This tutorial shows how you can add tuxedo ruffles to your regular legging pattern.
1. Cut out your regular leggings pattern. I use the pattern from the 4/04 issue of Ottobre, but any leggings pattern will work.
2. Measure your pattern near the hem to find out how long your ruffle strips need to be. My pattern is about 9.25" long (size 116). Multiply by 2 for fullness and round up, so I need strips about 20" per ruffle. I like 3 ruffles per leg, so I need 6 strips that are 20" long. No need to cut each separately, I can just cut 2 strips from my 60" wide fabric and that will be enough.
3. Cut 1" strips for the ruffles.
4. Set the ruffle strips aside and hem the bottom of the leggings "in the flat". A 3/4" hem works will with 1" wide ruffles, it makes it easy to line everything up nicely.
5. Optional: finish the raw edges of the ruffle strips. This takes a long time, even using the roll hem feature on my serger. But you get a different look with matching thread, contrasting thread, or not finishing at all:
6. Gather the ruffle down the middle. You can do this using a ruffler foot, I set mine on "6". Then cut the strip in 9.5" lengths (or whatever your leggings width measurement is).
Alternatively, you can cut your strips to twice the length required for each ruffle and gather by hand. I do this by pulling up the bobbin and top threads, pulling out those threads 12" or so, and then zig zagging over them.
Then pull the threads to gather to the appropriate width.
8. Pin the ruffle strip to the bottom of the leggings. If you used a 3/4" in hem, you can position the middle of your ruffle strips right over your hem stitching line. Topstitch in place with a zig zag stitch or other stretchy stitch.
9. Continue with all the other ruffles and the other legging leg.
10. Almost done! Now you can start assemble the leggings. Stitch or serge the center front and center back seams of the leggings:
11. If necessary, trim any extra ruffle pieces off the edge of the leggings:
12. Carefully pin the inner leg /crotch seam and baste the section where the ruffles are on your sewing machine.
13. Stitch or serge the entire inner leg seams in one seam, starting from the ankle on one leg, up around the crotch and down the other leg. Secure serger threads.
14. Finish waistband in your usual manner, and you are done!
Variations:
Pink and plum ruffles were gathered with a ruffler foot and edges were finished with a rolled hem.
Light blue ruffles were gathered with a zig zag stitch over threads, pulling the threads, and the raw edge of the ruffle was left unfinished.
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Originally Posted by cinnamama
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