Making a Flounced Skirt.....

[SouthernTNBelle]

Anyone know the easiest way to make a flounced skirt. Other than making a skirt with large tucks? I am looking to make my daughter a flounced skirt with probably three flounces on it.
Also, an idea of how much fabric for a flounced skirt. I am going to be buying some nice watermark moire taffeta tomorrow and plan on buying six yards of it. She's almost ten years old if that is any help. THANKS!

[CrazyReb]

One of the period methods to flounce would be to turn under the top of the flounce and encase a bit of very small string there, as if you were making piping, then pulling the string up to ruffle the flounce and draw it to the correct length. This gets applied to the skirt by stitching either above or below the cording. Once stitched, you can optionaly pull the cord out or leave it in, whichever floats your boat. Of course, you would narrowly hem the bottom of the ruffle before your gathered it on the cord. An alternative to hemming the ruffles would be to pink the edges but, a proper pinking tool is a bit expensive and it would take a really long time to do so.

To measure for the ruffles, you need to take into account how deep you want them and add enough length for the hem and for turning the top under to do the cording. You want to go with 1.5 to 2 times the length of the circumference of the skirt itself for a ruffle that falls nicely but is not too full. For instance, if the skirt is 100" in circumference, the ruffle should be about 150-200" long before it is gathered (If I were doing it with these numbers I would plan on 175", nicely in the middle). Likewise if you want a ruffle whose finished depth is say 6" I would cut it 8" to give yourself an inch at top and bottom for finishing. I would advise trying to avoid making the ruffle overly full, this is a common issue I see in a lot of period clothing that looks a bit modern to my eye personally.

[ElizabethClark]

Deep tucks (4-8") will be the easiest way to get a "flounced" look without actually cutting and sewing on flounces. To figure how much additional fabric to add to each skirt panel, multiply your tuck depths times two, and add that amount to each and every skirt panel (it's the same process as figuring growth tucks, but deeper, and more of them.)

To sew on separate flounces, you'd need more math: depth of each desired flounce plus hem allowances, fullness of each flounce (1.25 to 1.5 times the skirt circumference)... If you have an idea of how you want to arrange the design, I'd be glad to help with math.

[SouthernTNBelle]

Here's a pic of the fabric I bought this morning. It's a tad darker in the photo, but it looks like a champagne color. I saw it two weeks ago at our local Hobby Lobby. It's actually was in the upholstery dept. But its a nice weight watermark fabric. It was $8.00 a yard, but I got a 40% off coupon yesterday and went this morning and got $20 off the original price. I did buy six yards and I believe its 60 inches wide.
I am thinking of making three rows of flounes and since she's about four feet tall.....the skirt from waist to hem I think needs to be about two feet in length.

[SouthernTNBelle]

CrazyReb, the pinking shears do they create the scalloped edge on fabrics? That we often see on original dresses? I wouldn't mind getting one of those. Do you know how much they go for and where to find them?

[CrazyReb]

CrazyReb, the pinking shears do they create the scalloped edge on fabrics? That we often see on original dresses? I wouldn't mind getting one of those. Do you know how much they go for and where to find them?

No, I am afraid modern pinking sheers will not come anywhere close. The only way to achieve the period type pinked edge is with a scalloping punch. I believe that Kelly Kring from Old City Park Museum in Dallas, TX makes them (they are a blacksmith made item) and Green Man's Forge does as well but, golly gee that is a LOT of work, much easier to simply turn under a fine, finger rolled hem on the bottom of the ruffles. The punchs basically only cut one or two scallops at a time and I think the largest size is half an inch or so. I would think they would be great for making bonnet trim or to pink the edges of a parasol cover but, for a project like this it would take fifty forevers to get through yards and yards of ruffle hems.

Depending upon the weave of the fabric you have chosen and the fiber, you may try doing a fray out test and see if the fabric would stand up to simply letting the bottom edge of the ruffles be the cut edge. I have seen one or two period dresses done this way and also noted that the ruffles were sewn on very carelessly (as far as the stitches being longer, more like basting stitches), as if the person wearing the dress intended for it to be a non permanent decoration that she might want to change out for something different later to make the dress look different.

[ElizabethClark]

Kathleen, do you want to figure deep tucks, or applied flounces? (Oh--and check your PM box! )

[SouthernTNBelle]

Thanks Elizabeth! Responded!!
I think I will go with applied flounces. I did buy six yards of the fabric and I believe its 60 inches wide. I'll have to recheck it though to make sure.