Making the Red Velvet Ruffledress

How I Made The Red Velvet Ruffledress

Note: This is not going to be any spectacular sewing. Use this as a guide to do what I did, but, y'know, better and more competently.

First start off with a top made from a sock, following the tutorial I posted earlier. For a more fitted top, I used the middle part (from heel-toe) of a baby sock.


Get some ribbon that you'd like to use for the main part of the skirt. Fray Check is pretty much your best friend. Cut the edges a little slanted to better accommodate a small flare in the back.


Pin it on to the top just to double-check you like how it looks. Leave a small gap in the back - we'll deal with that later. :) After you spend a moment pining for the Re-Ment doll dress form, get your thread and needle...


Of course you probably will want to choose thread that matches a little better, but I had white handy so I used white. Stitch the piece of ribbon on.

Go get some plain white (or otherwise matching) cloth, and cut it out into kind of a pentagon. You can lob off the top if it if it'll make it easier, but basically you're aiming to fit it into that gap you left.

Smarter people would, perhaps, sew this on to the ribbon first, then sew the whole thing onto the dress top. We are not those people.

Pin that sucker in thar and sew away.
...This picture is large because I just like it, a lot, irrationally so.

Ta da! Now we have a base to sew the ruffles onto. Or, if you make your stitches neater, you can just make a dress that has a white open bit.
I think this is a good time to mention that I have the sewing skills of a box of weasels on methamphetamines, so if I can do it, by golly, you can too.

Right, now that there's a place to sew them on to easily, make yourself some ruffles. ...Or just trim off some lace. Honestly I don't sew ruffles well, so you may be better off doing the lace thing. But if you can do ruffles - do ruffles! And tack them on there!

Ta da! There you go, a rufflebutt dress.

Red velvet rufflebutt

Just for kicks I made a little tutorial thing of how I made this dress (or at least the method I will use to redo this one, in all likelihood). I need more lace, the satiny ruffles are a nice idea but I don't think I execute them well. Or, at least, I need to figure out a better way to do the satin ruffles.

But it will probably come up tomorrow... I am tired for now.

I don't like this dress that much but I feel like it was good practice.

A Helper

"Oh no! What sort of terrible monster is THAT?"



...Just my mom's schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle), Babbage.
This is him saying hello, pawing at the chair, wanting up so he can come help...



Of course, by "help" he means "sit in a great big grey lump and sleep".



Sometimes, he even tries to actively interfere if he thinks you're not paying enough attention to him and how helpful - er, sleepy he is.



But he's a very good dog, even if he is trying to be helpful.

Rufflebutt!

This was one of those unplanned things that just happened... first I did the nice off-the-shoulder top, then I had to figure out what to do with it... so I put some ribbon on the bottom. I thought I'd just leave some plain white in the middle, and let that be the front. But apparently that is too simple! So lace happened... lots and lots of lace. VERY RUFFLY!

I actually... like it a lot! While making it I thought the worst, but I'm seriously loving it. It's very busy what with the lace and the print, but I'd love to redo it soon.

Well, someday this will be a cute kitty hat.

So, looking at the other baby socks that I have kicking around... I happened to notice that the toe actually fit as a pretty good loose cap on Annabel's head.

I have to refine this, it still looks a little grungy. I need some pink felt to do the insides of the ears, but looking at the heel, and at the toe... hey, look, if you cut the heel in two, you get some nice little triangles. And triangles + hat of course = kittyhat!



I'll try to do this up a bit better later, but the basic idea is still there. If you have a baby sock kicking around, you can make a cute neko hat too!

Purse - from a sock!

First, grab a sock! I really like using baby socks because, in this case, they were on clearance. Once you're done making shirts/etc out of the top and the middle, you still have the rest of it. You can use a regular sock too, but it'll be a rather large tote bag. Cut out the toe, and there's your start.













Now gather up some fabric for the top, probably something that matches at least vaguely. You can also cut a strip of the same fabric for the strap but I had this ribbon lying around, so I just decided to use the ribbon. Pin the sock and cut out a bit of fabric that has approximately some curve to it to match the curve of the inside of the toe.


















Sew on that piece of fabric so it'll form a flap you can pull over to shut the purse.



















If you just want a clutch, you can stop there. You can also sew on a button and cut a little slit into the flap fabric so you can close it.

















Sew on the ribbon for a strap, and there you go!






















Ta da! There we go - a purse. If you use the rest of the sock, this is an easy way to make sure you have a matching accessory.

As with all of my tutorials... please ignore how bad this is done! If I can do it, you can do it much better ;)

New Faceup!!

I've been meaning to do this for weeks, and I finally did!! Tonight Annabel got a new faceup. I actually used a good bit of 'real' makeup... it was right there, it had the pigment I needed, so hey, why not? I had some trouble getting the acrylic sealant to cover the lipstick but I finally got it to work.

The lipstick is still giving me a bit of trouble, but I love the color, so there :)



The flash shows just what a bad faceup it still is, unfortunately. But it's better than before, by quite a lot I think.

Still - go team me! I am pretty pleased with it overall. I am hoping the matte finish of the acrylic seal will become, well, a little more matte. Until then, though... it's pretty awesome. A very big improvement!

Ice Cream Social Dress

To apparently make up for the fact that everything else I've sewn recently has been distinctly meh-worthy, I managed to sew this dress. It's messy and kinda poorly constructed but I just love how it looks! I did a fuller skirt with some very clumsy pleats. The top is the middle portion of the foot of a baby's sock, then with ribbon to trim and to make the halter of the halter-top.

I even attempted rudimentary shoes... though they look a bit more like bathroom slippers. At least I have a clearer idea of what to do to make a pair, now, even if I haven't succeeded at doing so yet.

