Ruffle Dress

The problem with having an aqua and lime wedding in February is that the stores don't carry dresses in those colors until the spring. I found more and more options as the wedding drew closer, but none of them fit the length requirement for my amazon woman legs. So in the midst of preparations, I managed to sew one up. I may have finished it the night before I had to wear it. Don't judge.

Since I was pressed for time, I indulged in pre-ruffled fabric.They sell it at Hobby Lobby for $12 a yard. With a 40% off coupon, I didn't feel too bad. Since I was willing to drop $40-$50 on a dress anyways, I felt zero guilt. No, that's a lie. I felt some, but I squashed the frugal voice in my head and promised her a cookie later.

I took a pencil skirt I liked and cut the shape out of the ruffled fabric. I had some wide elastic that I attached onto it to recreate this look.

image from here

Here is my blurry picture. Remember, it was the night before and the blog wasn't high priority.

I found a shirt the right color at Walmart for $5. I cut off the bottom part so the elastic would sit at my true waist when I attached it. I used the part I trimmed off to make a ruffle for the neckline.

I ended up having to tailor the top quite a bit so it would lay right. If there is any excess fabric along the top it bunches when sewn to the skirt. Here is the finish product in unflattering bedroom light. Hopefully the wedding pictures will have a better shot of it. The best part of this dress is that there was ZERO hemming involved.

P.S. The ruffled fabric is shear and needs a lining or a good slip. And don't cut the length while you are looking at your knees. Once I stood up I was very sad to see it was an inch shorter than I would have liked.