ruffles revisited

in case you missed it…i was part of the RUFFLES 2012 event over at see kate sew. this is my post…

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when i got the invitation to be a part of RUFFLES 2012 i was honored, excited, and nervous. i was thinking ruffles. i was pinning ruffles. i was literally dreamingabout ruffles.
but you know…i quickly realized that--short of decorating one of my husband’s suits with a ruffley cascade of fabric (my mom’s suggestion…which i’m sure the hubs is thankful i didn’t follow up on)—there’s pretty much nothing new under the sun in the world of ruffles.
i mean—what haven’t we seen? ruffled dresses, shirts, pants, shoes. ruffles on lamps, on pillows, on tablecloths and runners. bags with ruffles, clutches with ruffles, wallets with ruffles, comforters and duvets alike.
(i know, i’m starting to sound like a dr. seuss book)
and they’re all so pretty. my mind started to get muddled and confused by all the different ideas. i couldn’t settle on anything. i couldn’t come up with anythingnew! and exciting! and, truth be told, i started to get a little discouraged. when i receive an invitation to share something on someone’s blog i like to challenge myself. i like to make sure that i’m giving them something that represents the best i can offer. but with ruffles…i felt i was coming up short.
so i sat down and had a discussion with myself: maybe you can’t reinvent the wheel. but if you’re going to make a wheel—be sure it’s the best stinkin’ wheel you can make.



in all the different dresses and tops and ruffled things i saw, i found that i was consistently drawn to the ones with big dramatic ruffles.

so i made a basic dress: sleeveless lined bodice, full skirt, back zipper closure. but i used a gorgeous greyish-blue silk.

and added a big dramatic ruffle around the neckline and down the front.

and if there’s one thing this dress doesn’t lack—it’s the drama.

over the top? maybe. but this gap-toothed, blue-eyed, freckle-nosed princess loves it.

want to add some ruffle drama to your next project? here’s how i did it:


kate—thank you so much for letting me be a part of RUFFLES 2012! i loved being here—and i can’t wait to see the other awesome stuff coming up!