A Year of Dresses: Ruby Ruffles for the Holidays

It's finally here: the final installment of holiday styles using Tie Dye Diva patterns!  This is a skirt that I have wanted to make since I first tested the Ruby Ruffles Skirt pattern.  I love my cotton version of Ruby with a each ruffle from a different fabric, but wanted to try a dressed up version too.

The Ruby Ruffles Skirt is a part of the Diva Collection patterns which are designed to be a little more full, have a little more flair, and are a little more FUN.  This skirt definitely takes Diva to the max!  As with all Diva Collection patterns, Ruby Ruffles includes extended sizes from 12-18 months all the way through girls 13/14.  Perfect for those coordinating holiday outfits!

Don't let all those ruffles intimidate you.  Ruby is an advanced beginner sewing level pattern, but if you are a persistent beginner, give it a try too!  There are no difficult skills required, just hemming and gathering.

I'm not going to go into the details of Jen's ingenious designs in this post. For all those (amazing) details be sure to read my previous Ruby Ruffles Post.  Really, the a-line base, the ruffle attachment, each step is so well thought out to bring you the best result possible!

For this skirt I used a beautiful crushed taffeta.  As far as special occasion fabric go, this taffeta was very easy to work with.  It did not fray much or slip around.  I have wanted to make something with this fabric ever since Jen used it for a sample of the Sugarplum Skirt pattern (another fabulous holiday skirt you can read more about in this blog post). And boy, am I happy with the results.  Taffeta yields a bit of a poofier skirt than cotton does, but I am happy with how the ruffles lay.  I chose silver for a classic holiday look paired with red, but that could also extend into spring paired with pink or yellow.

When making this skirt, I tried using a rolled hem on my serger, but was not happy with the results I was getting, so instead I hemmed each ruffle.  Yes, this took a little extra time, but not as much as you might think.  Instead of folding up 1/4", pressing, and folding up another 1/4" for a traditional narrow hem, I instead serged the bottom of each strip then folded up just once and topstitched.  Using this method I did not have to press the hems at all which sped up the process.  Other than that, I constructed exactly per the instructions.

The final result is a skirt that I love!  It is dressy, girly, cute, and sweet.  Sweet Pea loves the ruffles (okay, I do too!) It is an understatement to say that she is a girly girl.  Ruffles, twirl, shine and swoosh, what more could a girl want?

The Ruby Ruffles is the last of my Christmas dress/skirt styles for A Year of Dresses.  I hope you have been inspired to sew your own holiday dresses!  A Year of Dresses will be taking a hiatus until the new year in order to spend time with family during this great time of year.  I will see you back here in January with more great dresses and skirt to get you through the cold months.

Finally, here are your pattern details.

• 11 sizes from 12-18 months through girls 13/14
• advanced beginner or "persistent" beginner sewing level
• unique a-line base shape
• use a variety of fabrics for endless looks
• no serger required