Remove the straight stitches before wearing.
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3 Comments

  1. OMG! This is so adorable. Im having visions of a toddler sun dress and floppy had with a big flower. I can hardly wait to do a project like this at my store in Conrad, Montana – Creative Addictions. You have the best ideas on this blog.

    1. Thank you so much for the nice compliment! I love your idea as a sun dress and a huge floppy flower! Soooo cute and girly!

  2. Stinking adorable! Fab pairing of colors and texture! I dare not show this to my four year old! -I fear the nagging for one! Great job!Alliep.s. that fabric is actually Interlock not Jersey )