So we all love our
Kelsey leggings! And if you don't own this pattern, you will by the end of this tutorial! It really is a must have!
Okay so one you lovely ladies (don't ask me who, I have ADD) asked if there was a trick to adding the ruffles in a round (ruffle attached to the base of legging). Versus them being sewn onto the leggings. Now I will say that the way the Kelsey's are already written is by far the easiest way. But we totally understand that some prefer their ruffles in a round. So here is a super easy tutorial on how to this with our Kelsey's. Also note this could totally work on store bought leggings!! SWEET!!
So to start make your Kelsey's as written for regular leggings. (ie. why I said you can do this with store bought)
First, we are going to be drawing our ruffle placement lines on the bottom of the leg pieces.
We will now attach one of our ruffles to the bottom of the leggings. Take the ruffle pieces, pin them right sides together, and sew along the short sides so we one continuous loop.
Set the sewing machine on the longest stitch length possible. Sew 1/4" down from the top of each ruffle making sure not to backstitch at the beginning or end. Some seamstresses prefer to have two rows of stitching in case a thread breaks, however, if you are using high-quality thread as we do, then one row of stitching should be sufficient.
Take the leggings and lay it on a flat surface for reference on how wide our ruffle needs to be. Begin gathering the ruffle by pulling the top 2 threads and moving the fabric back so it is gathered together.
When it looks like it is the right width, we can begin pinning the ruffle to the leggings by putting the right sides of fabric and adjusting the gathers as we go. At this point we will know if it is gathered too much or too little and it is easier to adjust correctly.
We can now sew on the ruffle. To sew the ruffle to the leggings we need to be sure to sew below the gathering line otherwise it will be visible on the outside when we are done.
Now that the ruffle is attached to the legging we will now cut at the drawn ruffle line. I know it seems crazy. No really, I do. Just trust me.
Now with that ruffle set aside we repeat the same steps again to the new bottom of the leggings.
Then once again cut off and repeat.
Now you will have a pile that looks like this.
Now time to start attaching these all back together.
Start off at the top. Flip the ruffle up and attach the connector piece to the bottom edge. And repeat with the next ruffle.
This is what your inside will look like.
And just like that you have your Kelsey leggings with ruffles in a round.
Now on a side note, if you feel you have stretched your leggings out too much. lift each ruffle and add a row or two of shirring. This will help the leggings go back into shape. And the shirring will be hidden by the ruffles.
And if you need a quick lesson in shirring, along with a little dance party. Follow this link to video how to from the CKC girls.
Happy Sewing Y'all!
Morgan
