Ruffles are cute, girly, and adorable, but this particular ruffle covers the top of the thigh where the suit presses in, for a smoother sexy look which makes me feel confident!
This can be added to the one piece or the bikini bottoms, at the step just before adding elastic or bands to the legs.
- Before the step of adding bands or elastic to the leg holes, measure the distance from where you like the ruffle to begin to where you want it to end. I picked about half way down for both, but it’s up to you. Multiply this distance by 2.
- Cut out two shapes like this, being careful to cut the straight side carefully since it will be unhemmed and you want it to be straight, not jagged. The length of the curved side should match your calculation in step 1. (As you can see from my picture, the exact shape doesn’t have to be perfect, and you can make the ruffle longer or shorter as you please! Mine was about 4 inches tall at its widest.)
3. Run a line of gathering stitches along the CURVED side of the fabric. Gather to match the initial length decided on in step 1.
4. Attach to the MAIN fabric of the leg hole, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. It will be flipped upwards for now. Treat the ruffle, flipped upwards, as part of the main fabric when you continue with the steps in the tutorials for adding bands or elastic. After the elastic or bands are added, the ruffle can flip back down. The picture shows the band serged onto the layered fabrics with the ruffle flipped up against the main fabric.
5. Optional step: top stitch around the leg hole on the main fabric near the seam where the band /ruffle is attached (not ON the band.) This helps the thick seams stay turned under and the ruffle flipped down.
Enjoy!