It's always satisfying when you make a dress that you'd actually wear, too, if it was in a bigger size. :)

Black and White Maui Dress

Another dress heavily relying on ribbon that I'm not too happy with. The ribbon is just way too stiff, it's hard to get a good shape.

I like the concept a lot, though, and might try it again.



The silver bracelet makes a pretty good belt, again, to help give it some shape. I really like it as a more empire-waist dress.

I'm not really sure what sort of function you would wear a dress like this to... it's half tiki bar, half moonlight garden party.

Cheery cherries

I don't really like this dress, I have to admit. It seemed a lot nicer in my mind than what it actually came out as. I like the idea of tiers of the cherry ribbon but I feel like it needs to be more ruffly. I'm half pondering redoing this but with it open to the back to a bigger series of ruffles like a petticoat.

Of course, the pictures are really awkward too... gah.

Annabel joins team no pants

I've been doing a lot of sewing, so I'm going to try something new - splitting things up so one outfit/dress goes to one post.



This isn't really new but it's a darn cute combination I think. No pants, just tights... but I still like that sweater-dress.

I found the bracelet, and it makes a great chain belt (when wrapped around twice, anyway). I admit after that I've been rummaging around in my jewelry boxes trying to see if there was anything else I could use...

Christmas Gifts!

I think these things should get their very own post.

My sister was absolutely great. This Christmas, she gave me a lot of Re-ment stuff. I can't believe I hadn't heard of Re-ment until then! All of the stuff they make is great.


The waffle iron (and extra waffle) are not here, but this is most of what my sister got. Annabel can now settle down and have a nice breakfast! She gets to settle down with a nice plate full of waffles, syrup carafe, proper mug of coffee and then a travel-mug when she hits the road.

...you can also see my computer in the background... heh.




The table came with two chairs, after all - one pink, and one green. This is Jun, one of the Juku Couture dolls. ...she's actually getting to stay intact. The brown dress is new, though - not very well done, but new. It was a little too tight to fit on Annabel proper, and the beading is all wonky. I'm not sure what her name will end up being, I'm not really finished with Jun... it seems unfinished. Maybe Junie.

Face-up Makeup

So, in ripping apart the expendable Juku Couture doll, I stripped off the paint with some nail polish remover. I'm going to paint it up properly, but this is a pretty good effort for "Hey, here's a makeup kit. Let's see what we can do in 5 minutes".

I can't plug this enough, but through the end of December, E.L.F. cosmetics is doing a pretty awesome special. Order anything, use a code, get a great little makeup kit:
http://www.cheaptoday.com/deals/free-mini-makeup-collection-w-any-purchase-at-e-l-f-cosmetics/
It's really fun. I went at this doll with the makeup from this.

Given that I only used the little makeup brush, I don't think I did too badly. I am pretty pleased with the eyeshadow, and the lipstick (good color, badly applied).

Of course, if I liked this, I would have to seal it with some acrylic sealer. But it's pretty interesting. A way to get a different sort of effect anyway. :)

Well, somebody had to specify what kind of a merry little Christmas it was.

Leggings and yellow top

Well, I lied, I did get some pictures done today. I am proud of this little outfit - I know it's not master craftsmanship but I feel like I'm getting better!

I have great plans for this yellow print and ribbon, oh yes... I'd like to redo this but with actual, well, sleevelike sleeves. Perhaps 3/4 length with the ribbon as trim, and a bit more shape to make it a baby-doll top with the ribbon for the empire waist. Decisions, decisions!


Here's the whole little ensemble. Yeah, yeah, perching atop my sewing box is not the most flattering background... but isn't it such a cute little outfit? I am glad I was able to snag that yellow cloth. I guess I just don't think of yellow much in my outfits because I personally think I look very bad in it. But it looks fantastic on Annabel!


Here is the closeup of the leggings from above. The white is actually thread, not the thing bursting apart at the seams... I am really pleased with how they turned out, all told. It was sort of difficult cloth to work with and I think I have a bit of a right to be proud! Even if the stitching isn't the best, and they are still a bit messy... ah well! There's a good 1/3 of a yard left!

A quick tutorial - pants!

It's turning into one of those "One more episode while I sew... one more episode... well... as long as I'm up, I might as well watch another and get more medicine" nights...

Pictures will most likely come tomorrow, but I had a fine time at Joanne's today getting more materials. I LOVE the remnant bin to pieces!

Right now I'm very proud of some tights I just made. Stretchy material is hard to work with, and they're not the most beautiful things ever, but they're going to be a great 'wardrobe builder' item. And I've figured out how to make a basic pair of pants, and that's great.

In the spirit of trying to pay it forward, so to speak... Sorry the pictures are so rudimentary.

Buttons!

Murphy's law - as soon as I post, I'm up for three more hours sewing things because my foot hurts. But at least I've made a nice little ensemble.

I'm coming to appreciate all the things you can do with a sock. Yeah, the white's a little dingy... but I like the top.


I also redid the green-swirl skirt... since the pattern is so large the skirts are sufficiently different. It's a little more A-line. Fortunately I still have a lot of the cloth to play around with. I'd love to make her a sundress out of it.


I have totally fallen in love with this corduroy. It was around 4 dollars for nearly a yard - something like 9/10ths - and its print is SO cute! Even though it does blend a little with my sewing box... I have a bit of a thing for blue prints. Anyway, she'll eventually get some pants and maybe a vest out of the same stuff. 70's fabulous, but it's such a great corduroy!



I realize it's all a lot of pictures but I'm not quite happy with either room lights or the flash. Anyway, the heel of the sock that her shirt came from screamed to me 'bag!'. It's a pretty clumsy execution but now that I've done it once I can do it again. I like it pretty nicely as a whole outfit, though I think I may make a buttoney belt to go with this white shirt.