Sunday, September 9, 2012

Ruffliscious trench.

I know you have all been waiting on pins and needles since my last post (only joking).  But I finally got the time to sit down and blog how I made it! I made a 12 month this go around (p.s. if you forgot it is the Secret Agent Trench pattern we are working with:) so you will likely need to adjust my measurements if you are making a larger size.  Using view B I started by subtracting 1 1/2" from the bottom of pattern pieces 10 & 3 and added 1 1/2" to pieces 11 & 12.  I did this to eliminate the drop waist.  I just guessed at the amount to take off since the twins are wiggly and for some reason didn't want to hold still while I figured it out. 



*No further changes will be made to piece 10, the following explains how to alter piece 12 to make 2 pieces*  Then I lined up pieces 10 and 12 and drew a vertical line from the edge of 10 and added 1" to the left side for seam allowance.  Then from the edge of 12 I traced to the edge of 10 and added 1/2"  to the right side for seam allowance. 




And you now have two pieces for 12 instead of one.  Oh, and don't do like I did and forget to mark to cut your larger piece on the fold.  You will end up having to cut a new piece and doing the happy dance  you just happened to buy a little extra.  Cut two of the narrow panels and one of the wider panel on the fold.




I wanted 4 layers of ruffles so I cut out 3 1/2" strips, serged, hemmed and gathered.  Attach the ruffles to your wide panel, lining up the first ruffle with the top of your panel.  I spaced mine 2" apart.




Make sure you leave 1 1/2" free on the bottom of the panel for hemming later on.




Then sew the two narrow panels on either side of the ruffle panel.  This should now measure the same as the original pattern piece 12.




I pleated the narrow piece of 12 to match the back of piece 10 (the back bodice), then pleated the front of the skirt.  You could also gather instead.

Then I followed the Oliver and S instructions from there!




See? Pretty pleats!



Be very careful when hemming so you don't catch the ruffle in the hem.  I went from the 1 1/2" hem as instructed and narrowed it down as I reached the ruffle panel.  I sewed right up to the ruffles, lifted the foot and sewed on the other side.  Then hand stitched a few stitches on the bit that I skipped.



The hem isn't as neat as I would like, but it works.  The grey thread I used is a near perfect match so you can't really see it in real life:)




See the corner?  That is what happens if you catch the ruffle in the hem.  I will be unpicking this... eventually, it is 18 month so too big for now.




Then try it on your little cutie.




And smile as she accessorizes herself.




And gives you cheesy faces. 




Tada! You have yourself a super cute ruffle trench! Now if only it were coat weather...


If I wasn't clear enough or you have any questions, leave a comment and I will get back to you!! Oh, and make sure to add yours to the O+S flickr group!

P.S. When I took these photos I still needed to add belt loops and buttons... they are now on! :)

9 comments:

  1. Clever clever girl,its divine!
    Thank you for the tutorial.

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  2. Thanks so much for sharing, Brittney!! The ruffle trench looks great.:)

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  3. Thank you both! I hope it was clear;) Only 1-2 months before she can wear it, haha!

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  4. lindo parabéns pelo tutorial
    http://becaeyel.blogspot.com.br/

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  5. I love your ruffle trench. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm attempting to make one, but I'm a little confused. Before I cut, I was hoping you could clarify a couple of things.

    1. Do you add 1 inch as a seam allowance to the left side of piece 10?
    2. Do you add 1/2" to the right side of piece 12 for the seam allowance (the fold side?)?
    3. Or are you measuring the distance that piece 12 extends from piece 10 (2.5 inches for my size 6 piece) and adding 1.5 inches to the new piece you are creating? So the new piece is the length of piece 12 and the width = the distance in width between pieces 10 and 12 + 1.5" as a seam allowance?
    Thanks so much for clarifying. Sorry to be a dullard. :)

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    1. Thank you, Not a dullard at all!
      1. No, you don't add anything to the side of piece 10, you add it to the small bit of piece 12, does that make sense?
      2. Yes, you can add it to either side, left or right.
      3. Sort of, you are creating 2 different pieces for 12, I will call them 12 A and 12 B. So I lined up my pieces 10 and 12 and drew a vertical line on piece 12 creating 12 A (the small piece) and 12 B (the bigger piece) (there is a picture of it in the post). I added 1/2" SA to 12 A since I cut out two of them, and 1" to 12 B since it is cut on the fold.

      Sorry that it wasn't clear the first time, if this isn't clear either, or you have any more questions, let me know! :)

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    2. Thank you so much! Yes, this makes sense now. Thank you again. I appreciate it.

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    3. Great! Make sure to add it to the O+S flickr pool if you make one! I'd love to see it;)

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    4. thanks so much for your tutorial and the inspiration to do this. i finished the jacket and blogged about it here: http://www.stitched-together.com/2012/10/kcwc-days-34-and-5-oliver-s-secret.html

      my daughter l o v e s it and so do i! thanks you!!!

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