Sewing a Ruffled Dress with the Batwing Top and the Trapeze Skirt

Customizable patterns already offer thousands of possible combinations… and despite that, I still find ways to hack them to offer you new versions!

But the hack I’m going to show you today is really very simple to achieve, with minimal pattern adjustments, and it will allow you to create this little linen dress with ultra-feminine ruffles.

Patterns

To sew this dress, I chose the Chauve-Souris top pattern in its short-sleeve version with a round neckline, paired with the Trapeze skirt in its peplum variation. The belt is sewn using this tutorial available on the blog.

The fabric comes from Rascol: it is a chocolate-colored washed linen, which has enough structure to give the ruffles nice volume while remaining soft enough to ensure comfortable wear.

Modifications

First, the ruffles at the armholes. No specific modification is needed for the Chauve-Souris pattern, except that you should not finish the armholes with bias binding.

For the ruffles, I drew rectangles 10 cm high, including seam allowances (1 cm at the top for assembly and 1 cm at the bottom for the hem). For the length, I measured the armhole circumference (front and back) and multiplied it by a factor of 1.5. The higher this factor, the more pronounced the gathers will be.

For each armhole, I cut one ruffle, closed it into a ring, then gathered it and attached it right sides together to the armhole. I overlock the seam allowances and press them upwards.

Now let’s move on to the skirt ruffle. The Trapeze skirt pattern already includes a version with a bottom ruffle, but without gathers. To achieve the desired look for this dress, I replaced that ruffle with a gathered version. The principle is the same as for the armholes.

I cut a rectangle 15 cm high (including seam allowances), applying a factor of 2 to the skirt hem length. I made two ruffles, one for the front and one for the back, because otherwise they wouldn’t fit within the width of my fabric. They are then sewn together at the sides.

Finally, I made rolled hems, which maximize the movement and drape of the ruffles.

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I hope my version will inspire you to sew your own little linen dress for this summer.
Happy customizing and happy sewing!
Charlotte